I’m new to this whole thing so forgive me if this question is too elementary…. I just got an FX impact M3 and I’m wondering when I know to add air or am off the regulator. Which regulator? there are 3. Bottle pressure, reg #1, and the gauge underneath. Manual no help. Any help wound be appreciated. .25 cal
Dropping off the regulator
- Thread starter Indy25
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If you have two regulators, one will be the Bottle Pressure and the other will be the regulator pressure. After you fill up the bottle to 300 Bar, the other regulator will be showing less than that (150-175 bar), so if the bottle pressure gets to the regulator pressure you need to fill up the bottle.
Smitty
Smitty
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Indy,
My M3 has two regulators and three manometers (gauges). Gauge with "Max Pressure 250 bar," labelled behind on receiver, is for bottle. Second gauge, labelled, "Regulator No. 1" is for first regulator and third gauge, facing down, located towards rear, is for second regulator. My first regulator is pictured, I don't shoot lower than that setting. WM
My M3 has two regulators and three manometers (gauges). Gauge with "Max Pressure 250 bar," labelled behind on receiver, is for bottle. Second gauge, labelled, "Regulator No. 1" is for first regulator and third gauge, facing down, located towards rear, is for second regulator. My first regulator is pictured, I don't shoot lower than that setting. WM
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To clarify slightly on WorriedMan's post....don't let the bottle gauge drop below what the Regulator 1 gauge is showing.
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Okay. That solved the mystery. I wasn’t sure if the first or second regulator was the one to keep an eye on. Thanks for such a quick response!
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What happens if the bottle pressure drops to below the first regulator pressure?
In example:
1. Bottle pressure 150Bar
2. First regulator set to 170Bar (When bottle was at 250bar).
3. Second regulator set to 90Bar.
Will the first regulator and the bottle regulator not start equaling each other if the bottle pressure drops to that of the first regulator. Which means you can refill before the bottle pressure is the same as the second regulator ie refill at 100Bar?
In example:
1. Bottle pressure 150Bar
2. First regulator set to 170Bar (When bottle was at 250bar).
3. Second regulator set to 90Bar.
Will the first regulator and the bottle regulator not start equaling each other if the bottle pressure drops to that of the first regulator. Which means you can refill before the bottle pressure is the same as the second regulator ie refill at 100Bar?
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If I understand your question correctly, the 1st reg will pass through any pressure below it's set point (i.e. 250 bar). Therefore, your 2nd reg will see the bottle pressure (i.e. 150 bar). At the point your bottle pressure gets to 90-100 bar, you'll need to refill so you don't drop below 90 bar.
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Yes, that is what I was asking. So this means you can refill at just above the 2nd reg pressure and not when 1st reg pressure is reached.
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I don't have an FX, but I have built my own double regulated gun . . . . here is why it is done.
All regulators deliver a slightly non-linear response; their average output is not exactly the same under the impact of two variable conditions. The first is variation in the air used per shot or cycle, and we tend not to vary that one much (we tune to a power level and stick with it for consistency of shots). The second is variation in the pressure ahead of the regulator, and that can vary a lot - especially in guns with bottles meant for high fills (like 250 bar) with much lower regulated set points (typically down around 100 - 180 bar range or so). While this variation is not huge, it is real and can show up in projectile speed values.
Enter the two regulator approach: use of an additional regulator to stabilize the input to the regulator that controls the air in the plenum for the firing charge - doing this will "tighten up" the variation on the output of that regulator.
So what does that mean with respect to the OP question? Simple: if you want the best, most stable performance, refill before the reservoir pressure falls below the setpoint of the first (or feeder) regulator. But if you wait until later, when the pressure gets closer to the second (or firing plenum feeder) regulator, everything will still function well, but maybe with a little higher variation in projectile speed (and we are talking little here - probably less than 10 fps or so). The first regulator is just acting as a restriction in the path, but is having no impact on the air pressure the second regulator sees as the pressure is now below the set point of that first regulator.
Hope that helps!
All regulators deliver a slightly non-linear response; their average output is not exactly the same under the impact of two variable conditions. The first is variation in the air used per shot or cycle, and we tend not to vary that one much (we tune to a power level and stick with it for consistency of shots). The second is variation in the pressure ahead of the regulator, and that can vary a lot - especially in guns with bottles meant for high fills (like 250 bar) with much lower regulated set points (typically down around 100 - 180 bar range or so). While this variation is not huge, it is real and can show up in projectile speed values.
Enter the two regulator approach: use of an additional regulator to stabilize the input to the regulator that controls the air in the plenum for the firing charge - doing this will "tighten up" the variation on the output of that regulator.
So what does that mean with respect to the OP question? Simple: if you want the best, most stable performance, refill before the reservoir pressure falls below the setpoint of the first (or feeder) regulator. But if you wait until later, when the pressure gets closer to the second (or firing plenum feeder) regulator, everything will still function well, but maybe with a little higher variation in projectile speed (and we are talking little here - probably less than 10 fps or so). The first regulator is just acting as a restriction in the path, but is having no impact on the air pressure the second regulator sees as the pressure is now below the set point of that first regulator.
Hope that helps!
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You should only worry about when the needle starts to drop on the seccond reg (the one underneath back at the gun) I do not have an M3, but I believe the only thing which can happen if you drop below the first reg, is that the seccond reg might need some longer time to fill, as the pressure start to get closer to the seccond reg setpoint.
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I btw have both a FX maverick, and a wildcat MK3 bt, which both have dual regs, and there is no problem shooting down to the seccond reg setpoint.
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