FX Royale bottle check valve repair

[Cliff_Allen]

Last week I tried to remove the bottle from my Royale. The air came hissing out which I thought was odd because my old Royale held the air in the bottle when it was removed. After some searching, I found several posts from over the years from people that didn't think the bottle was removable at all. It turns out there is a check valve in the bottle and if yours isn't holding air, you may have one of the two issues I had. I wanted to share my experience here in case it can help someone else out later

The first problem was that my check valve was actually stuck. The rod in the center that is spring loaded would not budge up or down and was stuck in the open position. This is a super easy fix as you only need to unscrew the check valve body/housing (see pics) from the bottle and give the pin that is sticking out of the bottom of the brass nut a couple of taps. I did not need to take the actual check valve apart for this. The whole procedure took about 2 minutes.

After putting it back together and trying again, it still leaked. This time I had to take the check valve apart and it turns out I had a damaged o-ring that sits on that donut you can see in the pic. AOA was great and sent me a new donut, complete with o-ring free of charge under warranty. Another very easy fix as once the check valve is apart, you only needed to poke the old donut out of the housing, slide the new one in, and screw the check valve back into the housing. Anyway, I hope this helps!



This is a pic I borrow from a google search that was easier than taking mine apart again

 

[cj_86]

I tried to remove the bottle cap but didn't have luck. I heated the cap to 280 degrees F but was still unable to break it free. Did you heat the cap to remove? Also did you have a special wrench you used to spin it off?

CJ

 

[Cliff_Allen]

Hi cj,

I didn't have a special wrench or heat the cap. I used an old work glove over the cap to protect the finish and then used an adjustable vise grip wrench to grab the cap and spin it off. I saw a video from AOA where they use a piece of leather to protect the finish while getting good grip on the cap.

http://smile.amazon.com/Tools-VISE-GRIP-GrooveLock-2-Piece-2078709/dp/B000FK1R0W/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1457628363&sr=1-16&keywords=vise+grips

 

[Paulcat]

Cliff,how many turns of the bottle does it take before it comes off?
The confusion or opinion of whether the bottle is removable,I think,comes from FX's website and the gun specs page that states the bottle is not removable.I think the shroud interference may be the issue,which you know can be easily overcome.The bottle is checked as you have shown. My 500 is not shrouded because the Australian government likes us to have loud airguns.(Tongue in cheek).
Did you find any moisture or anything that could foul the checkvalve causing it jam the way it did?
Cheers Paul.

 

[Cliff_Allen]

Hi Paul,

It takes may 15 turns to get the bottle off? I'm purely speculating here. Regardless, it only takes about 4 or 5 spins at the most before the air starts leaking out and you'll know if the check valve is stuck or not. 

I think you're right about the shroud being in the way may be part of the reason for the confusion about whether or not the bottle is removeable.

Funny you should ask about anything that could foul the check valve to cause it to jam. Despite having taken all the steps that I've outlined in this post, my check valve is still sticking open. I took it apart again to try to find what the problem is and for the life of me can't find anything wrong with the check valve. It is a very simple mechanism and there isn't a lot of area to cover to try to find any issues which makes it even more perplexing to me that it's getting stuck open. I even tried lubing the valve with the same silicone that I lube the o-rings with.

My plan is to call AOA today and ask them about it and hopefully it's a known issue that they're used to dealing with.

Regards,
Cliff

 

[SDellinger]

I had AOA change the 480cc bottle on my FX400 for a 580cc bottle. When I unscrewed the 580cc bottle to drain it for a plane ride home all the air ran out of the bottle. I took it back to AOA (only 2 miles away). One of their techs removed the valve and the check valve was stuck. Brand new bottle. Go figure. Easy fix. I don't think he had to replace anything. He just freed it up and it was OK. Easy. I now have the Saber Tactical valve removal tool and it works great. I fly to Phonex twice a year to shoot and use the tool often. Funny thing though, not once has TSA even looked at the bottle on inspection since I started carrying the gun on the plane. One thing I forgot to mention. When I unscrew my bottle the air stays in the bottle but continues to flow out of the gun. Is that air coming out of the regulator?