Umarex New Notos, leaving it pressurized ?

[DarkMatterZ]

I'm a newbee to the PCP world & I'm loving it all ready. I purchased a Notos & it stands up to everything everyone talks about.
Spot on accurate ! I realize I'm speaking of only 25 yards but I never experienced Hole on Hole three out of seven shots & the other four within the size of a quarter. I’m not a marksman of any sort..... just a plinker all of my life. After zeroing in the scope & sitting the Notos on a bag, the very first grouping and many others to follow were as described above. Even offhand at 25 yards gets a group of 2” or so. For me that’s great & is all that is needed for the Iguana festival to begin!
The only cons so far: the magazines are clunky. A jam waiting to happen. On many occasions I had to fiddle with the magazine to help the lever proceed forward & index the next pellet. I’ve ordered two Maple Hi Capacity magazines.

I do have a question: From what I read so far you can leave a PCP pressurized for a good length of time. It was also suggested to me to not leave it at full pressure as it will possibly strain the regulator unnecessarily. So I left it for a few days at about ½ way through the “green”. No issues, the pressure stayed exactly where I left it. Over the weekend I did this again only this time I left it with less pressure. It was in the red “below the regulator pressure”. Today (two days later) I noticed that it didn’t hold the pressure. It lost most if not all its pressure.
Wondering if leaving it below the regulator pressure makes the difference ?

I was also advised when filling the empty tube to be sure the lever is cocked open. This will ensure no leakage while filling as it closes off the reservoir. Again, this sparked me to think that maybe I should store the gun that way if the air pressure is low but not near empty ?

Is this normal or do I have a leak issue ? Any advice is helpful.

 

[get some mustard]

I'm no regulator pro but.. it shouldn't leak if u leave it under the reg pressure. U must have a leak somewhere that gets sealed when the pressure is high enough. Fill back up to that lower pressure and try to find it.

 

[get some mustard]

And if it leaked out in just 2 days it's leaking pretty good. I would find disassembly vids on YouTube so u don't go in blind. It's most likely a o-ring

 

[DarkMatterZ]

Appreciated. I'll try the same experiment & see what happens.

 

[Firewalker]

I was also advised when filling the empty tube to be sure the lever is cocked open. This will ensure no leakage while filling as it closes off the reservoir. Again, this sparked me to think that maybe I should store the gun that way if the air pressure is low but not near empty ?

Is this normal or do I have a leak issue ? Any advice is helpful.

Store your gun with your normal operating pressure fill. The regulator is not going to be harmed, leave it filled and ready for use.

Yes, the OEM magazines are junk, Maple and Carm are fantastic, so are the mags by Tango Sierra (a member here).

Yes, cock the gun before filling from empty, the valve preload spring will hold the valve closed while you do so. Your o-rings depend on pressure to hold their shape, they will stay like this for quite a while if you add a few drops of silicone oil into your fill probe every few air fills.

Nevermind those telling you to reduce storage pressure, they are referring to several months or years, not a few days between sessions.

When you are ready, think about a larger air supply to extend your shooting sessions and push back the attacking hordes of Iguanas!

Dave

 

[DarkMatterZ]

Thanks Dave. The bottle is on my wish list already. Did you have any issue having the Drop Block to "time itself" so it seats at the perfect angle ? Yours looks spot on. Do you notice the weight or have balance issues ?

 

[Firewalker]

Thanks Dave. The bottle is on my wish list already. Did you have any issue having the Drop Block to "time itself" so it seats at the perfect angle ? Yours looks spot on. Do you notice the weight or have balance issues ?

This is the crux of the modification craze. Buy the parts, assemble and be disappointed with clocking or air leaking or worse yet, destabilization leading to breakage.

I actually chuck up the single gauge drop-block in my lathe and face the block to clock correctly and seat completely flush with the airblock.

I also thread the 16mm hole another 5mm deeper to allow the guns airblock to fully seat in the drop-block.

The Z-blocks are completely different, they cannot be faced, I have attempted it a few times but the outcome was sub-par. I moved to using a plenum as the clocking feature and have not looked back!

I've posted this before but I believe the weight only increased 2-3 ounces over the airtube configuration but, the balance moved forward a couple inches and the air tank made for a rock solid grip.

I've increased my off-hand hit ratio significantly with the bottle mod as the stock Notos leaves the gun a little light on the barrel.

I'm adding a 500mm barrel to my pester to see if I can raise my ratio even higher.

 

[PigeonMan]

It's find to leave your pcp charged up. It's actually bad to leave it empty. I leave mine filled to 250 bar and stored for months up to a year with no problem. If it's not holding air then there is a leak. Use leak detector spray and find it. Easy to fix once you find the leak. Usually it's just clean and replace o ring.