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Airsoft tips and tricks; Keeping your equipment functioning

  • 15-10-2007 10:30pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 34,234 ✭✭✭✭
    Master of the Universe


    Great idea Bullets. There are a lot of pretty basic things people need to know to keep their gear functioning.

    I'm leaving this thread open so people can add their own advice and tips. Obviously if your advice is bad it'll be deleted ;)

    Please try not to turn the thread into a discussion. Would be nice if we can keep it uncluttered.

    I'll get the ball rolling with;

    - Silicone oil is your friend. WD40 and oil based lubricants are not. Seriously.

    - 12g bbs (Mostly yellow) are a sure way of destroying your gear. Stick to at least .20g.

    - Paintball bbs will also ruin the internals.

    - Do not reuse bbs in an AEG!!!

    - Do not dry fire.

    - Do not leave springs compressed. With an AEG, fire a shot in semi automatic before you put it away. This will decompress the spring. Empty magazines when not in use.

    - If you can, try to discharge batteries after use.

    - Disconnect batterys from AEGs and store them separately when not in use.

    - When you buy a clone, give the barrel a good cleaning. Most of them are filthy. Make sure to turn the hop up off fully! Not doing so can damage it.

    - If your clone mags are misfeeding, try mags by a name brand like Marui or Classic army.

    - High caps must be wound before shooting ;)


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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,401 ✭✭✭Shiva


    o1s1n wrote: »
    - High caps must be wound before shooting ;)

    And the little trapdoor at the top of the mag is for pouring in BBs - pushing BBs into the feeder hole isn't going to result in a satisfying airsoft experience :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kdouglas


    o1s1n wrote: »
    - If your clone mags are misfeeding, try mags by a name brand like Marui or Classic army.

    also try spraying silicone oil in them, seriously, it's become such a cliche around here, but silicone oil does fix everything


  • Registered Users Posts: 732 ✭✭✭chalky




  • Registered Users Posts: 1,397 ✭✭✭Evolute


    Crave wrote: »
    Ok just a few questions on general maintenance. I haven't put this in the trouble shooting section cause I don't have a problem.

    1. :confused: Should batteries be kept fully charged or should they be left empty until needed then charged?



    2. :confused: When storing an AEG for a few weeks in between skirmishes should the battery be left in the AEG and connected?



    3. :confused: When should cleaning of the inside be done, eg. spraying in some silicone spray?




    Any other maintenance tips let me know, Thanks ;)




    1. Personally i leave my batteries with the charge that is left in them after a skirmish and then discharge and charge when needed.
    My blue battery has never died on me.



    2. Good god no you insane?



    3. I remember someone used to say every 9000 bbs or so is a good time to give the AEG a bit of lubing.


    Dont play with gear boxes unless you have a manual in front of you and that you know whats supposed to be there.
    Made that mistake and spent hours looking for bits that were non existent.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,182 ✭✭✭Genghiz Cohen


    Learn by doing, if you have a clone, there is no better fun than taking it fully apart, http://www.mechbox.com/site/ is awesomeness in electronic form.

    Silicone oil solves all problems, ALL OF THEM!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,991 ✭✭✭ambro25


    All in addition to o1s1n's above.

    Dry up your AEG with a cloth - all the outer nooks and crannies, incl. mag well. Do a FOD (Foreign Object Damage) check near "sensitive" areas of the AEG/pistol: BB feeding aperture, hop up adjust unit, trigger well, between selector & receiver, etc.

    If a full metal AEG, use a cloth very slightly impregnated with WD40. WD40 is not beloved of airsoft, and rightly so, but only insofar as internals are concerned - it is one of the best rust preventers out there.

    Clean and dry up your mags, ensure no mud/sand grains/etc. of any sort got into it or remain near the feeding outlet.

    Dismantle anything easy enough to dismantle and check internal areas for damp/wet, and dry up when accessible - do not use the WD40-impregnated cloth inside.

    If storing the AEG for a long while, spray a tiny bit of silicon oil into the barrel then cap it (to prevent drying/cracking of rubber hopup).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 57 ✭✭Utreg


    To keep the cap on/near your gasbottle:

    They never fit propperly after you open a can of gas.
    Use electrical tape in a cross to keep the top in place.
    Easily opened and closed again as the elec. tape can be used for quite some time (sticking and re-sticking).


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kdouglas


    The cap from a wd-40 or silicone oil can will fit onto a green gas bottle quite nicely


  • Registered Users Posts: 239 ✭✭Jimbobak47


    don't oil the barrel (inside) it all comes out the end in a cloud of oil, it also
    gives grit something to stick to during a skirmish.
    oil all fast moving parts with oil, slow ones with grease.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kdouglas


    a small amount of silicone oil is fine for cleaning purposes once you make sure to run a dry piece of cloth threw the barrel afterwards to remove any excess oil


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,877 ✭✭✭liamo333


    You can use silicone oil to clean your barrel and then wipe ir all off with a jcloth.

    Beaten to it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,469 ✭✭✭weeder


    o1s1n wrote: »

    - Do not reuse bbs in an AEG!!!

    - Do not dry fire.

    - When you buy a clone, give the barrel a good cleaning. Most of them are filthy.
    Make sure to turn the hop up off fully! Not doing so can damage it.

    an airsoft with a few questions if i may?
    why can i not reuse BBs?
    what does dry fire mean?
    and how exactly do i clean the barrel and why leave off the hop up?

    i know im a noob but im getting there eventually ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,401 ✭✭✭Shiva


    weeder wrote: »
    an airsoft with a few questions if i may?
    why can i not reuse BBs?
    what does dry fire mean?
    and how exactly do i clean the barrel and why leave off the hop up?

    i know im a noob but im getting there eventually ;)

    BBs can be slightly deformed when they fire, and almost certainly are if they hit anything. If you reuse them, you could damage your hopup, or they could be jammed in the magazine or barrel. Given their relatively cheap cost, its not worth the risk.

    Dry firing is firing without the magazine inserted, or on an empty mag.

    You clean the barrel by putting some lint-free cloth on the tip of the cleaning rod you will have got with the AEG, and inserting it into the barrel and gently running it up and down and twisting it. You can apply silicon oil to the cloth to help the process.

    If you leave the hop-up turned up, you run the risk of damaging it with the cleaning rod by pushing it when you insert it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,984 ✭✭✭NakedDex


    It's better you ask than ignore the statements. Always ask questions, it's what this place is for.


    Never reuse a bb for several reasons.
    The main two are they will often have picked up dirt and other crap from the grount that you don't want grinding it's way down the barrel. The second, and most important, is that bbs often distort in shape when fired or hit something. Reusing a bb with an ovality in it can damage your barrel and/or hop unit. These units are usually irrepairable and for the sake of a tenner for a few thousand bbs, it's 30+ for a barrell or hop.

    Dry firing is when you fire your aeg without any bbs loaded or with an empty mag. It's firing without any bbs leaving the aeg.

    Clean the barrel using the cleaning rod supplied with your aeg. Some aeg's don't come with a rod however but one can be made with a soft nylon stick of about 4-5mm in diameter with a slot at one end to take a rag. Generally the best to use are J-Cloths. Use a little silicon oil to clean the barrel with.

    The hop must be off entirely so as to prevent damaging it. To clean a barrel you must pass the rod entirely through it and pull it back, several times. A hop unit works by placing an indent into a rubber bucking that protrudes through a hole in the barrel. If this is not off (set in the fully down position) you risk ramming this out of place and breaking the hop unit.


    Shiva beat me to it. Damn him again.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27 Killerlep


    I was wondering where do you attach the front part of the sling on a CA G36k? I can clearly see a ring for the sling at back of the gun just above the grip but I dont know where to clip it on at the foregrip


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,984 ✭✭✭NakedDex


    There isn't one on the front. You have to add one. The standard position to put them is on the front ring (when added) and on the end of the reciever, or, on the end of the reciever and on the loop on the stock. The reciever/stock variation is very commonly used by Bundeswehr and KSK from images I've seen.

    Reciever point is just above the hinge joint for the stock.
    Stock point is on the bottom right of the stock (as the gun points to your left), right in the corner.

    I have one slung like that and it's very comfortable


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27 Killerlep


    Where can I get a front ring for the foregrip?


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,984 ✭✭✭NakedDex


    Official HK ones to go into the sockets underneath the foregrip are a nightmare to find. The easiest options are get a sling-pin from somewhere like WGC. It replaces the foregrip pin and gives you a sling point. Alternatively you can get a set of RIS rails to suit (they come in either a pair of short, one of for either side, a pair of short + a long for the bottom or three short, again one for the bottom). Then you can stick a RIS compatible sling mount of your choice on it. All of those are available from most sites.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,275 ✭✭✭✭Witcher


    this thread should be in the main airsoft forum, because there are a lot of

    noobs lately who may not know this is here and so may damage an aeg when

    cleaning it.


    the reatailers wont like me warning people about damaging their pieces :D




    :cool::cool::cool:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27 Killerlep


    your quite right about that I just found where it says to turn off the hop-up when cleaning in the CA36K manual in its in the smallest writing at the bottom of the page


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,984 ✭✭✭NakedDex


    Due to there being way too many stickies about things like this, the mods found it best to create a dedicated section. All questions and tips go in here for convienence. They're all in one place and easier to access this way. A thread for help in the main board would quickly be lost due to it being so busy.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,275 ✭✭✭✭Witcher


    NakedDex wrote: »
    Due to there being way too many stickies about things like this, the mods found it best to create a dedicated section. All questions and tips go in here for convienence. They're all in one place and easier to access this way. A thread for help in the main board would quickly be lost due to it being so busy.

    but a lot of newbies wouldnt think to look here and so make a thread in the

    main forum to ask questions which are answered at the first post by linking

    to here.




    :cool::cool::cool:


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 11,001 ✭✭✭✭Masada


    i think there is a general maintenance thread somewhere though, it got moved around though so not sure where it is.,


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,469 ✭✭✭weeder


    the battery link is dead, and just when i need it too :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,758 ✭✭✭Stercus Accidit


    ...and how to do it in 5 mins ;)


    Easy as hell, did this in 5 on the m4.

    My hop wasn't engaging until it was set to full, and was loose so would lose settings, useless.

    So, dismantle the hop down to the nub, the little ring that pushes down on the rubber. Now give this a tiny bit of insulation tape on it, to increase diameter, and add a little piece of tape to the part of the hop that presses down on it.

    By adding the thickness of two layers of tape, the hop is substantially more sensitive, if you look down the removed barrel, you can see it pushing down on the lowest setting, and on the highest you get way too much, so as the rubber wears you can increase the setting as normal, but you get more life out of it. When the rubber wears down a good bit, maybe add another layer of tape.

    Going from no hop and a two week wait on a new rubber, to a 5 min job and all the hop in the world, is well worth it ;)


    Numero... two.

    My hop dials were all loose, so, I notched the axles slightly with a stanley knife, and pushed the washers tight over this - not necessary but if you have loose washers worth doing, it will mean that the washer will be damaged next time you take them off, but if they keep falling off you might as well.

    Tightening the dials, on an m4 style hop is easy, my main dial, the one you turn, was very loose on its axle, so wrap tape around the axle till its stiff when turned, the tape can come up ove the axle, to be squashed down on the wheel by the screw too, to increase friction, as loose hops loose their setting when fired.

    Easy job to improve a failing stock hop.

    Edit: soon to come, how to up fps to whatever you want it at, not over 1 joule mind, thats illegal, but to get extra fps out of a stock spring, or bring an ms 90 closer to the joule.

    Also How to increase the inner diameter of the air nozzle to match the cylinder head nozzle, so as to get a better seal and not to waste air pressure and fps. < This one will be an experiment :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,758 ✭✭✭Stercus Accidit


    http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/?filnavn=/articles/fps_limits/fps_calc.htm

    Energy calculator for other weights of bb, fps, energy etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 587 ✭✭✭c-90


    can you leave gas in an gbb over time say a day or 2?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 11,001 ✭✭✭✭Masada


    yeah its no harm but id rather release it so as not to but putting pressure on the seals for so long, it might leak out over time though anyway.,.,


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 481 ✭✭JonAnderton


    i was told to store gas mags with a tiny squirt left in them. if they're stored either full or bone dry, they leak/cause leaks..


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  • Registered Users Posts: 636 ✭✭✭Endaaaagh


    when opening your bottle of gas don't pull the seal off completly. Only pull off about half of it. This way it will snap back onto the bottle when finished!


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