Airsoft tips and tricks; Keeping your equipment functioning

o1s1n · 15-10-2007 11:30pm #1

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

Shiva · 15-10-2007 11:54pm

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

kdouglas · 16-10-2007 1:32am

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

chalky · 07-11-2007 10:39pm

Everything you'll need to know about batteries
See post 2

Evolute · 07-11-2007 10:48pm

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

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

3. 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.

Genghiz Cohen · 20-11-2007 1:58pm

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!

ambro25 · 20-11-2007 2:31pm

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).

Utreg · 13-12-2007 10:02am

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).

kdouglas · 13-12-2007 10:47am

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

Jimbobak47 · 20-12-2007 2:16pm

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.

kdouglas · 20-12-2007 2:28pm

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

liamo333 · 20-12-2007 2:29pm

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

Beaten to it.

weeder · 16-01-2008 8:50pm

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

Shiva · 16-01-2008 9:05pm

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.

NakedDex · 16-01-2008 9:15pm

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.

Killerlep · 16-01-2008 10:14pm

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

NakedDex · 16-01-2008 10:18pm

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

Killerlep · 16-01-2008 10:24pm

Where can I get a front ring for the foregrip?

NakedDex · 16-01-2008 10:36pm

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.

Witcher · 16-01-2008 10:39pm

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

:cool::cool::cool:

Killerlep · 16-01-2008 10:55pm

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

NakedDex · 16-01-2008 11:13pm

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.

Witcher · 16-01-2008 11:14pm

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:

Masada · 16-01-2008 11:15pm

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

weeder · 23-01-2008 11:37am

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

Stercus Accidit · 22-02-2008 11:26am

...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:

Stercus Accidit · 28-02-2008 9:24pm

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

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

c-90 · 01-03-2008 9:02pm

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

Masada · 01-03-2008 9:26pm

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.,.,

JonAnderton · 01-03-2008 11:19pm

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..

Endaaaagh · 07-04-2008 2:51pm

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!

FunkBlaster87 · 26-05-2008 10:28pm

I know your not meant to dry fire but is ok to do it the odd time. When emptying a mag it's kinda inevitable you might get one or two dry fires, well in my limited experiance. Is this ok? Does dry firing only harm a gun if done in excess amounts?

Stercus Accidit · 26-05-2008 10:32pm

FunkBlaster87 wrote: »

I know your not meant to dry fire but is ok to do it the odd time. When emptying a mag it's kinda inevitable you might get one or two dry fires, well in my limited experiance. Is this ok? Does dry firing only harm a gun if done in excess amounts?

It will only wear a gun out quicker, it wont break it instantly

The idea is the bb creates pressure resistance to the piston, so it strikes the cylinder head with less force than if there were no bb.

I built an rpk and when testing the rate of fire, I dry fired in incessantly

It didnt break but I dont recommend you try it for too long

Perhaps this should be in newbie questions rather than tips mods?

James M Keogh · 26-07-2008 11:47am

Ok, I am a noob at this, just found the joy of airsoft a few weeks ago.
But forgive me for sounding like an idiot, but what do you mean "turn off the hop up"?
How do i do that?

Gatling · 26-07-2008 12:02pm

depends what aeg you have , the hop up gives the bbs back spin allowing you to increase your range to a degree ,also how straight your bbs travel

most of the time you find it inside the ejection port ,when the charging handle is pulled back

mackey087 · 12-09-2008 8:06am

have a jg mp5 and i've noticed that the power in it seems to be dropping from when i first bought it. have it about 9 months now. mostly use it as a back up. regulary clean it and always run out the battery and then charge it up when back home. any ideas. cheers

Puding · 12-09-2008 8:40am

an aeg will slowely loss power as the spring beds in, as this is a back up you more than likely notice it as it has happened over a longer time, how many rounds do you think has been though it do you think?

Other than the normal power drop from beding in you would have to look at more mechanical problems like a problem with the air seal for example.

mackey087 · 14-09-2008 3:08pm

Puding wrote: »

an aeg will slowely loss power as the spring beds in, as this is a back up you more than likely notice it as it has happened over a longer time, how many rounds do you think has been though it do you think?

Other than the normal power drop from beding in you would have to look at more mechanical problems like a problem with the air seal for example.

i;d say between 10.000-12.000 bb's. had a ak spetnaz and it did something the same. at the end of a skirmish it stopped firing. looked up mechbox and opened it up. gun still not going.

maciek87 · 18-02-2009 8:23pm

Well, I could say, that it is not a spring. There is only one option, that make spring bend together, so it have less power - not doing last shoot, on semi auto (the spring sometimes is getting locked inside, and it is not as long as it houd be), but, to make the effect visible, its taking a lot time, and... Well, its about probably because, the gearbox is not sealed off, so you are losing your fps in a chamber (about 20), another 10 at hop-up - which you did replace at all I presume, another ten becasue of the third gear...

. In JG replicas, it is often a problem. To repair it, youll have to just take silicon oil (like APS7) and take a look inside a gearbox... check the gear, resposible to put spring in to the chamber (the third when, when you`ll count from engine), sometimes is skipping a few ''steps further, and it is not putting spring to the chamber at all. If that will be the reason, you can buy ome bore-up system, r just replace this chamber part resposible for this.

Replace hop-up gum

Replace barrel to 6,02 i.e. etc.

loneborg · 20-02-2009 1:09am

Hi. New in town.

Almost all of my manuals say something like this.

"Remove magazine and dry fire once in semi-auto mode directing muzzle in a safe direction."

This is to clear the chamber of the bb that nearly always gets left in there and to "de-cock" the spring, since auto-fire can leave it partly pulled back and if left under tension it will weaken.

Just something for those new to airsoft, the one time dry-firing will increase the life of your AEG.

(OK, I know if there is a bb in the chamber it is not dry-firing)

Just wanted my first post here to be useful.

ED E · 20-02-2009 2:52am

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

It will only wear a gun out quicker, it wont break it instantly

The idea is the bb creates pressure resistance to the piston, so it strikes the cylinder head with less force than if there were no bb.

I built an rpk and when testing the rate of fire, I dry fired in incessantly
It didnt break but I dont recommend you try it for too long

Perhaps this should be in newbie questions rather than tips mods?

IMO I dont see a .2g blob of plastic with a bad seal really causing that much resistance. Maybe on a TM model with a load of plastic parts it might be slightly important but I dry fire my DE UMP all the time, pistons still fine.

I think its just a way to sell more bbs

johnboysligo · 20-02-2009 3:44am

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

IMO I dont see a .2g blob of plastic with a bad seal really causing that much resistance. Maybe on a TM model with a load of plastic parts it might be slightly important but I dry fire my DE UMP all the time, pistons still fine.

I think its just a way to sell more bbs

the piston itself is fairly solid the part your most likely to break from dry firing is the air nozzle if you break that and youll need to open the gearbox to change it out.

besides your aeg has a limited life span before something will break the best way to preserve your aeg in top condition is to use it as little as possible :P kinda stupid to say that but its true your parts will wear out and break after a certain amount of use wouldnt it make more sense to fire bbs when you pull the trigger rather than dry fire your aeg into a early grave / maintenance.
clearing the chamber is common sense no bb in the chamber means no chance of it firing off and hitting someone not wearing goggles

dizzywizlw · 25-03-2009 7:09pm

Im going down to the eirsoft near the phoenix park tomorrow to buy an afforementioned ak47 for 160, just trying to work out how much i need to take out of the account extra to get ammo, an extra catridge and anytihng else that you guys think would be a good idea to buy, cheers!

Spetzcong · 25-03-2009 8:01pm

I think that AK comes with a battery and charger, although the chinese chargers are kinda crappy, so maybe enough for one of their decent chargers too, dunno how much they cost but I think it's on their website. Ammo shouldn't cost ya more than about €10 for a few thousand rounds.

IMO a decent charger is an essential piece of kit for your first purchase, it'll save you having to work out how long to charge your battery for and it's safer than just leaving those chinese yokes plugged in for ages, plus you'll be able to use it for every AEG you ever buy.

The only other things to buy then would be a mask or goggles if you're planning on skirmishing, and maybe a spare battery. You shouldn't need a spare battery right away but they're also handy to have.

dizzywizlw · 25-03-2009 8:33pm

Spetzcong wrote: »

I think that AK comes with a battery and charger, although the chinese chargers are kinda crappy, so maybe enough for one of their decent chargers too, dunno how much they cost but I think it's on their website. Ammo shouldn't cost ya more than about €10 for a few thousand rounds.

IMO a decent charger is an essential piece of kit for your first purchase, it'll save you having to work out how long to charge your battery for and it's safer than just leaving those chinese yokes plugged in for ages, plus you'll be able to use it for every AEG you ever buy.

The only other things to buy then would be a mask or goggles if you're planning on skirmishing, and maybe a spare battery. You shouldn't need a spare battery right away but they're also handy to have.

Thanks

,
would this come with a chinese charger?
http://www.eirsoft.ie/store/product_info.php?cPath=22_30&products_id=214

I should bring ID just incase yeah? only 16 more hours woo!

Spetzcong · 25-03-2009 9:38pm

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Thanks ,
would this come with a chinese charger?
http://www.eirsoft.ie/store/product_info.php?cPath=22_30&products_id=214

I should bring ID just incase yeah? only 16 more hours woo!

Yep. Chinese clone, so it'll be a clone style charger, they work, but a decent charger will be a good investment. I'd definately bring ID.

.22 Lover · 24-08-2009 8:44pm

If I get silicone spray in my mag and my BB get covered in silicone how do i clean them out?

MetzgerMeister · 30-10-2009 1:56pm

Just wondering what everyone thinks of using assault rifles in the rain? Does it damage the gun/battery or is it ok as long as it's not dropped into a bucket of water? I've heard different responses before but wanna make sure.

Leftyflip · 30-10-2009 2:02pm

einheisserschre wrote: »

Just wondering what everyone thinks of using assault rifles in the rain? Does it damage the gun/battery or is it ok as long as it's not dropped into a bucket of water? I've heard different responses before but wanna make sure.

If it does it hasn't happened to me yet, all you need to do is dry off your gun and gives it a good clean.

Witcher · 30-10-2009 2:14pm

einheisserschre wrote: »

Just wondering what everyone thinks of using assault rifles in the rain? Does it damage the gun/battery or is it ok as long as it's not dropped into a bucket of water? I've heard different responses before but wanna make sure.

I've never had a problem, depends on the gun and how easy it is for the rain to reach the battery etc. I've used an M4 in Drogheda(battery is stored in the ventilated grip, water can access easily) in an absolute torrent of rain and the gun was fine, I on the other hand was soaked:)

Airsoft_Invent · 29-11-2010 7:53pm

ive used WD40 for oiling my pistols slide, havent had a problem. but i wouldnt go near the internals with it..

Airsoft tips and tricks; Keeping your equipment functioning

Comments