Breaking balls in barrel

[tim_c]

Firstly, please forgive my utter noobieness, and I have searched before the search police come out!

I took my trusty Ion out yesterday, and was having no end of trouble breaking paint in the barrel. I started out with the stock Ion barrel and some Diablo Nightmare paint... Bursting everywhere! I tried switching to my 16" Dye Ultralite barrel and Diablo Formula 13 paint... which was slightly better, but still broke paint in teh barrel at least once a game, without going over about 6-7bps (my fingers don't move that fast!).

The manual for the ion says to check the battery... I don't think that's relevant as it's not eye related - the balls are breaking firmly in teh barrel, not near the feed... I've used the battery for 3 days. Could I be wrong?

My marker was chrono'ing about 265-275 fps.

I'm unsure what bore size the ultralite back is.
Could it be a case of mismatched barrel size and paint?

Would the cold weather affect it?

Thanks

 

[beanbag83]

I'm no expert but my advice for what it's worth:
Might sound weird but when any gat goes wrong, first thing to do is put in a fresh battery. Though thats probably not the problem in this case. It could be a problem of mis-matched paint-barrel. Weather can be a factor as temperture and moisture effect paint, and when cold, barrels contract slightly. Was the paint yours or site paint? If it's your own how was it stored? was it mishapen, swollen etc? all could be factors.

Hope this helps.

 

[tim_c]

Thanks,

The paint was half mine, and half a box I bought on site.

The paint I had was stored at room temparature in it's sealed bags. It looked ok in terms of shape.

I would buy a bigger Dye barrel back, but I have no idea what size mine is (got it second hand with the marker). Is there an easy way to determine barrel back size?

I would have thought that the standard barrel would be good for pretty much anything too, but that gave me the most problems.

Oh, and the last time I took it out, I had zero problems with breaking paint - using the Dye barrel and Formula 13 paint...
I'll change the battery and see!

 

[Bedlam]

I agree with Beanbag D )

As you weren't breaking paint in the breach, its not an eyes/battery problem. It just sounds like a poor paint/barrel match.

Did you test it before running paint through it? If you drop paint through the barrel back and you can't blow it thru manually, then you will most likely have problems. Remember to retest if you change paint

Hope this helps

 

[mdking]

When was the last time u used the paint mate?... i would be inclined to say its the weather (cold) thats doing it...

if its not that, there might be something in the breech that is not a in right...

try a bigger bore size on the ion... eg .692 or something


Once again the cold weather will affect the paint, from taking it from a heated room to the cold....

try using.. another type of paint also

 

[tim_c]

Hmm, hadn't tried blowing the paint throgh the back, I'll try it later

If that doesn't work I'll get the back measured, and maybe try a bigger back

 

[J@mes]

just so you know, the Dye UL barrel have what size they are just infront the the thread.

-james

 

[Tom Allen]

the standard (.688") dye u/light does not have any size markings on it. So if you cant see the size stamped in at the back end, then it's a standard (.688") barrel, which is probably a bit small. Try the blow test, if you can't blow a ball through easily, then the barrel bore size is too small.

 

[onasilverbike]

Barrel breaks

A) Old or badly sotred paint paint goes brittle, if it doesn't break on your bolt it can still break in your barrel
B) Cold weather has the same effect
C) Rain, water gets in throught the barrel porting and the moisture inside causes breaks - use clingfilm or tape.
D) Is For dirty, make sure your barrel is clean, no old bits of shell, paint or other foreign matter, invest in a couple of good fluffys, a pull through and some kitchen towel - pull through then a piece of kitchen roll pushed through with the fluffy and a final polish with the fluffy. Especially after breaks.
E) Bore match - preferably use a bore gauge/sizer to find out what size the paint is, blowing balls through can swell them with your warm damp breath (and coat the bore with condensation) and test a good supply of balls, not just 5/6, to make sure they are not too variable.
F) Wash and dry your barrel/s at the end of the day to make sure there is no residue of paint left to dry/harden in them in your kitbag before the next time.

If you remember all the above then barrel breaks should be less of a mistery and less frequent. A standard UL may be a bit small, but sholuld be fine for most paints I've come across recently, would keep a 690/691 handy too.

 

[tim_c]

Thanks guys,

I cleaned the barrel fully after each day, and between each game with a fluffy.

The barrel back has no markings, so I'll assume it's the standard .688

I'll try and find a ball size gauge next time I play, and will try a variety of balls to see if that helps