"Bruce Chang" <bechang@swspambegonebell.net> wrote in message
news:Q2B2f.334$q%.137@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com.. .
>
> I've read on Otterssccustoms that if I set the input pressure too high,
then
> the valve won't stay open long enough, though I was setting it at 300psi
> based on the micro gauge. May not be accurate enough.
>
> -Bruce
>
>

That's on the right track. Someone else pointed you to a site about
"sweetspotting" and although they are generally correct, it doesn't tell the
whole story.

It sounds to me like the PO (previous owner) of your cocker was chasing the
Low Pressure holy grail. Tuning a cocker for gas efficiency is a balancing
act of valve spring, hammer spring, input pressure and paint/barrel match.

Let's start at the beginning...

If you use a nice soft valve spring, less force is required to open the
valve so you can use a softer hammer spring. The upside to this is your
cocker will be less "clunky", ie your hammer doesn't have to slam so hard in
order to get the valve open. It's the difference in hitting a nail with a
sledge hammer, or tapping it with a rubber mallet. The guns action will
feel smoother and generally be quieter.

One of the effects of this system is it is much more susceptible to
variations in input pressure (your palmer roc). If you start with your
stabilizer turned all the way down and slowly increase the input pressure
your velocity will start to increase. At some point though it will start to
go down because input pressure is forcing the valve closed too fast. You
may or may not be able to get a usable ball velocity out of your setup. It
depends on how much air volume your system can flow. That's the handicap to
low pressure systems. They have to be able to flow larger volumes of air,
and they have to flow them quickly.

Your first thought might be to turn in the velocity adjuster on the cocker.
This may or may not work depending on all the things I mentioned above.
Input pressure, valve spring pressure, how much flow you gun is capable of,
etc. Your valve may already be opening to it's max and flowing as much air
as it can.


The trick to your individual cocker is playing that balancing act, using the
softest springs and lowest pressures you can get away with, while still
being able to get acceptable velocity and stability.

I just reread your original post. I had incorrectly assumed this cocker was
"new" to you. I'm guessing it was working properly prior to the addition of
the stabilizer reg? If so, what kind of gauge were you using to adjust
pressures? Make sure it's a good quality, accurate gauge. Try swapping the
original reg back in and see if the problem goes away. And also, make sure
you have the proper stabilizer reg and it's hooked up in the proper fashion.
It IS possible to hook one up wrong.

If your gun was functioning properly before, then it SHOULD work with the
stabilizer as well. If it's an original, it's not going to be quite as
stable down around 200psi as it would be at higher pressures, but it should
still work.

I wish I had the patience and verbal skills to adequately explain the whole
spring/valve/regulator issue as it relates to cockers but frankly, it's a
whole hell of a lot easier to just do it than explain it.