[AviatorMan]

So I just used my brand spanking new Etek 4 for the first time yesterday. Its a big step up in gun from my very old Tippman 68-Carbine, which required almost no maintenance beyond wiping it off and making sure there wasn't any paint in the breech / barrel. I've heard that electro-pneumatic guns can be very touchy when it comes to keeping them clean and well maintained, so I'm looking for something of a maintenance schedule of what needs to be done, how often, and under what conditions.

My primary concerns are:

1: What needs to be done before and after each day of play?

2: How often should I oil the rammer?

3: Do I need to maintain the regulator if the gun is not acting up, and if so, how often?

4: How often do I need to clean or inspect the electronics / eyes?

5: Do I need to do storage maintenance on the gun if it has not been used for a length of time (doubt this will come up, but you never know)?

6: Will I ever need to clean or oil the solenoid?

If someone with more experience than me could answer these questions and offer up any pointers on topics I've not thought of yet, I'd really appreciate it.

Edit: New question to add to this... As I am cleaning off the gun from the day's adventure, I've noticed that the trigger sounds a little different from the way it used to before a day of use, is this to be expected? Or have I already managed to torque something up? I did get shot a couple of times in my right hand while I was shooting, if that information helps to identify whats going on at all.

This post has been edited by AviatorMan: 10 December 2012 - 06:38 AM

[darthp]

The etek's are pretty much bulletproof, so maintenance isn't too heavy on them. After each day I would say just take the bolt out and make sure there's no paint in the upper tube.

That sort of covers the eyes/detents also. You can take the eye covers off to clean them if you get a chop, which should rarely happen.

The reg and ram shouldn't need too much cleaning, I would say every few cases for each. You shouldn't have to touch the solenoid for quite some time, if ever.

It should be good after being stored for awhile. I'd say just give everything a fresh coat of oil if its been a couple months. As for your trigger, some paint probably just went up into the gap when you got hit. You'll be able to access it if you separate the grip frame. Hope this helps

[Cookybiscuit]

As has been said, with an Etek just be lazy with it. Oil (very important, oil not grease) on the rammer every 5-10 cases, clean out the breech and bolt after playing, and do the regs with grease every 15 cases. You can go waaaaaaaay longer and not have to worry about it though.

Don't ever go anywhere near the solenoid.

This post has been edited by Cookybiscuit: 10 December 2012 - 10:56 AM

[AviatorMan]

So it sounds like I managed to get another gun that needs a wipe down after a day of play and maybe a cleaning of the trigger and beyond that, maintenance needs are few and far between. This makes me happy, since I was bracing for someone to tell me that I was going to need to break the whole gun apart after every day of use to clean every last moving part and electrical connection.

[kingJurzy]

AviatorMan, on 10 December 2012 - 05:09 PM, said:

So it sounds like I managed to get another gun that needs a wipe down after a day of play and maybe a cleaning of the trigger and beyond that, maintenance needs are few and far between. This makes me happy, since I was bracing for someone to tell me that I was going to need to break the whole gun apart after every day of use to clean every last moving part and electrical connection.

That is not the case for most markers aside from DP G3's and G4's.

For most markers, it is just recommended that you take out the bolt engine and relube everything after ever 5 cases. I do it after every day.

[AviatorMan]

kingJurzy, on 10 December 2012 - 06:35 PM, said:

AviatorMan, on 10 December 2012 - 05:09 PM, said:

So it sounds like I managed to get another gun that needs a wipe down after a day of play and maybe a cleaning of the trigger and beyond that, maintenance needs are few and far between. This makes me happy, since I was bracing for someone to tell me that I was going to need to break the whole gun apart after every day of use to clean every last moving part and electrical connection.

That is not the case for most markers aside from DP G3's and G4's.

For most markers, it is just recommended that you take out the bolt engine and relube everything after ever 5 cases. I do it after every day.

Maybe this is a holdover that I still have from the early days of electropneumatic guns? When the Shocker and Angel first came out, it seemed like I only ever heard stories about how much TLC they needed to keep them running.