Adjustable top hat plus regulator ?
Is anyone using the adjustable top hat with a regulated tank ? I have a regulated tank and like the consistency the setup gives me. I have it set to run JSB Kings at 900 FPS. If I simply switch to a.22 barrel, it pushes JSB 18gr’s at 975. I’m thinking one of Tony’s adjustable top hats would be the solution, allowing quick & easy caliber swaps. Anyone running a reg with the adjustable top hat that can offer some comment ? Thanks…
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So do you have some kind of chamber after the reg, like the TT adapter? I have been told that the reason I am only getting 865 fps is that I don’t have a big enough regulated chamber.
My reg is set at about 1800 PSI. I am running it at 43 FPE I think. Plenty of whack and a good number of shots. I have the power wheel set at zero and have Tony’s hammer in it. These things do seem to have quite a bit of individuality in how they want to be set up. I haven’t got a setup to directly measure the reg output, I just noticed where I see the velocity fall off and it’s a bit below 2K on the small gauge, hard to know exactly. I’m happy with it though, an easy five minute job and little change to LOP.
Shooter58,
What is your reg set at? I just put an Altaros reg on my Condor SS and at 2100 psi I can only get 865 fps. I would like to around 900 so I am just wanting to get an idea of what my reg setting would need to be to achieve that.
Geo
I really don’t mind tuning on my condor, i guess that’s why i haven’t bought a reg yet, i really don’t need one for short strings , but for longer trouble free strings ,sure would be cool.
that Altaros reg sure looks like it would be nice, you don’t need anything else with it right , just screw it into the air force bottle or other bottles , and screw the air force valve into that .and its adjustable with turning a screw ,
oh well , i dont know
if you dont want to adjust or tune ,the adjustable top hat might be the way to go, but you can try the oring for free first.i use feeler gauges to measure the top hat gap,then measure the feeler gauges with calipers,and keep notes so i can go back to a tune when changing,
Doh! Forgot about the “upstream” component. 😉
Need more coffee….
Dyotat, The TT top hat uses inserts. So it can NOT change the lock up of the breach when adjusting. 😉
Knife
addicted
I sometimes used an O-ring under the tophat before I got the regulator. It seemed to do pretty well. I haven’t tried it since, but think I will give it a whirl when I get back home. It is just so easy to want to add more goodies to my Condor. I have Tony’s hammer, the Altaros reg, and WOK’s add-on bits. It is quiet, accurate, and powerful in .25 but a bit hot in .22 and that’s why I want to be able to easily change power back and forth. I’ve had an airgun addiction for longer than I care to think about, but I’m ok, really I am. 😉
bogman
were talking using the o’ring with a regulator, the pressure for the top hat would be the same for the whole string , so the oring will be compressed the same until the pressure in the tank fell to the regulator pressure.
Dyotat100
i haven’t found a need to keep the top hat out completely , i have adjusted it out to .120 and back to .050 , and found great consistency using the oring behind the top hat to limit velocity for tuning to different pellets etc.
This is without a regulator.
so are you saying that you have tried the oring with a regulator and it didn’t work to help consistency
i was thinking that i would use the oring with a reg to slow down a given set up ,or give fine tune adjustments to a reg pressure for different weight pellets .just like shooter58 needs, to slow down his velocity when shooting the 18 grain 22 caliber pellets,
so with a reg the oring didn’t work , or you just prefered using the shims
Dyotat’s right about the delrin shims vs. rubber, more predictable/repeatable limit of travel. As tank pressures drop, o rings will be compressed slightly more than when the tank is full, delrin is more consistent.
The problem with adjusting the TH is now the breech doesn’t close tight against it. I use delrin shims to limit how far the TH can move.
The other problem is with this is your string will fall off as you get closer to reg pressure. Not much but it does a little.
I Have my reg set at 1800 psi and by putting different shims I can make it shoot from 890’s to 950’s with 25.4 gr jsbs.
I guess I need to thoroughly investigate the O-ring solution before throwing more money at the problem. Thanks for the input…
Lowering the top hat will reduce the power
With the oring behind it , the adjustable top hat should do the same , but wihout infanate adjustment
If you can’t lower the hammer spring, p/w, tensioner, adjusting the reg. is your best option, but too much trouble if you’re going back and forth. A heavier .22, closer to 25 gr. or a shorter barrel will also slow things down. Unfortunately, most “penis pellets”, like the Jumbo Monsters (25.39gr), tend to perform best at really high speeds (1,000+ fps).With the extra weight, the speed will likely fall below the accuracy zone, but you never know. ‘cudas would also be worth a shooting test.
The top hat restriction might work from a different perspective. In theory, it would slow the acceleration rate down, so the blast of air slamming the skirt would be reduced. You’d think that, ultimately, the same amount of air would be released and the speed may not drop that much. However, the smoother, slower acceleration might cause the pellet to slow down due to less skirt expansion or, hmmm… perhaps the pellet exiting before all the air is released? (i.e. wasted air) Who knows?
Sounds like you’re in uncharted waters. I’d try some heavy pellets to see if you can harness the energy, then give the adj. tophats a whirl. Too many variables going on. Obviously, your best option is a reg. setup w/ a .22 tank, separately, e.g. two tanks. If you’re shooting a Condor w/ the older, threaded tank style, I’ve got a spare to sell (pm me).
Fascinating question; please post your results 😉
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No, I don’t have the adapter or anything, just the reg in the bottle and the valve screwed into the reg. I had Kings running at 900 FPS, but now have them at 885, which some say is ideal. It’s just about perfect for my type shooting, anyway.