Damn, and I knew better too!
Well guys, I hang my head low in shame today as I write the following. I set out to do some more mods to the Condor today and all was going great. Next, I put in the new diy hammer with the rubber grommet mod… worked great. I am happy to report that the hammer slap is now acceptable.
Got her all buttoned back together and thought I would do the O-ring mod on the tophat. I got my shim tool from Autozone and took a measurement of what the gap was on the tophat before altering it. I then slid the O-ring on over the tophat and that was no problem. Next I started to adjust the tophat the same amount off the O-ring with the shims and got that done.
The last thing I needed to do was to tighten down the allen screws on the tophat to secure it in the new position and after snugging them up, I realized that they had gone in much further than before. 😯 That’s when it dawned on me… I had read a thread on this and had totally forgotten about it.
When snugging up the allen screws on the tophat, it’s a good idea to slide in a bit or something the exact size of the valve shaft hole to make sure that the valve doesn’t get damaged by overtightening the set screws. Damn it! I checked it out with a flashlight and sure enough, I screwed it all up! 🙄
My valve shaft is toast! I recently had knee surgery and have been sitting around the house bored out of my freakin mind on pain killers… mostly sleeping, watching TV, or on the computer. I have been chomping on the bit wanting to shoot the gun again as parts have still been showing up left and right, but I should have waited until I had a clear head!
I guess my question now is, should I persue a new valve stem from AF, or should I go with an aftermarket valve? The one piece valves are interesting, but not sure if they are adjustable and what all the pros and cons are. Your thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated!
All Replies
Thanks Dr Slug,
I stand corrected
What? Of course it will! The entire gun is AFU untill evry freacking trace of the screw-up is erased! Jeez, newbie, I thought you knew better! 😆
Yah, you put a screwdriver behind it and pop it out. Some that are paranoid would drain the tank first, but the valve opens when you slam it IN not out.
Most ,Many, all of us have done the same thing.
How bad is that thing, try shooting it and just live with the fact that you can no longer have an adjust top hat, that little dent in stem wont trash everything
Sorry guys for all the questions, but can anyone give a detailed description of what it takes to pop in a new AF stem on the tophat valve? I went ahead and ordered one as it was only 14. bucks, but I may step up to a one piece. If there is a thorough post on it somewhere that someone can post a link on, that will work too. Thanks again for the help.
How much does Tony charge for a hogh flow one piece tophat? I looked on his site and didn’t see them. I would ask him, but I know he is a very busy man. I don’t want to bother him unless I’m ready to place an order. One more question… Are all one piece tophats high flow? Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences and opinions guys. It helps tremendously.
I have two of Tony’s one piece tophats. I adjust for what I want by using different sized O-rings. Now that I have my hammer down to 74 grams, the gun shoots like it had a reg. on it. IMO, the only way to go.
No more loose grubs, bent stems, or useless adjusting.
bottom line, stock stem from AF or 1 piece from tony. its a bit taller and non adjustable, except for oring mod..
Say no more GTBJ. I can’t stand losers like that and I will take my business elsewhere. Thanks for the heads up!
Yes, this is the guy, but I’m not sure what you mean by saying stole the name. Please explain. Are his parts worthy? Is he sketchy?
the guy is a pice of shit that steals other peoples designs and spams the hell out of form members trying to sell them things…. Do Not give this Douche Bag any of your money!
I just got off the phone with AF and the valve stem alone is $14.95 I hope that this is all that got damaged, it is all that seems to be. I would still like to hear more concerning the other questions and other options available. Hopefully others can learn from my mistake as well. I still can’t believe I did this knowing better. Just goes to show you, Don’t work on stuff when medicated after surgery! Her dee dur. 🙄
Yes, this is the guy, but I’m not sure what you mean by saying stole the name. Please explain. Are his parts worthy? Is he sketchy?
You mean that Paris Douche guy on ebay? (stole this name from another member that uses it to call the guy)
Also call Airforce Customer Service. Not sure if they will sell you the part or require you to send the tank in. I think they recently upgraded the design on their valves so it might not so terrible of a thing to send it to them and replace the whole thing.
1st, call Tony and order a valve stem. 2nd, take a hammer and smash the living shit out of the one you turned into a project. 3rd, have a beer and enjoy the lack of residual frustration, shame and tension.
Thanks for all the comments everyone. I just got off the phone with R&L and the fellow said that I could get the whole shebang for $75. (high flow or standard} or just the valve stem for $40. He seems like a nice guy and very willing to help out, but this is more than I thought it would be considering I have seen the one piece high flow valve stems on Ebay for $30. with free shipping.
Are the ones on Ebay junk or what? I looked around a bit on TT and didn’t see a price for his, so I still need to investigate that. I guess my other option is to see how much AF wants for the factory one. Are the one piece valve stems adjustable?
I don’t want to rig it to deal with this, so I have decided to just buy another, but I don’t want to be stuck with high flow settings only. I would like to be able to set it up as a conservative shooter too. Is this possible from one valve and can it be done with a one piece valve?
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I know Tony only makes the one piece Tophat in a Hi-Flo valve.