Little help adjusting my cricket
I adjusted the regulator in my cricket using Ernest Rowe’s method, and had my .22 cricket shooting jsb 18’s around 880-888….. with a 150 bar fill… due to my tank being low. Then I got my tank filled today and gassed the gun up to 220 bar, but when I shot it over the crony the pellets were only going at 650 fps? Seem to have some sort of vapor lock. The hammer tension adjuster on the back of the breach is all the way in by the way. It wasn’t when the gun was shooting in the 880’s this morning. I’m assuming my issue is with the Valve spring tension, needing more or less tension….. any thoughts? When I de-gas the gun back to 160 bar or so (I have the old gage, so I’m talking about the very bottom of the green) the gun started to shoot around 850 fps…. not the 880’s I had in the AM. I’m confused…
One other thing is I tried to install the new aluminum valve stem as some of you have done, but the gun wouldn’t fire at all after, so I put the original plastic one back in and all was well. Not sure what was going on there. The two look almost identical, and the stem is the same length, so it is a bit perplexing.
Last – I just put a 15″ Neil Clague air stripper on the cricket and love it! Much less snappy.
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Free from TGAG/Wild West as well. I don’t think they are supposed to be charging for the plastic replacements per Steve.
The aluminum valve stems are $25.00 through AoA, which is where I got the one that doesn’t work in my gun. I later contacted Dima, who I got the gun from, and he sent me one for free. I hope to pick it up today.
That’s ok – it barely covers handling. 😀 I would like to see at least double that in shots before something like a valve breaks. Hopefully, the aluminum ones will last longer. I shoot my other guns quite a bit so I probably have around 1500 shots on mine at the most.
I paid for it 4€
I may pre-order the valve since is probably plastic too. Did they just give it to you?
🙄 ohh my fault 😯 3500 pellets not 35000… cca 7-8 tins pellets.
I did key stroke with one zere. Sorry. I think 10 tins of pellets must be ok for gun for more than 1000€ 😡
Today I already install aluminum stem. I do not have problem with aluminum stem (God bless me) so far 🙂
I installed stem then spring. Aluminum circle with many holes I screwed approx 7mm inside. I do not know how deep it was because I forgot measure it 🙄
I tried fire one magazine and everything seems to be ok…
35,000? I would guess some other parts area bit worn as well with that kind of use. That is impressive. 😯
Hi Secoda, my cricket has nr. 752 and was equipped with plastic valve 🙁 I already shot 35000 pellets.
Just reread my post from last night… no more late night posting after a few glasses of wine:)
I did take caliper measurements of the original plastic tipped valve stem (which is back in my gun and working fine) VS the new AoA supplied aluminum valve stem, but I didn’t write the measurements down. The stem itself was exactly the same length but the diameter of the hat portion of the valve stem was just slightly larger on the aluminum hatted stem, and I mean just. The “new” aluminum hatted stem wouldn’t allow my gun to fire at all and that is why I have my old stem back in the gun. When I get the new aluminum valve stem that Dima sent me (later this week I hope. It went to the wrong address) I will measure all three and post the results. For those that haven’t seen the valve stems, the new aluminum hatted stem still has a nylon ring at the back of the hat, which makes the seal when the stem is seated in the valve assembly.
Last note – I had mentioned that I put a Neil Clague shroud on the gun, which I will also post a write up on when I can get new photos taken. I had Neil make a 15″ air stripper for me, and it is amazingly quiet. Now that I have the Cricket back working I have noticed that it is much quieter now, with the gun shooting at 890 fps, than it was with the original shroud and the gun shooting at 840 fps. The hammer spring and the pellet striking the target are way louder than the the muzzle noise.
Hi Secoda, my cricket has nr. 752 and was equipped with plastic valve 🙁 I already shot 35000 pellets.
Zocoloco –
I was going to do a separate write up about my reg, but here is the short version. SteHughes90 nailed my issue, my reg died when I adjusted it. When I turned the adjustment screw on the reg 1/2 turn to increase the speed it was a real bear to budge the screw at all, and once I did the reg stopped working. I can only assume the O ring in the regulator was dried out and tore or broke, but I never had a chance it take it apart. I instead called Steve at Wild West Airguns to ask if I could buy a spare reg so I could get the gun working, then tear the old reg apart at my later, but Steve made me a really nice offer – even though I didn’t buy the gun from him, he offered to take a look at it. Once they got the reg they decided to just keep mine and sent one that was adjusted to shoot around 890 (with the right hamer spring setting) and only charged me $30.00. The new regulator worked as advertised and my cricket is working great. I need to shoot more tests, but it is very consistently shooting JSB 18’s in the 890 range.
Don,
What happened with the other issue, – the speed variation ????
Trygve 😀
Octavius & SEcoda,
It seems that the early Crickets have a valve stem that has a plastic head. My gun is #247 and has a plastic head on the valve stem, but mine hasn’t broken. I did try replacing the old stem with a new one that I got from AoA to head off the breaking plastic issue, but the new one wouldn’t work in my gun. Dima has since sent me a new valve stem but I haven’t picked it up yet. When I do I plan to compare it to the one I got from AoA to see if the dimensions are different.
Octavius – there are a number of people who have had the older valve stems break and have replaced them with the new Aluminum Stem, with no issues. I seem to have an isolated case.
Good luck,
Don
Broken Cricket already? How many shots do you estimate on your Cricket? What serial # did you have Octavius?
Is it really true about not inserting new aluminum valve stem ? 😯 😯 I´m asking because my old plastic is broken 😡 and I received only with aluminum. Should I expect some troubles with inserting them?
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Crap… so I paid for a replacement valve stem that won’t work in my gun and it should have been free. I just had a great experience with Steve at Wild West and will be writing up something soon. He’s got my future business….