tophat problem
Bought brand new condor directly from Airforce in October 2011. From day 1 the tophat slowly moves clockwise while shooting. Airforce’s solution was to send me replacement tanks which did the same, no matter with factory setting or my own (.095) with blue locktite. When I continue to tell them there is a problem, they don’t want to deal with me. I finally asked for a return shipping label to send back the gun & latest tank to inspect, and now they are charging me! Customer Service’s solution even thought it might be best if they just got rid of my concerns by offering my money back! They are actually treating me like I don’t have a problem… I think the problem with the tophat movement has something to do with the bolt or an alignment issue. I sent the thing back and am awaiting their “solution”. Please help! Bob
All Replies
man, if youre denting the stem and using some type of adhesive, im baffled. if youre positive that the tophat isnt turning independent of the stem,(im not blatantly trying to plug this) tony is now doing a 1 piece assembly if you are looking for mucho air flow. if you are positive this is what is happening, and you are willing to adjust your valve by other means(powerwheel, o ring under tophat, spring retainer adjustment, drilling the seal, etc.) this may be the way to go…i got nothing else 😕 😕
I think AGTulsa was spot on with his analogy of the prob
Pics help or are worth a 1000 words
Seems to me the grubs were catching the breech and spinning
lefty lucy every time you loaded a round
Don’t get discouraged with the AF platform
It offers a great start to airgun bliss
By the way, thank you for your service my man
meaning Thank You for being a soilder of our great country
It is folks like you who drive our well being
Salute to you and the rest of our brave troops who
make the USA what it is
You have my full support and respect
SAW
Thanks for all the suggestions. I make sure the grub screws are all less than flush. Even with denting with both grubs and locktite, the thing still moves. I own alot of firearms and bows, and use them all. Just got in the house after butchering deer number 5 (this afternoon) this year; I hunt & fish year around. Funny thing too, I am still in the Air Force Reserves (active duty & Iraqi Freedom also), with 32 years in. Will be retiring next year at the latest! Bought this condor as part of my retirement (12″ bbl; treestand squirrel gun and backyard starlings, grackles, etc…). I plan to stay with the platform, just needed some great advice from those of you that have been there, done that with these guns. Thanks again.
SAW you crack me up! 😆 😆
If ya got probs with your Tophat
why not try something diff
Like a Fedora or baseball cap ?
🙄 🙄 🙄 😛 😛 😉 😉
I have had good luck with my Pith Helmet or whatever
the mailmen wear
Ha just kidding around, blue locttite rules, set it and
forget i
LATER
SAW
I put those grub screws in very tight take a drill bit and insert in the stem, so as not to bend the stem while tightenning. There is also an adjustment underneath the handle to adjust the bottle to the breech.
Not having the tank in front of one of us whom are familiar with tank problems, it can be kinda difficult to tell you what the problem is.
For what it is worth, the stem can’t turn easily, if you got pressure in the tank.
However, I have experienced top hat loosening problems. What I found caused my top hat to rotate is the set screws (i.e. grub screws) protruded out past the top hat ever so slightly. When I actioned the bolt, the screws would “grab” the inside where it makes contact, causing the top hat to turn. Also, the fact that you have a heavy mass slamming into a high pressure air valve at the top hat/bolt area when you pull the trigger can make things loosen up a little.
Note the set screw is flush or below the top hat in the picture.
I took the screws out (measuring the top hat gap first) and ground the bottom of the set screws until they did not protrude when GENTLY tighten down. I installed them with fingernail polish (you can use locktite if you wish) and top had has not moved by itself in a couple of thousand shots.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Of say keep the gun and not even worry about it I mean its aluminum frame and that Dink ass forarm screw is bound to strip sooner or later. And as for the top hat spining if its not changing gap who cares it should be perfictly center. And Sence its a circle dose it really matter if it spins? Don’t take it wrong but minor stuff like that ain’t worth while the problem’s of shipong back and contacting. And the guns frames are like 120 Bucks new. So yeah. Just my thought. I think the warranty would be good for bent barrle frames. Stuff like that.
Oh my 🙂
some people can tear up a brick with a feather ,lefty loosy , righty tighty ,dont give up ,these guns can be allot of fun
Let us look to the miltary as a leader in gun ownership.
Those fellows can tear down, clean and put back together their forearms with their eyes closed. So can I.
I say best to give back the gun, take your money and go buy some video games or something.
also the top hat will loosen up with shooting , i think everyone has this, you have to re tighten it periodically, i put blue loctite on the grub screws on mine , you can still loosen the grub screws with the blue on it and re-tighten them, then reapply some blue loctite after several times of loosening and re tightening.
Thank you all very much for your help & support!!! I too picked the AF platform for its versatility. If AF gives me a new outfit vs tapping out the forearm screw hole (I could have easily done the same) to the next size up with at least a tophat that doesn’t spin from the get-go (before I self loctited when all else tightening and starting to dent the tube), then I am willing to go from there. Again, thank you all for being willing to help, and developing into the great forum you truly are!!!
Bob
to be honest with ya, if you arent good with doing things like drilling/tapping, and minor modifications/troubleshooting, these may not be the guns for you.
its going to almost always take a little doing to get these rifles where you want em, and consequently you have to be innovative in your approach to improving the product. the AF platform is fantastic, but they are poorly executed in both design and quality control.
if you still wanna stick with it, we’ll help ya. however, if you want a more perfect gun from the box, youll have to either void the warranty or give tony a call@talontunes. youll be spending more, but the rifles are much closer to perfect and he backs his already exemplary work 100% 😉
Set the top hat where you want it and use Red Locktite or even clear finger nail polish on the threads to lock it down.
Once your Condor Tophat is set you do not need to move it again.
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first of all THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ,I dont think anyone has said anything about oring oil or grease yet, has to be oring safe, but on a new condor the seals in the breach will grab if it is dry.
do you still have the rifle,how is acuracy , do you have targets, what pellets have you shot in it