SpudFiles

Strafer Troubleshooting Guide

Please read through this guide to find the answer to your problem before making a whole new topic for it. Thank you.
This guide will cover every problem that I can think of that happens with strafers. This topic covers both cloud and vortex strafers, in seperate sections.
"P" stands for problem, and "A" stands for answer.

Cloud Problems:
Your gun won't shoot; only air comes out of the barrel
Your gun has a leak
Your gun shoots slowly and at very low velocities
Your gun jams every burst or so of ammo
Your gun will not shoot the last few rounds

"Regular (T-shaped)" Vortex Problems
Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities
Your gun jams every few shots
Your gun stops firing after a few months
Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds

Full Hole Inline Vortex Problems
Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities
Your gun jams every few shots
Your gun stops firing after a few months
Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds

Partial Hole Inline Vortex Problems
Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities
Your gun stops firing after a few months
Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds
Your gun has a jam and will not shoot


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Cloud Problems:

P: Your gun won't shoot; only air comes out of the barrel.
A: Your firing valve may not have enough flow to create the "cloud" of BBs needed to fire them out. You also may have a jam near the side of the barrel, or something is preventing BBs from entering the barrel.

P: Your gun has a leak.
A: Use teflon tape if the leak is in the plug at the back of the gun. If not, use sealant or epoxy to seal the leak. A cloud strafer needs to be totally airtight or it will not shoot well.

P: Your gun shoots slowly and at very low velocities.
A: You may have a leak in the gun. See above answer. If not, the chamber may be too large, or the barrel may be too loose of a fit for the BBs.

P: Your gun jams every burst or so of ammo.
A: Jams are normal in a cloud, and can usually be fized by shaking the gun. Chamfering the inside end of the barrel helps with feeding and decreasing the amount of jams.

P: Your gun will not shoot the last few rounds.
A: This is also normal for a cloud. Simply refill the gun to be able to shoot more BBs, or just empty them out.


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"Regular (T-shaped)" Vortex Problems


P: Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities.
A: See Full Hole Inline Vortex Block Problems

P: Your gun jams every few shots.
A: See Full Hole Inline Vortex Block Problems

P: Your gun stops firing after a few months.
A: See Full Hole Inline Vortex Block Problems

P: Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds.
A: See Full Hole Inline Vortex Block Problems

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Full Hole Inline Vortex Problems


P: Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities.
A: You either have a leak in the gun, or you have a vortex block which is made from a material that isn't hard enough. You may also have too much dead volume in the gun. Seal a leak with epoxy or sealant, and reduce dead space as much as possible. Make a new vortex block from PVC, ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, or another hard material.

P: Your gun jams every few shots.
A: This is normal for a full hole vortex gun. Make sure you have shrouds on the block to keep ot from jamming futher.

P: Your gun stops firing after a few months.
A: You most likely used a poor material for a vortex block. Make a new block from PVC, ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, or other hard material.

P: Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds.
A: This is normal for full hole vortex strafers, because the hole is slightly elevated.

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Partial Hole Inline Vortex Problems


P: Your gun shoots slowly and at low velocities.
A: You either have a leak in the gun or you made the vortex block from a material that isn't hard enough to be useful. Seal the leak or make a new vortex block from PVC, ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, or another hard material

P: Your gun stops firing after a few months.
A: Your vortex block is worn down, caused by using a poor material for a vortex block. Make a new one from PVC, ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, or another hard material.

P: Your gun doesn't shoot the last few rounds.
A: Make a plunger type feed system for it. This will also increase ROF and allow you to aim in any direction.

P: Your gun has a jam and will not shoot.
A: Make sure you do not have shrouds on the block. This is the only source of jamming that I have found in a partial hole vortex block.

Thank you for reading through this topic and finding the answer to your problem without creating a whole new topic for it.
~Tim C

thanks alot. this is very helpful. im new to bbmgs.

Wait, so let me get this,

You DONT want to have shrouds on a half hole vortex? Because in your half hole vortex block making tutorial, you have shrouds.

I'll be the first to ask that this is stickied in the BBMG section!

um brogdenlaxmiddie.. its already sticky'd

It wasn't when I posted that.... I think

EDIT- Whoops... I saw it in the New Posts section and was like and didn't even bother to look at the post date. Wow I feel stupiddd