AE's Emag is a Lemon. Help!!

[ArmyEngineer]

So I got my E-Mag today. Not exactly in "great condition" as described. I specifically asked the seller if the battery had leaked. His response was at best incorrect. Also, it appears that the sear lock was hammered out of the frame. The damage looks mostly cosmetic, but I was still disappointed.



Those of you who think that no one can tell the difference between anodizing and paint pen should be shot, and not with a paintball gun. As disappointing as I found that little blemish, I was far more upset about the battery juice that was/is EVERYWHERE! AAAAH!!!

First I took off the battery housing. Not a big deal, only a hint that a cell near the bottom had burst. Seriously, the battery even looked clean. So I still had some hope. Next, I slid out the valve, and just like that, my hopes were dashed.



It only took one field strip screw. Yeah, the valve has gunk all over it. Then the bolt assembly came out. Bolt is a little messy, but the spring is freakin corroded. Impressive. I may be able to clean it up, but I have some reservations. Someone left the bumper off the powertube, how concerned should I be? I guess I need a new one?



Out comes the rusty frame screw, and off comes the rail. HOLY CRAP. I had no idea this battery had so much happiness inside. It looks like someone smeared dookie toothpaste all down the rail.



Well, then I proceeded to completely disassemble the frame. Everything came out fine. Not a single hint of battery juice in the board compartment. There was only a little up around the sear. Well, I cleaned the frame up with a toothbrush, and reassembled. Looks good as new, minus the sear lock hole... I've had enough chemical spill on my hands tonight. I'll try to finish the rest tomorrow. Here are my questions:

How likely is the valve ruined? The electrolytes in NiMH batteries are alkaline, keep in mind. We saw what it could do to the bolt spring. I am guessing I will need a new one. Oh, and the magnets were all corroded and shot. Gonna need some of those... The 14 cells in the battery pack, how many volts are they each? 1.5v? I guess I will hit up DealExtreme for those. Valve rebuild kit? I'm thinkin yes.

Please comment.

Thanks,
AE

[Frizzle Fry]

Wow. Did the previous owner store that in a septic tank, or what?



At least it's got a good home. I pray you didn't pay more than $350ish for the marker.

[ArmyEngineer]

Wow. Did the previous owner store that in a septic tank, or what?



At least it's got a good home. I pray you didn't pay more than $350ish for the marker.

HAHAHA! Yeah, at least it doesn't smell. Got it in a package deal. This guy, a 2005 carleton 68/4500 w/ pure energy reg. 3 tippmann 98s w/ 6 barrels, 1 piranha, 2x scott, 1 jt, and 1 pmi mask. a beat up egg, a halo b in the box, a revvy, 2x motorized no names, 9 CO2 tanks, a few rando parts. Thats most of the inventory. $566 shipped/ppd

[Frizzle Fry]

HAHAHA! Yeah, at least it doesn't smell. Got it in a package deal. This guy, a 2005 carleton 68/4500 w/ pure energy reg. 3 tippmann 98s w/ 6 barrels, 1 piranha, 2x scott, 1 jt, and 1 pmi mask. a beat up egg, a halo b in the box, a revvy, 2x motorized no names, 9 CO2 tanks, a few rando parts. Thats most of the inventory. $566 shipped/ppd

Ok so you got your moneys worth... Actually that's a damn good deal.

The nice thing about stainless steel is that you can scrape crud off of it with relative ease, and being submerged in human waste for years doesn't destroy it. Lots of "Goo Gone" and a valve rebuild kit should get it running... Then some polishing for that frame. Which is a travesty. Thank god you snatched this thing up; it's like adopting an abused puppy.

[xero28]

So this was that huge package you got that killer deal on? Right? Poor, poor EMag. It should be a fun project getting her back up and running though. Good luck.

[ZapTheMad]

that wasn't a purchase. it was a rescue!

[GRimm]

I would completly disasemble the frame, and then get in contact with luke and see what he can do for you. You could also have him ule it for you too. other then that, all you need is a valve rebuild kit, a new batery from KC, and some TLC and it will be back to its old self.

[ArmyEngineer]

Heh, there is hope! I've been disassembling/cleaning since I got home at 5:30, so the better part of 5 hours. I am just now eating. I feel so sorry for this lil guy.

It's going to be a labor of love, but that is rewarding in itself. I'm going to send Tuna an email and see how busy he is. I am just hoping the brains of the whole operation are alright. Is the board robust enough to power off of 18V, or should I throw in a few diodes to drop it down a lil. I just want to see lights!

Should the ferrite rod of the solenoid be lubed? EDIT: No.

[Ando]

OUCH

Sometimes Craigslist = Drive-through bro. You still got a deal on it tho. Biggest worries will be the board and Solenoid which are the most expensive. You already know your needing a battery but you should be able to rig a 12v up to it. Chances are you won't be able to trip the solenoid but you'll get it to light up. The valve will hopefully be fine even tho it didn't have that bumper. The X is a damn tank after all

I say send the battery back to the guy and write "Thanks" on it

"A E-Mag barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic E-Mag. ArmyEngineer's E-Mag will be that Mag. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

[ArmyEngineer]

OUCH

Sometimes Craigslist = Drive-through bro. You still got a deal on it tho. Biggest worries will be the board and Solenoid which are the most expensive. You already know your needing a battery but you should be able to rig a 12v up to it. Chances are you won't be able to trip the solenoid but you'll get it to light up. The valve will hopefully be fine even tho it didn't have that bumper. The X is a damn tank after all

I say send the battery back to the guy and write "Thanks" on it

"A E-Mag barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic E-Mag. ArmyEngineer's E-Mag will be that Mag. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

I know Ando. "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear, why, he eats you." I'm not too upset, it has actually cleaned up fairly well. I haven't touched the valve still.

Citius, Altius, Fortius! How would that be for a little rail engraving! (Sweet)

Good news: The lights say AGD 1.37. Bad News: The lights say AGD 1.37.

[Spider-TW]

A valve rebuild kit should be enough to fix it, as long as the reg spring pack is not too corroded (which should mean your piston was covered as well). Be sure and pull the reg pin assembly. When you pull all the level 10 parts out, check for "extra" stuff in the power tube and chamber (shims and dirt mostly).

[BigEvil]

Oh dear lord

[athomas]

A good cleaning is what you need. Take the valve completely apart and replace all the orings. clean the spring pack on the back. It should be fine. The bolt spring definately needs to be replaced. It is a consumable item anyway. Expect to replace the bolt springs periodically. The rest of the gun should be cleanable with a lot of soap and water. The battery is past its life expectancy any way. Get a new one. There are newer 1000mA versions here on AO. The rare earth magnets can be purchased at a local shop and are quite inexpensive. If you can't find them, then get some from AGD when you order a parts kit.

I suspect the safety detents gummed up and he hammered the safety pin out in order to get the gun to fire. He didn't do a very good job. Mine gummed up and caused problems, even after I put new parts in. I could have fixed the problem, but I just took the safety out and kept it out. If you know how to annodize, you can fix the look of the frame. Just polish the damaged area around the safety so that it is nice and smooth and matches the texture/smoothness of the frame. Then do a a home annodize process and dye it black. It won't be perfect but it will not be near as noticable as the paint pen. You can use a computer power supply for your 12v source. Use a mixture of battery acid and water for your solution. Use black rit dye for your color. Look up the process and you should be good to go.

[ArmyEngineer]

A good cleaning is what you need. Take the valve completely apart and replace all the orings. clean the spring pack on the back. It should be fine. The bolt spring definately needs to be replaced. It is a consumable item anyway. Expect to replace the bolt springs periodically. The rest of the gun should be cleanable with a lot of soap and water. The battery is past its life expectancy any way. Get a new one. There are newer 1000mA versions here on AO. The rare earth magnets can be purchased at a local shop and are quite inexpensive. If you can't find them, then get some from AGD when you order a parts kit.

I suspect the safety detents gummed up and he hammered the safety pin out in order to get the gun to fire. He didn't do a very good job. Mine gummed up and caused problems, even after I put new parts in. I could have fixed the problem, but I just took the safety out and kept it out. If you know how to annodize, you can fix the look of the frame. Just polish the damaged area around the safety so that it is nice and smooth and matches the texture/smoothness of the frame. Then do a a home annodize process and dye it black. It won't be perfect but it will not be near as noticable as the paint pen. You can use a computer power supply for your 12v source. Use a mixture of battery acid and water for your solution. Use black rit dye for your color. Look up the process and you should be good to go.

Good to know! It has cleaned up fairly well so far. I am about to run and get some brasso to polish out some of the scratches in the body. Can anyone with a micrometer please tell me the diameter of one of the magnets? My precision eyeball says 6mm x 1.5mm, but that might be too big. Thanks!

[Ando]

Hell ya, Rit dye ano is pretty good. Buddy of mine did his whole marker and it came out pretty nice.

Edit: I'll get you the measurements here in a min bro.