Mauler self destruction

[donlino]

I got one several months ago to compare to my homemade valves. Nice piece using some clever use of regular pipe and fittings to avoid the complexity of the supah. Hooked it up to my 4"x5' chamber with 3/4" qev pilot and fired about 20 times before pilot failed to seal. Dissasembly revealed plastic fragments in diaphram. Mauler dissasembly revealved the threaded plug in piston had sheared off lodging check valve in debris in back of valve. Cleaned it out, drilled out the back of the piston for lighter weight and has been trouble free since. Zero effect on performance. Anyone else experience something similar?

P.S. I work in Anaheim at Disneyland, any locals want to get together for a shoot sometime?

[joannaardway]

What pressure were you using it at?

AFAIK, Mauler valves are very reliable.
It is possible (though unlikely) that you have one with a defective part - have you any pictures of this?

[frankrede]

What pressure were you using it at?

AFAIK, Mauler valves are very reliable.
It is possible (though unlikely) that you have one with a defective part - have you any pictures of this?

Its Joel in disguise trying to put down the mauler:D hah.

I believe their is a CA meet this weekend, if not last

[donlino]

120psi max. I think its a great valve, in fact I think Gort would benefit by eliminating the check valve. No pictures, I was out at ludlow blowing shit up and doing some reflexive fire drills.

[miskaman]

Ya, I sure want to see some pictures. That would be helpful.

[donlino]

I would not post pictures without gorts permission since I can respect his intellectual property. Besides I didn't take pictures at the time. Anyone with a mauler knows what i am talking about. The threaded plug that the check valve screws into shattered loding shrapnel and check valve in back of valve.

[sgort87]

You know, I do repair these valves for free. Just mail it back and I'll put it back together how it came, minus the flaw.

This problem had come up before and I fixed the design to not break this way anymore. I pay extreme detail to the check valve housing. There have been a couple glitches that came up in the earlier models, but I have updated it since then.

I suggest you do use the check valve in it. It has been proven that the check valve really boosts performance, especially with smaller pilots. Your pilot doesn't need it, but it would work better. The extra mass in the piston doesn't decrease performance as much as it increases it since there is no backflow of air from the chamber to the pilot.