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PCP Help with RTI P3 leak

Tompetersonhaircut

Tompetersonhaircut

HAM Shooter
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Hi all,

My P3 was losing air overnight with the reg and bottle equalizing and steadily dropping.

I bled the air, disassembled the reg, polished the washers, greased the o-rings, reassembled and filled it up. Shot a few mags through to settle it. Balanced reg/hs. Works awesome - 5.3 spread, 1.7 sd!

Felt pretty good, so I filled to 250bar and watched it.

In the past 12 hours it has held the reg pressure steady (great improvement, it used to creep up by 15 bar then dump air with the bottle) but the bottle pressure has dropped by about 10-15 bar.

For those who have worked on RTI’s any obvious places to look? I did notice that there is a little more noise coming from the block, could the o-ring on the screw covering the area above the transfer port?

Thanks in advance, I love the resources in this forum. Combed through a lot of posts, but forgive me if I missed one that addresses this issue.
 
Last edited:
My P2 vented the whole bottle due to a (slightly) bent valve. Mine was one from the batch of improperly heat treated valves.

Replacing the valve with a warranty unit (thank you Rok) and rebuilding the regulator fixed the problem.

Now that is not the problem that you described, it is my problem. But perhaps you have two problems like I did. Have you listened to the open breech? Is there a tiny leak? If you remove the barrel and put some soapy water in the transfer port do you see bubbles? If so, replace the valve and seal with a new one.

My opinion is that RTI guns are sensitive to moisture and air contamination. The carbon steel Belleville washers in the regulator rust and the valve is a grit seeking leak waiting to happen. Do you have a moisture trap and filter for your compressor?

For the record, I love RTI guns. They are far superior to the big brand flexible flyers that can't hold zero

Let us know what you find.

Mike
 
Thank you for the advice and information, Mike. I do have a filter/trap on my compressor. I change the filter out often. Luckily, when I had the gun apart I could not see any rust/corrosion. (Knock on wood!)

I have been watching the pressures over the last couple of days. Here’s what I have observed:

The reg has stopped “creeping” and has been holding pressure for the last 3 1/2 days.

The day I tore the reg apart and reassembled was the day I posted this. That night the reg held steady, but the bottle dropped by about 25 bar over the next 18 hours or so.

I refilled the bottle to 250b and shot another few mags through it. I refilled it to 250 and watched it over the past 36 hours. Slow, almost imperceptible drop, for about 24 hrs, but only down 15 bar and then it held steady for 12 hrs. at 230.

Refilled this evening, and over the past few hours it seems to be holding tight at 250. I am hoping that the system is settling back in and seating itself (?)

If the issue continues, I will look at the valve and transfer port.

I agree, this gun is solid and feels “real” in a way that I love. I got rid of some other brands after I got this one. The others felt like toys in comparison. Part of that “real” feel is being able to take it apart and work on it.

Thanks again and I will update the thread as I find out more.

-D
 
Ok, is there a leak where the bottle threads onto the regulator assembly or where the regulator threads to the front block? Soapy water tells all.

Mike
 
Conecrusher said:
Ok, is there a leak where the bottle threads onto the regulator assembly or where the regulator threads to the front block? Soapy water tells all.

Mike
Click to expand...
I have been checking on the pressure every few hours and the bottle pressure has dropped maybe 3-5 bar in the past 24 hours.

I am beginning to suspect that the rings are getting fully seated after the regulator rebuild.

If the pressure is still slowly falling after the next round of shooting and refilling, I will inspect the attachment points you mentioned. I am also slightly suspicious of the o-rings behind the pressure gauges.

Again, thank you for the suggestion and interest. I will update this thread until it’s fully resolved.
 
Update - not too exciting:

I have been in contact with Rok - great customer service from RTI! because I noticed while rebuilding the regulator that one of the washers that "sandwich" the bearing was missing - they are sending regulator parts.

My re-built reg is holding steady at its set point for the past four days. It did drop by about 10-15 bar when I shot it down last week, but it did recover quickly.

There is still a slow leak (35 bar over the past 4 days). I tested the connection points and gauges near the bottle and reg, no sig of a leak - so I will need to inspect the rest of the gun.

I have been reluctant to tear it down again, because it's shooting better than it ever has before. But, I do think getting inside and cleaning/inspecting/greasing everything up will allow me to understand the gun better and resolve this leak.

Busy non-shooting weekend ahead, but more as this develops. Big thanks again to conecrusher for the input!
 
Conecrusher said:
😇 not always right, but never in doubt.
Click to expand...
Well, after a busy fall (even got some hunting in) and holiday season (with a new-to-me Evol 15!) the rain and snow starts.

No problem it’s an opportunity to get down to business with the P-3 leak. Conecrusher- you were correct, leaky seal, not regulator related. I have been topping off to deal with it wheel hunting, but the winter brings an o-ring kit and closure to this thread. Thanks again!
 
Hi! I'm new to the forum, I was directed here by ChatGPT which was helping me diagnose a very similar and painfully annoying problem which started as a leak from the regulator. It was/is brand new - I'd shot maybe 150-200 slugs through it, and in tuning the reg/hammer, I was up to 920fps with 48gr slugs...I was ecstatic! However, right about that point I had the reg I think set...170ish bar? I can't 100% remember. 170-180 maybe. Anyhow, A leak sprung all through the barrel- both ends. Close the bolt, comes out the muzzle. Open the bolt, comes out the breach.

Tony with Talon initially suggested a poppet valve problem which I wasn't totally in agreement with, but being a new gun with plenum in the rear, I figured I didn't know all of how it worked so I gave it a try. Swapped it out, including a major annoyance getting the rods threaded exactly the right length again so the cocking lever would fully engage...But alas, still a full-on leak. It would degas in a matter of a minute. I was thinking regulator, especially since that's what I was adjusting when it started, so I took that apart and long story short....

Piddling with the brass plug is what fixed the leak. I've tried further out, and further in, I can't recall where it's at now - longer or shorter - but it does hold air (occasional very minor hissing, off & on) but things are in the right direction. At tank 300 bar, I adjusted the reg to about 150. Upon pulling the trigger, all I got was a "click". I've taken it apart 4-5 times now, ensuring the poppet is seated in the port, the spring is springing with its partner part (hammer?) and all seems normal, but I'm not an air smith and could be something I'm not seeing.

Chat suggested that the regulator may not be transferring air to the plenum...Which would actually make perfect sense. I just don't know enough about regulators to determine that. Or if it is & the plenum(s?) are obstructed somehow...I've cleaned and siliconed & all. One thing is, the hammer(?) that connects by spring to the poppet has two notches on either side, but I see nothing in the port that suggests they should be positioned in any orientation...Would someone maybe know the answer to that? I'm going back down to keep trying...I could send it to Talon, but lord, the shipping fees are nuts so hoping I'm going to get some thoughts on it via more experienced airgunners.

I'm very sorry for the length of the post, it's just with these things it seems any detail left out could be the issue. If anyone reads, thank you for going the distance with the post LOL.
 
mattboyer30 said:
Hi! I'm new to the forum, I was directed here by ChatGPT which was helping me diagnose a very similar and painfully annoying problem which started as a leak from the regulator. It was/is brand new - I'd shot maybe 150-200 slugs through it, and in tuning the reg/hammer, I was up to 920fps with 48gr slugs...I was ecstatic! However, right about that point I had the reg I think set...170ish bar? I can't 100% remember. 170-180 maybe. Anyhow, A leak sprung all through the barrel- both ends. Close the bolt, comes out the muzzle. Open the bolt, comes out the breach.

Tony with Talon initially suggested a poppet valve problem which I wasn't totally in agreement with, but being a new gun with plenum in the rear, I figured I didn't know all of how it worked so I gave it a try. Swapped it out, including a major annoyance getting the rods threaded exactly the right length again so the cocking lever would fully engage...But alas, still a full-on leak. It would degas in a matter of a minute. I was thinking regulator, especially since that's what I was adjusting when it started, so I took that apart and long story short....

Piddling with the brass plug is what fixed the leak. I've tried further out, and further in, I can't recall where it's at now - longer or shorter - but it does hold air (occasional very minor hissing, off & on) but things are in the right direction. At tank 300 bar, I adjusted the reg to about 150. Upon pulling the trigger, all I got was a "click". I've taken it apart 4-5 times now, ensuring the poppet is seated in the port, the spring is springing with its partner part (hammer?) and all seems normal, but I'm not an air smith and could be something I'm not seeing.

Chat suggested that the regulator may not be transferring air to the plenum...Which would actually make perfect sense. I just don't know enough about regulators to determine that. Or if it is & the plenum(s?) are obstructed somehow...I've cleaned and siliconed & all. One thing is, the hammer(?) that connects by spring to the poppet has two notches on either side, but I see nothing in the port that suggests they should be positioned in any orientation...Would someone maybe know the answer to that? I'm going back down to keep trying...I could send it to Talon, but lord, the shipping fees are nuts so hoping I'm going to get some thoughts on it via more experienced airgunners.

I'm very sorry for the length of the post, it's just with these things it seems any detail left out could be the issue. If anyone reads, thank you for going the distance with the post LOL.
Click to expand...
I have found these videos to be very helpful.

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Hopefully you can get some answers here. Good luck!
 
Tompetersonhaircut said:
I have found these videos to be very helpful.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Hopefully you can get some answers here. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you VERY much - I will give these a look and see what I can get figured out!
 

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