Issues with new Phantom

[nnolt89]

Hey all,

I bought a new phantom from phantom online.
i shot about 25 balls in backyard and it ran great, except for the AR grip became loose (no problem, I tightened it up).
then I played with I’m the phantom yesterday, renegade game 4 v 4.

phantom shot 2 balls ok, then the pressure dropped significantly, I shot a few more balls, less than 15 shots and they barely rolled out of the barrel. I’m using 12 grams. I even changed 12 grams and same thing.

then the 10 round feed tube fell off the marker.

basically I have a new phantom that is not firing well, and pieces are falling off.

I had a phantom 5-10 years ago and never had any issues at all.

are the new phantoms not as good?

should I send this one back? (It’s a new marker)


thanks

[flyweightnate]

I've heard customer service at EV is still excellent. If you're concerned, I'd bet they'll give it a second look for you.

A dab of blue Loctite (I like 243 best) on your screws will help it all stick together, but yeah, that's annoying.

For the velocity thing, that's bizarre. Check that the nut on your valve body is tight, and has a good o-ring. Also make sure your power tube is screwed in tight to your cup seal.

No excuse for getting a gun that's not assembled well, but it's also a Phantom - super simple to fix.

[Grendel]

Also check the cup seal, sometimes new cup seals will tear due to being on the seating surface without oil for an extended period of time. If it was working then started leaking, especially down the barrel I would suspect the cup seal.

[SignOfZeta]

Are you experienced with 12gs? Shooting 15 shots in a row very quickly will get you balls barely rolling down the gun. That’s normal. Shooting only two, not normal. 12s won’t get you more than 30 shots in a normal game.

The Phantom is a super simple gun. Whatever is wrong you should be able to diagnose. Those guys who apparently ship stuff without checking it can only help you so much over the phone with something not even in their hands anymore.

Since Phantoms use a profoundly rinkydink mounting system for stock class tubes it’s extremely important that they be secured correctly. That one screw has to be tight and never come loose, otherwise it might strip out the hole when it falls apart. Use some blue loctite and tighten the screw well, just below “too tight” and it should stay. The screw alone isn’t what holds it though, the contour of the feed and the body have to jive with no obstructions, then the single screw will be enough.

Make sure everything is tight, the barrel for example. I don’t know what an AR grip is but I assume you mean the rubber wraparound.

Leak check all the external lines, the 12 changer, with soapy water. I assume this is a VSC.

[shooter311]

I am not sure how long ago you bought it, but I know Jesse who seems to run things was away for a while. I e-mailed him directly for some parts and it took him like a month to get back to me. Usually it is same day, but he said he was away. Maybe the stand in person was worried about damaging things by over tightening?

Even if you fix all the issues yourself, call or e-mail Phantom-Online (Extreme Velocity). Their customer service is awesome, and the person I always deal with there (Jesse) really cares. That way they can correct any issues for future buyers. The last thing us pump players need is one of the best known pump markers to get a bad rap.

[Drcemento]

was it a particularly hot day?
I've shot a phantom for 20 some odd years now with never an issue. this last weekend at Bacci mountain I experienced the same issue your having. thankfully there was collectively about 400 years of paintball tech experience standing around. the bad news is there is not really a great solution.

The hot Co2's you are putting in your phantom are over-pressuring it - instead of shooting hot your velocity drops. if you have a pressure gauge on the back you can see when it will happen. I'd put a fresh Co2 in and it would shoot fine walking on the field and peak out at about 1,000 PSI on the gauge. Then there would be a lag before the game started - often with me wrapping my hand around the 12 gram changer. the game would start and blam - first shots barely came out of the barrel. had to change Co2, and if I looked at the gauge the pressure had shot up to about 1200+psi.

I was able to get through the day fine by paying attention to it and dumping my Co2's into my iced down cooler and swapping them out on my harness between games.

talking with some other guys about it one option would be to swap valve springs for something harder, but the trade off could be shooting really hot the first few shots
another option would be a reg.

funny thing was there were other phantoms in play not having the issue - I have a feeling its a very fine line with the valve springs

hope that helps! theres nothing wrong with your gun - screws are always an issue with any of the nelsons, and a little going over the gun and some loctite in key places will insure it all stays put.
(don't even ask about how much work with screws i had to deal with on my carter to get it all tight - pretty ridiculous considering the reputation and price)

[nnolt89]

Thanks everyone, I’ll look into these suggestions/ ideas. I am experienced with phantoms (typically never had any issues at all) and I am experienced with 12g. Maybe they just didn’t tighten it all.

[Shaftski]

a few people have gotten bad valve assemblies recently on new builds from EV. behaves like you describe, 1 or 2 shots then barely anything if anything.

contact EV and they'll send you a new valve

[nnolt89]

Talked with phantom online they said they tried a new kind of cup seal which has caused problems. They are sending the old version of a cup seal.
thanks everyone