Pro Lite...

[DavidBoren]

I accidentally won an auction on Goodwill... Tippmann Pro Lite, $20/shipped.

I hope I didn't overpay.

Do these things take normal Tippmann crap like valves and strikers and whatnot?

I like the gas-thru grip/trigger guard thingy it has going on.

Anyways, I have never owned a Pro Lite or a Pro Carbine, but I have messed with many a 98. And I am familiar with the A5. I can't really just look this up now that our archives are inaccessible.

What's compatible with the other Tippmann markers?

What is there to look out for?

[Carp]

It's got an A5/98 detent and A5 barrel threading for starters. Oh and $20 shipped is a good price, even if just for parts.

[snaparen]

The detent and barrel threading are the only things they share with the A5. But they are great little markers. There is a chance that all you need to do is put some oil in the asa before you air it up and it functions fine.

[DavidBoren]

Well, if there's still one of those brass PPS A5 barrels for sale on the Ebays come payday, I will have to pick it up.

Do the same old "low pressure" tricks work on the Pro Lite valve as they did on the 98c? Things like widening the air channels and putting in a lighter valve spring? Not looking for a low pressure setup, necessarily, but I would like to run it off a Tippmann 13ci HPA tank without issue.

[Chappy]

No. The valve is completely different. They are pretty small. Some prolite s work great on hpa, mine is a champ. Some just don’t make FPS. I think it’s more to do with the springs.

[Axel]

Keep in mind that while the threads are the same as an A-5, the barrel's OD has to fit inside the shroud. I've also had issues with a newer barrel functioning properly; I -think- I was getting enough bolt stick from a smaller diameter bore to prevent recocking (technically that was a Carbine, but same principal)

Really, the stock barrels are fine. Tippmann's orange detents work extremely well.

$20 is an awesome price. The whole family of Pro and Carbine series guns were classic Tippmann at it's finest IMHO. Not the finest or most elegant guns, but well-built inexpensive workhorses that take a beating and keep shooting

[DavidBoren]

Bacci has a stock barrel listed with a 0.686" bore... if the barrel that comes in mine is that small, I won't replace it.

Meanwhile, the Brass PPS barrel I am looking at on Ebay doesn't have the bore listed, and could very well be larger. But it's brass, you see? Lol.

Bolt stick... something to look out for. Thank you. I know of a few ways to mitigate this, and will make sure to fit the bolt to whatever barrel it ends up using.

[Axel]

I say I think that's what it was. I (or maybe it was Chappy) got it to work by loosening the clamp and unscrewing the barrel a bit, so I'm pretty sure that's what was happening.

[Hellion360]

Great deal even if it needs a little TLC.
Once you get it running they will run for years and shoot straight. More reliable and better quality than a 98.

[lew]

Pro Lites are great guns. It's the first I ever used, and l've always kept one around both as an ultra-reliable backup and for nostalgia. They are easy to service, and parts are pretty easily available. Mine works great on HPA.

[DavidBoren]

Do the powertubes ever wear out on these things?

There are like seven available parts for the Pro Lite, and the powertube is one of the parts that can be found new... just wondering if it's worth the $10 just to have a new part for the peace of mind. Probably not a piece that wears out often enough to warrant spending half of what I paid for the whole marker. Lol.

Do front bolts ever need replaced? I'm a sucker for aftermarket bull$#!+, and I actually like venturi bolts... so the Starfire bolt that is available kind of appeals to me. And it's blue. I like blue.

Would it be detrimental to replace the front bolt with the Starfire bolt?

What sort of 3D printed support do we have for the Pro Lite? Anyone making different shrouds or anything like that?

Can you just remove the shroud entirely? If it's not necessary to the overall function of the marker, I'm just going to take it off and forget about it.

Is the hardline gas-thru grip trigger guard thingy ever a problem/source of leaks? If so, is there a viable replacement?

[Axel]

My 68 Carbine has a Starfire bolt, and it doesn't hurt anything. It doesn't really do squat.

The shroud holds the feedneck, which you need. There are aftermarket replacements that just slip a powerfeed over the front end, but they're hard to come by.

I've seen the gasline replaced with macro.

I don't think the powertubes tend to wear on the Pro-Lite. They did on the 68 Special, what with the hammer slamming the valve into soft aluminum... I think the Pro-Lite has a hard steel bar taking the impact to solve that problem. Chappy can answer that one for surr

[snaparen]

The power tube can wear out, as the valve is double cup sealed, it hits on the bar of the power tube. But the only ones I have ever seen go bad were rentals that had hundreds of cases put through them.

[Chappy]

I’ve never seen a power I’ve wear out but I have seen worn out power tubes. As Snaparen said, generally in beat rentals.
I used to use the blue star fire bolt but eventually stopped. It worked alright but the stock bolt works fine and wears the breech less.
regarding the gasline, the nice part is the line into the valve is 1/8” npt so you can thread whatever fitting you want there as long as it clears the body.

[Danny72]

Solid deal man! The captain orings x2 kit on ebay would be a big recommend! Usually all those babies need along with some lube!!