Nova Balanced Autococker Valve

[jetenginekyle]

Not super impressed with the small details, as @Araphel said the transfer port looks like it was done drunkenly.

The anodizer didn't clean the sealing solution off leaving it sticky to the touch. This is easy to fix though just use a solvent such as isopropyl alcohol, I used wd40 as that's what I found first. The photos are from before I cleaned the residue off.

I found that you have to use a 1/4" drive socket as the 3/8 drive ones I have are slightly to big.

[jetenginekyle]

I'm willing to bet Nova did the ano in house and they did a good job! If I'm correct I don't fault them at all for missing the final step to remove the sealant residue as there is little information on this online and you have to go digging for it.

[superman]

pretty sure they do not have ano in house. however, i do think they have an industrial anodizer locally.

[Masonhd81]

Had the same issue, just went to Walmart to get a nut driver. Kind of a bad idea to use such a big size for a little valve

[William the Third]

So I was going to do a before and after test, but then I couldn't find my Autococker valve tool... so now that's on hold till I get another one.

Personally I wish that they would have made it out of something other than aluminum (brass or bronze (SAE660/C932 specifically) would have been my choice). It's not really a big deal, largely just personal preference.

[flyweightnate]

A hex coupling in a socket is a good substitute for a valve tool, in a pinch.

[xicer]

In regards to my email asking about shipping options internationally:



Safe to say I won't be buying anything from Nova anytime soon.

Not trying to dump on these guys, because I get it, they're a small business selling niche products to an already small market.

But come on.

More than a few things at Nova seem really comically out of touch with how the rest of the market operates...

[ChuckLove]

Has anyone installed and tested this valve yet? I'm going to install mine tonight. I'm wonder if velocity is best adjusted off the reg or IVG? I heard the guys from Nova on a podcast say they set the IVG in roughly 3 turns.

[superman]

Which podcast?

[ChuckLove]

superman I believe it's called "Nite At The Museum" by General Paintball.

https://www.facebook.com/Generalpaintballmuseum/videos/1197127194583564/?app=fbl

[superman]

Thank you.

[Masonhd81]

This was a handful. Socket size they chose was a terrible idea. But it’s in. Let’s see if it actually seals now.

[Masonhd81]

Update it seals and shoots, I can tell I’ll have to turn the ivg quite a bit to get velocity. More testing to come in the near future.

[superman]

It looks like you need to align the valve to the port.

[Masonhd81]

Yea I adjusted it later on. My socket got stuck to it for about an hour, so I gave up lol.

[tyronejk]

Does anyone have pictures of the poppet outside of the valve body? I'm curious how they made this pressure balanced.

[Masonhd81]

Looks a lot like how the Lazarus valve is. Basically looks like a backwards valve seal.

[timekeeper]

It looks like it's using the same principle as the empire balanced valve for gen2/3 intimidators, where it's not completely balanced, but pressure runs through the poppet stem and pressurizes behind the poppet o-ring in the valve body (which also requires an o-ring in the valve body around the protruding valve stem). Personally, I like the way the Lazarus valve does it better, there's 1 less possible point of failure and the valve is more balanced (forces acting both ways are closer to being the same).

[Masonhd81]

tyronejk taken from nova’s YouTube video breakdown of the valve.

[iamthelazerviking]

FYI someone made a 3d printed piece that fits a regular valve tool to work with these

[Brandon]

Thanks for the tip

I printed it last night in PLA+, had to sand it a bit to make sure it slid in and out of the lower tube freely. Saved me from going to Lowes and getting a bunch of different sockets to find the right fit.

[ChuckLove]

I messed with my sniper equipped with it last night. It has a CCM hammer. At around 220psi and with the IVG in 3 turns it was shooting in the 260's. I tried turning the IVG in more and it didn't seem to have much effect but I was running low on air. It's a very quiet shot (most likely do to pressure).

Things I'm going to try:
Install a stiffer main/hammer spring
Install a lighter hammer

More results to follow.

[Grendel]

You might need to sweet spot your regulator due to the balanced valve really changing the whole pneumatic dynamics of your setup. I've not played with any of them yet getting tempted to now.

[ChuckLove]

Grendel I'm going to try that before I change anything.

[Masonhd81]

Grendel ChuckLove I had the same issue, definitely needs sweet spotted again. Gotta wait till I get to the field and use the chrono.

[ChuckLove]

Swapping in a CCM main/hammer spring definitely did the job for me. IVG turns have little to no effect on velocity all adjustments are done with the reg. Sound signature is wild.

https://youtube.com/shorts/5xatJ4En53Q?si=ld37KSEvTmS0RFgw

[JonM]

That certainly is... different.

[OpusX]

Sounds like a potato gun. Odd

[Frmrspec]

Any chance you have a Lazarus or morph valve setup to do a side by side?

[Ssimplechoke]

Does this valve/springs soften the pump stroke?