Tippmann Pro/Am FAQ
Tippmann Pro/Am FAQ
Version 1.52
6/24/94
Maintained By: Steve Mitchell
steve@cati.csufresno.edu
This FAQ is intended to be a collection of knowledge and wisdom of this
particular gun based on comments and experiences of those in
REC.SPORT.PAINTBALL. No guarantees come with this FAQ and the author or
contributors are not responsible for mistakes or problems incurred from
using this FAQ. All suggestions and comments are in good faith and do
not intend to create problems. Prices are what I have found through
mail order.
Note: Please send all corrections and comments to me directly by email
to the above address. All info and comments not accompanied by an email
address and first name are my own. Those that send info and comments to
me will have and email address and first name attached for reference
purposes.
This file is available via anonymous FTP at caticsuf.cati.csufresno.edu
under the name ~ftp/pub/rec.sport.paintball/FAQ/pro-am.faq
Table of Contents:
General Information
Revision History
Advantages/Pluses
Disadvantages/Minuses
* Operation
* Maintenance (cleaning)
Common Problems
Modifications/Accessories
Opinions and other Comments
* new to this version of the FAQ
General Information
Product: Pro/Am & Pro/Lite
Manufacture: Tippmann Pneumatics Inc.
3518 Adams Center Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
1-800-533-4831
1-219-749-6022
FAX: 1-219-749-6619
Action Type: Semi-Auto (Open bolt blow-back)
CO2 Capacity: 700+ shots per (standard) 12 oz.
500+ shots per (siphon) 12 oz.
Cycle Rate: 300 RPM
Standard Barrel Length: 10.5"
Sniper Barrel Length: 16"
Length - Overall: 32"
Weight: 4 lbs.
Current Average Price (NEW): $280 (Pro/Am with 12oz & case)
$245 (Pro/Lite with 12oz & Sniper Barrel)
Product Description: The Pro/Am and Pro/Lite are the descendants of the
famous Tippmann 68-Special semi auto. Like the 68-Special, the Pro/Am
is a blowback operated semi auto. It is an open bolt gun. The Pro/Am
comes with a bottom line CA adaptor at the base of the pistol grip.
The gun has external velocity adjustment, the ability to squeegee from
the breech forward (with a wire squeegee, included with the gun), open
sites, and both 3/8" and Weaver dovetail site rails. The Pro/Am is all
steel & aluminum. The Pro/Lite is all steel & aluminum with the
exception of the pistol grip and foregrip, which are both composite.
The new Pro/Am and the Pro/Lite are identical guns with the exception
of the composite grip and foregrip on the Pro/Lite. The Pro/Lite is
considerably lighter than the Pro/Am.
Both guns come with, at minimum, wire squeegee, extra mainspring,
allen wrenches for velocity adjustment and breakdown, operators
manual, lube, barrel plug, and a Tippmann patch. Many Pro/Am
packages include an excellent hard plastic carrying case that stores
all of the above nicely. Tippmann used to send out a video with
their guns, but have recently discontinued this practice.
Revision History:
"1 - 2500: serial number was engraved on the left side of the gun.
No name plate, Tippmann name directly engraved in gun. Sported an
aluminum-magnesium foregrip, and small square rear sight.
"2500 - 5500: Tippmann used a plastic foregrip, larger rear sight,
and delrin front bolt. Foregrip had a tendency to split apart at the
seams. Tippmann logo was an insert of the left side of gun, and
serial numbers were postion on the right side of gun.
"9000 - 12000: the next upgrade I'm aware of was the improved
rear valve, porting of elbow (reduce blowback), and ported barrel."
--Henry Chan <henryc@panix.com>
Advantages/Pluses:
+ Simple design
+ Midrange Price
+ Reliable
+ Beginner friendly
+ Tippmann reputation
+ Light weight
+ Good cold weather gun (readily accepts liquid)
Disadvantages/Minuses:
- Stock barrel lacks accuracy
- Gun tends to be loud
- Limited upgrade path
Operation
The internals of the Pro/Am consist of a front and rear bolt system,
a valve body, and a power tube. The valve body and power tube are
located in the center of the gun's receiver, with the power tube
being located directly in front of the valve body. The rear bolt is
located behind the valve body, the front bolt (not pictured, below)
is located in front of and around the power tube. The two bolts are
connected together via a wire rod. The two bolts are the only major
moving parts of the internals of the gun.
The gun's mainspring provides the energy required for the forward
movement of the bolt. The sear (located below the rear bolt) keeps
the bolt open until the trigger is pulled.
The valve body and power tube do not move inside the gun. The power
tube is held in place by a lip inside of the receiver at the power
tube's front, by the valve body at the rear, and by the velocity
adjustment screw. The valve body is held in place by the power tube
in front and by a small square of metal fitting through a slot in the
bottom of the receiver and into a slot in the bottom of the valve
body.
__________ __________________________
power tube ___ / \ | |
_________/ / _| valve |_ | rear bolt | main spr.
_________ _ body _| | |\\\\\\\\\\\\
\||\ | | | _____________________ |
|| \________|_/ |_/ / \__|
vel. adj.-^ | | | / /
screw | | / /sear
\___/
| | CO2 hose to CA
| |
When the trigger is pulled the sear releases the rear bolt. The main
spring propels the bolt forward until it strikes the rear of the
valve body. The impact of the rear bolt against the valve body
causes a valve in the valve body to open. This valve causes two
bursts of CO2 to be ejected from the valve body, one out the front
of the valve body, one out the rear.
The CO2 burst ejected from the front of the valve body travels
through the power tube, past the velocity adjustment screw, out the
front of the power tube, through the front bolt (not pictured above),
then against the paintball in the barrel--propelling the ball out of
the gun. The CO2 burst ejected from the rear of the valve body
causes the rear bolt to recoil, compress the main spring, then catch
itself on the sear--effectively recocking the gun.
The front bolt (pictured below) is connected to the rear bolt via a
rod that passes over the top of the valve body and power tube. The
front bolt is essentially a short, hollow tube that surrounds the
front part of the power tube. The front bolt only serves to push a
ball into the barrel, then to guide the CO2 burst from the power tube
through to the ball.
________________________ <-connecting rod
/ \
/-\ -------|- /-| --------- -|------------------
| | ========= | | | | |
\-/ --------- \-| --------- --------------------
ball font bolt ^ valve body rear bolt
|
\--power tube
It is clear that there are three areas of the gun that effect
velocity:
* The gun's main spring.
* The amount of pressure in the CO2 bottle.
* The velocity adjustment screw.
The Pro/Am comes from Tippmann with two main springs. One for cold
weather and one for warm weather. The heavier of the two springs
(the "summer" spring) is roughly 3/8" shorter than the lighter
"winter" spring. Use the longer, lighter, winter spring when the
weather is cold and pressure from your power source is low.
The amount of pressure from your power source directly effects
velocity. Should pressure in your power source change (i.e., bottle
heats up or cools down), velocity of your projectile will change
also. This is why Tippmann suggests the use of a siphon bottle when
playing in cold weather, or to encourage consistent velocity--the
liquid CO2 will always be at the same pressure when it enters the
system.
The velocity adjustment screw serves to restrict or liberate the flow
of CO2 through the power tube. Screwing the screw into the power
tube restricts the flow and causes lower velocities. Backing the
screw out of the power tube increases flow and causes higher
velocities.
Maintenance (cleaning)
Well, most of the assembly/disassembly of the pro/am is pretty
straight forward. If you're unsure, you might want to call Tippmann
and ask them to send you their video.
To "field strip" the gun.
1. Take off the loader and CA bottle.
2. Lock back the bolt.
3. Remove the allen screw at the front/bottom of the receiver.
4. Unscrew the barrel.
5. Let the bolt forward, then use your allen to push the two pins
holding the lower receiver (trigger group) onto the upper
receiver (main body). Let the lower receiver hang onto the
upper receiver via the air hose. Be careful not to twist this
hose around too much.
6. Unscrew the big "plug" at the rear of the receiver. Careful
for the mainspring as it attempts to jump out of the gun.
7. Unscrew the allen holding on the rear sight on the top of the
receiver. Slide the rear sight off the sight rail.
8. Dig the connecting rod (connects the front and rear bolts) out
of the top of the gun.
9. Remove the bolt handle out of the rear bolt.
10. Slide the rear bolt out of the back of the receiver.
11. Remove the front bolt from the front of the receiver.
At this point you have field stripped your gun to the point that you
can clean it up nicely. Use a rag to get any excess paint and grime
out of all areas to which you have access. You might find an old
toothbrush useful for this. You should wipe off all the parts you
can that have paint or grime on them. You can then lightly coat
these parts with oil by putting liberal amounts of oil on your rag,
then wiping the parts with the oily rag.
Reassembly isn't too tricky:
1. Slide the rear bolt into the back of the receiver. The part of
the bolt with the hole in it should be towards the rear of the
gun.
2. Notice that the bolt handle has a hole in it. The gun's
mainspring goes through this hole. Put the bolt handle in the
bolt, roughly aligning the bolt handle hole with the horizontal
axis of the gun.
3. Slide the mainspring over the mainspring rod and insert the
mainspring into the rear bolt. You will need to fiddle with
the bolt handle in order to get the mainspring to go through
the hole. The rod should be in the rear of the spring.
4. Screw the large plug on the rear of the receiver. This will
involve compressing the mainspring while guiding the spring and
rod into the rear of the bolt. I find the be best way to do
this is:
a. Hold the receiver in your left hand, with your index finger
and thumb on the bolt handle. You will need to fiddle with
the bolt handle while compressing the spring so that you're
sure it's aligned correctly, and you're not binding the
spring inside the bolt.
b. Take the receiver "plug" in the palm of your right hand,
holding the mainspring and mainspring rod in the small
indentation on the plug with your fingers.
c. Guide the spring and rod into the rear bolt. This is the
only tricky part as it involves some dexterity. :) Screw
the plug into the rear of the receiver.
5. Put the lower receiver (trigger group) back onto the upper
receiver (main body). You should be able to push the pins back
into place with your thumb. I don't think it matters which
side of the gun they go in from.
6. Put the front bolt back into the front of the receiver. Be
careful for the rubber ball detent in the bottom of the
chamber. You might need to use your allen to push the detent
down as you slide the front bolt back into the receiver. Try
to align the small hole in the top of the bolt with the top of
the gun. The bolt connecting rod is going to go into this
hole.
7. With the rear bolt forward, drop the connecting rod into the
top of the gun. The rod should connect the front and rear bolt
via the holes in the top of each.
8. Slide the rear sight onto the sight rail and screw it down with
the allen. Be sure the sight is in the right place on the
rail, that being over the circular indentation under the
allen. The sight holds the bolt connecting rod in place. If
it is not in the correct place on the rail, the rod can pop up
out of the front or rear bolt. Also, be sure to secure this
sight well. If the allen backs off during a game your gun can
malfunction and you can even loose your connecting rod.
9. Lock back the bolt.
10. Screw the barrel back into the gun, but do not tighten it yet.
11. Replace the allen at the bottom/front of the receiver.
Tighten it snug to medium tight, but not too tight.
12. Screw in the barrel as tight as you can.
13. Tighten down the allen.
14. Make sure your foregrip will still latch onto the receiver.
If not, loosen the allen slightly. [Tippmann design flaw #2]
If you want to go farther in the breakdown of your pro/am you'll need
a wrench or socket to remove the air hose from the main body. This
is kind of tricky and shouldn't be done too often as you could cause
damage to the valve body or fittings. You'll probably have to do it
some time during the life of your gun though.
Once you have the hose detached from the valve body fitting, use a
socket (forget the size, might need a deep socket too) to get the
brass fitting out of the valve body. I have been able to do this
with a regular open ended wrench, but I highly advise using a socket
in this situation. You'll have to push the valve body forward, by
working the socket onto the fitting, in order to get it seated
properly. The valve body does move forward against the power tube,
it just takes some pressure.
Taking the valve body out of the gun's main body is something you
should certainly do every once in a while. This area around the
valve body seems to be the "dirtiest" in the gun. It collects lots
of grime and way too much aluminum filings and other junk that I
don't think you want finding its way into other parts of your gun.
I completely disassemble my pro/am after every weekend of use. But
then, I am confident I can take it down without causing damage or
wear on its parts. I also find cleaning my paintguns a labor of
love.. :) I'd recommend that normal people take the valve body out
and clean it about once every 10-20 uses.
I *do* recommend field stripping the gun after every use. Be sure to
keep that rear bolt clean and well lubed, as it will rust if it sits
too long with moisture. Use the corners of a rag to get as much
paint (if any) out of the chamber area of the gun.
Common Problems
- "I can't get the velocity on my Pro/Am below/above XXX fps, no
matter how far I adjust the velocity adjustment screw." -- The gun
comes with two main springs, one for cold weather use and one for
warm weather use. Try changing mainsprings. Also, cold weather
performance and velocity consistency can be helped through the use
of a siphon tank.
- "A very small (approx 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/8") square of metal fell out of
my Pro/Am while I was cleaning it, and I can't figure out where it
goes" -- The Valve Stop goes in a slot under the receiver, in front of
the trigger guard just behind the velocity adjustment allen screw. The
Valve Stop is usually held in place by the front pin that holds the
trigger assembly to the receiver. The Valve Stop itself prevents the
main valve body from moving back and forth in the receiver.
Modifications/Accessories
Aftermarket Barrels.
Just about any aftermarket barrel is better than the gun that comes
with the Pro/Am. The Pro/Lite is generally packaged with the new
Tippmann Sniper barrel, which is an improvement over the stock Pro/Am
barrel, but is not as good as many of the aftermarket barrels out
there.
Barrel Price Length Materials Rifling Comments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tippmann Sniper $40 16" Aluminum Some, Not as accurate as
internal other third party
barrels.
SmartParts $89 16" Stainless External Very Accurate, but not
so easy to clean. Quiet.
Armson $90 13" Aluminum Internal Very accurate, but
loud.
J&J $50+ Many Brass/ Internal/
HardChrome Smoothbore
SpeedFeed (PowerFeed)
"The SpeedFeed replaces the entire front grip of the Pro/Am and
provides a PowerFeed type (You can still slide it up to run a squeegee
through in a game) It blocks your sighting a little bit, so instead of
looking down the barrel, look at your victim and adjust on him. The
balls feed fast through the speedfeed. If your loader is feeding, your
speedfeed will be dumping them into the chamber really quickly. And
there is no blowback up into the hopper since it takes that 90 degree
turn, so a ball is always ready to feed quickly. Similar to the
automag (in idea at least) it has a little knob you can turn to stop
balls from flowing into the chamber. The knob is a little stiff but it
works.
"It's a good thing to have. I like it and I know quite a few players
that have them. Check Central Ohio Paintball supply's price on them,
they used to have them for $65, some places run to about $70 or so, I'm
not sure what the going rate is."
(Rob Schneider/schneidr@csugrad.cs.vt.edu/TIP#194)
Upgrade options from Tippmann
o Internals
If your Pro/Am has a serial number less than about 10,000, your gun
may have the "old" internals. These older internals had shorter front
and rear bolts, and a longer valve body. The new internals have longer
front and rear bolts, with a shorter valve body. Tippmann will upgrade
the internals and give you a Sniper Barrel for $80. Tippmann says the
new internals reduce "blow back" in the gun.
o Composite Foregrip and Pistol Grip
Tippmann will put the composite foregrip and pistol grip found on
the Pro/Lite onto your Pro/Am for $50.
Opinions and other Comments
"Theodore P. Woo (tpw108@psu.edu) wrote:
: Has anyone sent in their old Pro/Am (Serial <10,000) for the
: complete upgrade to the Pro-Lite? Is it worth the $80? Replacing
: the front snap ring when it pops out is becoming tiring.
yes! i just got mine back from tippmann a week ago (serial# ~3000) i
sent it in for the upgrade to the mini-lite, which cost $80. for
that i got:
- new grip body (much lighter!)
- new foregrip (same material as grip)
- the push pins in the grip body are replaced with 4 hex screws
- new trigger (shorter pull, and more positive feel!)
- 10" sniper barrel (works pretty well...needs a little polishing...)
- vertical bottle adapter (_very_ cool!)
- a new rear bolt (looks like its cut down to be lighter)
i'd say it's worth it. i played with it this past weekend, and i am
VERY happy with the results.
-ken- 89"
--coaxle@netcom.com (Ken Hung)
"Got a Pro-Am and it works real well. I know 4 people that own the gun
and no one has any major problems of any kind and several have been
through at least 30,000 balls. I've played with one and shot 2 month
old paint and not broken anything. As long as I've played with the gun
(about 5 months) I've only broken one ball (and it was RP Scherer, what
do you expect, it was a month old.) The front grip assembly is a bit
heavy but I've replaced it with the PPP Speed- Feed and that takes the
weight of considerably. I'm not that big so I use a 12oz bottle but I
have a friend who uses the 20oz Siphon and gets 800 balls out of it
without a problem. You can also run it in the cold (unlike the
VM-68)."
--Rob Schneider schneidr@csugrad.cs.vt.edu
"If and when you break a ball, you'll discover the OEM wire squeegee
does a so-so job of cleaning out the barrel during a fire-fight. Get
yourself a Straight-Shot squeegee or a power squeegee (has four or five
neoprene washers) which will remove all the paint in one pass."
--HenryC@panix.com
"Pro-Am: I shot one that a friend had just bought. I was surprised at
how well it is made. It's a very solid gun. Good points: Price. You
can get a Pro-Am package deal from I&I for about $345 and have
everything you need to go out and play. The feeder slides forward to
allow you to run a sgueegie through the gun. Great idea but I did see
one break. (I'm sure it's covered under warranty) This gun works on
liquid or gas so you probably won't have any problems in the winter.
Bad points: No versitility. The tank screws into the bottom of the
handle and that's it. (unless you go remote) The trigger gard is also
the tube for the CO2 supply into the gun. I personally don't like
open-bolt guns because they are clunky."
--m18921@mwvm.mitre.org (Martin E. Heffron)
"I personally have a Pro-Am. I have one that numbered in the 12000s
and they're producing Pro-Am's in the 15000s. They sell really good
considering I only got mine in October. All I can say is good
things. The gun is sturdy, very well balanced, accurate and as we
all know, Tippman has the best customer service in the industry. The
gun is also real simple to strip, clean and reassemble. With
practice, it can all be done within 10 minutes. I can strip, clean,
oil and reassemble the gun in probably less than 10 minutes now. This
is a real bonus on the field if something goes wrong, but it probably
won't since the Pro-Am is mechanically pretty reliable."
--hans.lo@tortwi.uucp (Hans Lo)
"...Moving on to Tippmann themselves... I don't have any experience
with other manufacturers customer service, but the experience I _DO_
have with Tippmann makes me a firm follower of their goods. They
treat you right and ask little in return. I borrowed a friends 68
Special that he was trying to sell. I inadvertently finished off the
already damaged trigger spring. I searched locally for a replacement
and came up zero. Finally, I called Tippmann and asked about it,
they shipped me a replacement free of charge and I had the
replacement in hand within 3 days of my phone call. Installation was
a little work, but not much. With my Pro/Am, I sent it back for
upgrade and minor work three times. Each time was with out problem,
and I received the piece back within a week or so of shipping you
decid e to go with the Tippmann Pro/Am or ProLite, I doubt you'll be
disappointed."
--tarl_cabot@delphi.com (David Stidham)
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