TargetTalk

Gwhite wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:33 pm Very hard to say. Getting another importer set up and supplied with parts may take a while. There was a guy worked worked at Larry's for a while who probably has the know-how. His estate may try to sell the entire business with parts, and that could include the import licenses. It could take a year or two to settle the estate.

I've done a few repairs on Kites, but mostly trigger related issues. If it's the high pressure system like the regulator, I'm not familiar with problems in that department. I've got one with a leak that I may have to dig into at some point. I'm assuming it's just an O-ring that let go,

What is the problem?

B Lafferty wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:04 am Likely an o ring with the regulator. At 200 it hisses and leaks air from the interior of the pistol where the regulator is. This occurs regardless of which air cylinder I use. Once the pressure drops down to about 160ish it's ok. I'm still using it for net competitor events, but I suspect that it will need service sooner rather than later. I've heard a rumor that some Kites are self-repairing. No?

My brother has a Benelli semi-auto shotgun. Completely different import and distribution system in the US.

Gwhite wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:32 am

B Lafferty wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:04 am Likely an o ring with the regulator. At 200 it hisses and leaks air from the interior of the pistol where the regulator is. This occurs regardless of which air cylinder I use. Once the pressure drops down to about 160ish it's ok. I'm still using it for net competitor events, but I suspect that it will need service sooner rather than later. I've heard a rumor that some Kites are self-repairing. No?

My brother has a Benelli semi-auto shotgun. Completely different import and distribution system in the US.

I've wondered if the shotgun side might take on the pistol stuff as well. Time will tell.

The problem you have sounds like a less severe version of the leak we've got. There is a hiss and even a slight breeze coming from the back of the regulator, blowing into the trigger area. The team I help coach has 16 Kites, and I may try to tackle it myself at some point. We also have a bunch of old Hammerlis (480K's converted to use AP40 cylinders), and Larry used to do the repairs on those as well. We've actually got several that exhibit the same sort of leak, in the same general location as the Kite.

I know that we had 4(?) very early kites that all died. From Larry's description, the regulators had crud in them, but some of the seals had disintegrated. Larry blamed it on bad air, but I think it was more likely that the seals had died of old age.

I looked at the exploded diagram:

Benelli Kite Regulator Exploded Diagram.pdf

The regulator assembly looks mechanically straightforward, but you probably need a special spanner to turn the regulator adjustment nut (#369Z), and possibly a thin wall socket wrench for the front nut (#357Z). There is a snap ring buried inside (#365Z) that would have to come out, and removing that without scratching things up could also be a bit tricky. In our case, I'm guessing that the regulator piston seal (#366Z) has sprung a leak. Other than trying to screw the adjustment nut back in exactly the same amount, I also don't know how you would re-set the 2nd stage pressure accurately other than with a chronograph. I suspect you could leave the nut in place, and pull it all out the front. You just have to be super careful to keep the Belleville springs (#368Z) in EXACTLY the same order & orientation.

I also checked the parts list. Unlike some vendors, Benelli doesn't give any specs on the O-rings, so you'd have to take it apart to find out what size you need (and hope it's a standard one).

Gwhite wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:08 pm It's probably more likely the cylinder change that did it. If my theory is correct, the O-ring seal on the regulator piston is leaking, possibly from some dirt. Under normal firing, the piston moves back & forth very little, but when you change cylinders, it will move much further. That may have pushed the offending bit of dirt out of the way a bit.

O-rings are odd in that if they leak at low pressure, they tend never to seal. One they seat, the higher the pressure, the better then tend to seal. It only takes a small speck of dirt in the wrong place to cause a low pressure leak.

When we had a couple older Kites repaired, Larry said there was a lot of crud in the regulator, which he blamed on bad air. I suspect the Belleville springs may be mild steel and not stainless, and moisture could have caused some rust to form and flake off into the piston area..