GTA
Airguns by Make and Model => Artemis/SPA Airguns => Topic started by: DrGunner on February 07, 2020, 11:09:45 PM
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Hey y’all-I posted a week or so ago looking for a source for a stainless steel fill probe for my Artemis M11 .25. The original brass fill probe that came with my M 11 was getting dinged up pretty quick, and it did not lock in place on filling and had to be held in or it would fly out and whip around like a banshee.
After much searching, I found two candidates on eBay, one that looked close but the seller could not guarantee it would fit. I ordered it along with some extra O-rings and it arrived today, along with a freebie zipper case and tube of silicone lube. I tested it, it’s a perfect fit- And it locks in place on pressurization, so no more holding the probe in when I fill my rifle. Here’s a link to the seller on eBay and some pics below of it next to my OEM. I figured if any M10/M11 Owners wanted to snag a nice stainless steel fill probe, here’s your chance. It shipped from the UK to me in less than a week. It came out to around $35 with shipping.
It’s this one:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223869272878 (https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223869272878)
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q535/drkgavin/Artemis%20M11/496A81C0-3D22-458E-B5DA-CEE8FC733C63_zpsg0kp6etw.jpg) (http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/drkgavin/media/Artemis%20M11/496A81C0-3D22-458E-B5DA-CEE8FC733C63_zpsg0kp6etw.jpg.html)
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q535/drkgavin/Artemis%20M11/6B006EDC-7EB0-47BA-82E4-96ECA2D7FA4C_zpskgffmasm.jpg) (http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/drkgavin/media/Artemis%20M11/6B006EDC-7EB0-47BA-82E4-96ECA2D7FA4C_zpskgffmasm.jpg.html)
DrGunner
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I did notice by the pictures they showed on Ebay that one of those probes had a larger orifice between the o rings than the other, I think you ended up getting the one with the small orifice (approximately the same size as original by the photo). The one that has the larger orifice also comes with a spacer for using on the other SPA models like the M16 but it's just so easy to make your own spacer if need be. I'm tempted to buy one exclusively for my M16 so that way I wouldn't be replacing o rings so often on it. My probe still has the original o rings on it.
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I did notice by the pictures they showed on Ebay that one of those probes had a larger orifice between the o rings than the other, I think you ended up getting the one with the small orifice (approximately the same size as original by the photo). The one that has the larger orifice also comes with a spacer for using on the other SPA models like the M16 but it's just so easy to make your own spacer if need be. I'm tempted to buy one exclusively for my M16 so that way I wouldn't be replacing o rings so often on it. My probe still has the original o rings on it.
Wayne- I bought this one based on your comments. I should preface my comments by telling you that my M11 is the first PCP I’ve owned with a fill probe, my Regal has a male foster fitting. As I said before, my OEM brass probe would pop out if I didn’t hold it in by hand. At first I thought that was normal, but then saw a video where the YouTuber filled his with a probe very similar to mine & it stayed in!
I immediately checked & replaced the O-rings on mine, but it still slipped out.
The irony here is that the new SS one stays IN when I fill- in a way, I have you to thank for that. If I had not read your comments, I might never have considered a SS probe, so Thanks!
DrGunner
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Kevin you'll never need to worry about a probe with that one, I've had mine since June 2017 and it's simply been flawless. It connects to my fill station perfectly and always very easy to put on and off. On the original probe it was a fight just to take it off or put it on unless I took a file to it. Well I came to the conclusion that filing on that old probe would have gotten much worse and eventually unusable the way I looked at it. The original ones like I bought from AlchemyWerks were identical in dimensions to the original.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/4693/27190912389_a2a5a5c158_z.jpg)
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FYI, the tendency of the probe to eject from the rifle is because one O-ring is sealing better than the other. Inspect them closely with a magnifying glass or simply swap their positions.
[edit] I just re-read and see where you tried replacing the O-rings. That may indicate a slight defect in the groove nearest the end that is making it hard for the O-ring to seal when pressure hits it. Since you have a replacement that works well, I suspect this info is of no particular use to you but I wanted to comment in case someone else is having a similar issue. [/edit]
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I'm really surprised that someone here in the US hasn't started making SS Probes, especially for the guns that take over 3K to fill. The probe that I have for my Xisico Sentry is steel and you'd have to really abuse one of those to screw them up. They're the best but a person would need to watch for rust like I do and I so far haven't had any rust issues with mine.
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That is a great looking probe. Does anyone know if this also fits the PP700? I'd like to eventually get a stainless steel one for mine - the brass one is holding up OK so far, but I do see the stress marks building on it.
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FYI, the tendency of the probe to eject from the rifle is because one O-ring is sealing better than the other. Inspect them closely with a magnifying glass or simply swap their positions.
[edit] I just re-read and see where you tried replacing the O-rings. That may indicate a slight defect in the groove nearest the end that is making it hard for the O-ring to seal when pressure hits it. Since you have a replacement that works well, I suspect this info is of no particular use to you but I wanted to comment in case someone else is having a similar issue. [/edit]
Your comments are much appreciated- I had no idea how these work internally.
Mine did show more resistance to ejecting after swapping O-rings, but still popped 1/2 way out no matter how slow I pressurized it.
I’ll mic the grooves on mine when I get back home & see what I can learn.
I’m betting I could put some slightly larger gauge O-rings on it & it would work- but the SS one is soooo much better fitting that I’d be a fool to use the OEM.
I need to find a cutaway diagram of how a fill probe works & locks in a PCP.
I prefer to understand as much of the internal workings & mechanics of my toys, makes tinkering & fixing them much easier & more efficient.
DrGunner
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That is a great looking probe. Does anyone know if this also fits the PP700? I'd like to eventually get a stainless steel one for mine - the brass one is holding up OK so far, but I do see the stress marks building on it.
I don’t know this from personal experience, but from info shared in a PM- someone told me they are the same probe, but require a small delrin spacer to work on some guns
DrG
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I was looking at their options seems there is one that is threaded to connect straight to a hose, and one with a foster.
I will be ordering a foster attaching probe, sooner or later I will forget where my probe went ::)
Also in my research not all factory SPA probes fit all guns.
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That is a great looking probe. Does anyone know if this also fits the PP700? I'd like to eventually get a stainless steel one for mine - the brass one is holding up OK so far, but I do see the stress marks building on it.
When I originally bought my stainless probe the PP700SA is exactly what I bought it for !!!