Vortek for the B26-2 Small Chamber?

[DMikeM]

Since rebuilding my .22 cal B26-2 it does not seem to have the power it used to have using either spring Mike M sent me (New seals installed too). I used to be able to punch holes in beer bottle caps at 8 yards easily now I have to hit them dead center to punch through my .177 will punch through even if I hit the edges of the caps. I don't have a chrony but will try to borrow one again soon to compare against before my spring broke.

Does anyone know if Vortek has completed the build on the kit for the smaller compression chambered B26 yet?

[Bogey]

Mike, can't help you with the question regarding the vortek.     But I would like to know about the springs that you used.   How do the replacement spring(s) compare in length, number of coils  and wire thickness compared against the spring that came installed in the B-26.  Just so I may use your information on my B-26 in the future.

Thanks,   Bogey

[DMikeM]

I got both springs from Mike Melick. He informed me one was same as original and the other was a shorter from the "RWS 320, slightly shorter but is German made". I did not compare them to the original as it was broken in several places. Comparing the strength needed to cock the gun in relation to my B26 .177 it is much harder to cock the .22 with the new spring.
 I am pretty sure I have run more than enough pellets through this tune to have it settled in, and the shot cycle is very smooth with either spring but was really pleasant with the shorter spring and more accurate too. But I don't just punch paper with my guns, I have pests and like to go to the desert and hunt for rodents of varied sizes.

[Walt]

I had a e-mail from Vortek 3/27 and they told me that a few beta field test kits were out on loan right now so I am thinking the production kits can't be too far behind. I have two on order and I am looking forward to trying them out myself.
W

[DMikeM]

That's good news Walt
Thanks..

[shady816]

ya i also would like to inquire soom info of the old spring that broke for comparisons with my own and also looking for replacement stronger spring than original. mine came out the box slow/weak but very smooth and semi accurate , i just recently vanquished a nutter with a 8.4 grain to the noggin and it did not even penetrate though it did the trick i think it needs some more go go for tree rats around here.

[DMikeM]

I will see if I still have the broken spring and try to count the coils and let you guys know, I will also count out the German spring as it is in a baggie right now. I have the "factory" spring in the gun right now. I also contacted my bud that has the chrony and he will be loaning it to me shortly.
My .177 B26 eliminated a nutter at 30+ yards yesterday off the ground, head shot through and through using the Beeman 7.2 gr Coated HP pellets you can get from wally world. The shot was so clean it was like a rod was pushed right through his head just above and behind the eyes. A couple of days ago I took a shot at what I think was the same nutter with the .22 cal using an RWS Super Dome, same distance only treed, it knocked the rat right out of the tree but he got up and ran off. Looked like I hit just behind the front leg, also the sound was like shooting at a phone book at 15 yards when it hit the rat. The expired one from yesterday had no other signs if injury.

[shady816]

thanks the spring count would be cool and the od and id if you have the tools handy that would be a big help.i hate the nutters it's war here.

[Bentong]

ST has crosman spring and seal used on his B-26-2 and claimed it up his fps to about 70fps and still shoot smooth.

[speedturtle]

Not 70 but 20FPS. That is using RWS superdomes 8.3 grains pellets.

Here are some data that might be of use to you:

Stock B26 Piston Spring:

Uncompressed length: 11.5"
Wire Thickness: 0.118"
Spring O.D.:   0.73"
Spring I.D.:   0.481"
Number of Coils: 40

------

B26 Replacement Piston Spring (From MM):

Uncompressed length: 11"
Wire Thickness: 0.118"
Spring O.D.:   0.728"
Spring I.D.:   0.467"
Number of Coils: 37

-------

Crosman Quest Piston Spring:

Uncompressed length: 10.25"
Wire Thickness: 0.123"
Spring O.D.:   0.731"
Spring I.D.:   0.484"
Number of Coils: 36

Hope this helps. The B26/Crosman Spring combo shoots hard as in hard but not twangy. I said hard because you can feel the recoil considerably but not detrimental to its innate accuracy. Just a straight thud on your shoulder but without the tendency to twist on your open palm. I put a custom delrin top hat to it courtesy of a very generous airgunner friend. You can try it if you want. The Crosman spring is cheaper and I have a spare that is why I decided to play around with it when the stock B26 spring gave up on me. If you want a more solid rear spring guide you can actually use the Crosman Quest rear spring guide on the B26 but you have to leave out the heavy additional preload metal part and you have to file away some parts on the rear of the guide until it is about 3/16" thick.

This is my chrony data for the B26/Crosman piston spring setup:

Lo - 892.5 FPS
Hi - 909.8 FPS
Ave - 900.1 FPS
ES - 17.37
Sd - 7.00

10 shot strings

10 - 892.7
9   - 909.8
8   - 892.5
7   - 896.5
6   - 909.3
5   - 894.1
4   - 903.0
3   - 895.8
2   - 908.1
1   - 899.5

[shady816]

thanks speedturtle all this helps i have a couple springs laying around is why i ask and i have a machine shop in the garage waiting for me to get up and do it ,actually waiting on the delrin rods for lath so i can remanufacture the parts custom.i went with the apex seal on it's way same with crony and i will post before and after stats.

[speedturtle]

Awesome! Good luck on your tuning and hope that you will post a comprehensive report here so others can learn from your experiment. having your own machine shop is really a big plus if you're an airgun tweaker. LOL!

[DMikeM]

shady816 - 4/3/2010  8:46 AM

thanks the spring count would be cool and the od and id if you have the tools handy that would be a big help.i hate the nutters it's war here.

I chucked mine in the trash but it looks like Speedturtle has us covered.

[DMikeM]

Great information, thanks. Where do you get the springs and where might one get some of these delrin guides and top hats?

speedturtle - 4/3/2010  5:24 PM

Not 70 but 20FPS. That is using RWS superdomes 8.3 grains pellets.

Here are some data that might be of use to you:

Stock B26 Piston Spring:

Uncompressed length: 11.5"
Wire Thickness: 0.118"
Spring O.D.:   0.73"
Spring I.D.:   0.481"
Number of Coils: 40

------

B26 Replacement Piston Spring (From MM):

Uncompressed length: 11"
Wire Thickness: 0.118"
Spring O.D.:   0.728"
Spring I.D.:   0.467"
Number of Coils: 37

-------

Crosman Quest Piston Spring:

Uncompressed length: 10.25"
Wire Thickness: 0.123"
Spring O.D.:   0.731"
Spring I.D.:   0.484"
Number of Coils: 36

Hope this helps. The B26/Crosman Spring combo shoots hard as in hard but not twangy. I said hard because you can feel the recoil considerably but not detrimental to its innate accuracy. Just a straight thud on your shoulder but without the tendency to twist on your open palm. I put a custom delrin top hat to it courtesy of a very generous airgunner friend. You can try it if you want. The Crosman spring is cheaper and I have a spare that is why I decided to play around with it when the stock B26 spring gave up on me. If you want a more solid rear spring guide you can actually use the Crosman Quest rear spring guide on the B26 but you have to leave out the heavy additional preload metal part and you have to file away some parts on the rear of the guide until it is about 3/16" thick.

This is my chrony data for the B26/Crosman piston spring setup:

Lo - 892.5 FPS
Hi - 909.8 FPS
Ave - 900.1 FPS
ES - 17.37
Sd - 7.00

10 shot strings

10 - 892.7
9   - 909.8
8   - 892.5
7   - 896.5
6   - 909.3
5   - 894.1
4   - 903.0
3   - 895.8
2   - 908.1
1   - 899.5

[turbonoma]

Great info guys! As a newbie to airgunning,if and when possible please include pics with any of these mods. I recently bought a MM tuned B26-2 and would like to be able to perform some mods on my own minus the mistakes that novices make. Next mod will be a full shroud LDC.