SOLENOID & QUICK DISCONNECT HIGH FLOW HOSES
Experience showed us the solenoid hoses and barbs were areas where quick and significant improvements were possible. Solenoids failure could be eliminated and hoses and barb restricting airflow could be increased and blow offs and cuts reduced. The use of one hose instead of the three hoses usually found, plus Alien’s shorter air passages in our Independent ram already gave Alien an advantage over the competition. In 2004 Alien used the then, most popular solenoid, Humphries. Fast and reliable we used these until 2006. However with a maximum pressure of 120 there is a higher than desired failure rate because short, temporary spike can require solenoid replacement. In 2006 we changed o the ‘new’ and ‘designed for paintball’, MAC solenoid valves. While an improvement in reliability at 150 lbs., Mac’s are still too prone to failure for Alien. Both Humphries and Mac solenoids limit the airflow to the size of the air passages, just less than .070 of an inch. Further reducing the flow are barbs and ‘cocker’ hose. Standard barbs having a.050 air passage, high flow barbs at about .063.
Aliens commitment, determination and painstaking development has realized the best powering system yet in a paintball marker, and the SMC valve and Quick Release fittings fully realize the superior design of Alien’s Independent Ram platform.
In 2009 we use the SMC valve with a nearly bulletproof design and increased flow. Working with the engineers at SMC it was determined that the best flow is at 0.105 to 0.110. Alien uses a hose with a 0.109 diameter. A three times higher airflow.
To complete the improvement Alien incorporated the use of ‘Quick Release’ fittings for ease of disassembly and assembly. Quick Release fittings are fast and simple. The strain of pulling hoses off barbs and reinstalling with pliers on sharp barbs, with the potential for cuts, is eliminated. These new hose and fittings come with the added benefit that the blow off pressure of “cocker hose’ can be as low as 120 lbs and the burst is about 170 lbs, whereas the burst of our new hose is 275 and blow off is not a factor.