[Paintball Alien]

Howdy,

With the Etha being Spool-ish (not going to get into that discussion), does it suffer from first shot drop off? I have had lots of FSDO experience with my Shocker and want to get a Etha, but do not want the FSDO.

Thanks

[xluben]

The Shocker is a spool valve with a balanced design. In order to fire, air is fed from the solenoid and pushes the entire bolt forward. This causes FSDO if there is too much friction for the air pressure to overcome, and the bolt will stick in place.

The Etha acts in a somewhat opposite manner. Instead of the solenoid feeding air in to push the entire bolt forward, it feeds air in and has to push a small stalk backwards. This stalk easily moves backwards, and allows the air from the dump chamber to push the bolt forward. This provides plenty of force to overcome the initial friction.

All in all, I have not had any FSDO with the Etha, and I wouldn't expect to with the design that it has. I'm sure it's not impossible, but it certainly isn't as likely as a balanced spool valve like the Shocker.

[Paintball Alien]

Thanks for the information. I am planning on getting either an Etha or an eTek3 AM.

[Uziel Gal]

It is possible to get the Etha bolt to stick if grease gets on to the bumper or bolt guide. Had that happen myself. If you follow the maintenance instructions to the letter, and keep the bolt and bolt guide clean, FSDO just doesn't seem to be an issue.