Technical Service Bulletin
It has been brought to our attention that there have been a small number of problems with some early deliveries of Ego7s.
Through extensive investigation and close cooperation with our suppliers and customers it has become clear that these issues are due to a potential fault in a small number of the new custom-built solenoid valve assembly used in the Ego7.
Solenoid valves that have the potential to exhibit these issues can only be found in guns with BODY numbers (Note: The Body number can be found at the back of the body just below the rammer cap) between:
20002 and 20587
*Please note the BODY number is not the same as the Serial number printed on the outside of the packaging.*
These issues will exhibit themselves in one of two ways on the gun:
1) A leak from the solenoid valve. This is the most obvious and identifiable problem.
2) Low or inconsistent velocity. This is a less obvious symptom of the solenoid valve issue as it can easily be falsely attributed to other potential problems such as regulators, rammer, exhaust valve etc
On a very small number of guns these issues have arisen after a few hundred shots. On the majority of other guns we have not seen any issues develop even after several tens-of-thousands of cycles.
EGO7’s with serial number 20588 and higher DO NOT have this potential fault and we are confident that there is no further chance of this fault occurring again.
The fault in the solenoid valve has arisen due to the failure of the solenoid valve manufacturers to securely Loctite one of the internal components in place. That means that in use one of the internal components may be allowed to move and cause the solenoid valve to malfunction in one of the ways described above.
The Solenoid Valve manufacturers have accepted full responsibility for the problem, sighting miscommunication between the Product Development Department and the Production Department, but they assure us that there will be no future issues with these particular components or solenoid valves.
They have agreed to replace all solenoid valves currently in circulation under a warranty replacement scheme. We are in the process of having new solenoid valves delivered to all our key Eclipse Service Centres and we will be directing customers with the above numbered Ego7s to their nearest centre to have the solenoids replaced. We aim to commence shipping new solenoid valves to centres and customers on Friday 22nd Dec.
At this stage we will offer customers with Ego7s in this body-number group several options in order to best service their needs:
1) You may continue using your Ego7. There is a possibility that one of the above issues may arise at some point, but until that time the gun should function perfectly. At a time that is convenient to your playing schedule, remove and return the solenoid to be replaced with a new valve. See On-Line for Info on how to do this.
2) If your Ego7 displays either fault now, you can remove your solenoid valve from the manifold of your Ego7 (this can be done without disconnecting any hosing and requires only the frame to be removed and the use of a small cross-head screw driver), return it by mail to either an Eclipse Certified Service Centre (see
www.planeteclipse.com or the back of your Ego7 manual for listings) or direct to Planet Eclipse in either Manchester, UK or Rhode Island, US (please use common sense and send it to your nearest centre).
We obviously urge you to contact either your nearest Eclipse Service Centre or Planet Eclipse directly regarding supply and availability of replacement components. Ensure you have your body serial number to hand.
If you choose to replace your own valve we will be supplying the solenoid valve together with 2 x Mounting Screw and 3 x Manifold O-Ring in a package.
We apologise for any inconvenience that this situation may have caused you, and of course Planet Eclipse will do anything we can to assist you in reaching a speedy solution to this problem.
Planet Eclipse is a company that prides itself on being as straight forward and direct with our customers, dealers and service centres as possible, and in doing everything in our power to ensure that our customers are totally satisfied in our products and customer service.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at any time. But please note that both the UK and US offices will be closing at 4:00pm (local time) on Friday 22nd December and re-opening at 9:30am (local time) on Tuesday 2nd January.
Thank you all for your understanding, and again I can only apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
Regards
Jack Wood
Head of Product Development
Planet Eclipse Ltd.
