Useful A-5 Valve & Powertube Information

Some pics in this post have been seen before.  In an effort to get a lot of information together, they will be repeated here.  Hopefully this will serve as as a sticky and contain all A-5 valve information that some might find useful and some might just find it boring.

Enjoy! 

What I did was I took one of my old stock A-5 powertube and valve and had it cut open in the middle.  I basically had it cross-sectioned so that I and you could see what the insides actually look like.  I always find this kind of stuff interesting so I figured that someone else here might too.  When I started I just played with the A-5.  I wondered how it worked but was having too much fun to really look into it.  The diagram in the A-5’s manual is really nice but there is so much on there it can get confusing.  I think it helps to actually dissect the parts to have a look.

Here is what an A-5’s internals look like when they are cross-sectioned:

You can see everything, even the FVA screw.  I labeled all the parts as best I could.

How it works:
The air enters the valve thru the Tombstone and fills in area inside the valve where the spring is.  When you fire the A-5, the rear bolt hits the valve’s plunger and the air is allowed to escape out of the valve.  What you cannot see in the pic above is where it leaves the valve.  There are channels in the side of the valve that are not seen here.  Some air goes thru the small part of the powertube and is used to launch the paintball.  If you are using the FVA, the air gets restricted by the FVA screw to reduce the velocity.  In the pic above the FVA is flush with the inside of the powertube.  Air is also released thru the plunger’s hole to launch the rear bolt back to recock the A-5.  Some air also gets used to activate the cyclone feed and also, if you have it, the Response Trigger (RT).

Here is a pretty well known animation on how the air flows thru the valve into the powertube:

How do you remove the valve from the powertube anyway?
I use a pair of pliers and grab hold of the vale’s plunger (also called the pin) with the pliers while I hold the powertube by the skinny part.  I then carefully pull the valve out of the powertube.  The valve sits in there snug so it might take a little effort to get it out.

Why would you want to remove the valve from the powertube?
The only real reason to do this is so you can either replace the valve or replace the powertube.  It doesn’t hurt to remove it, just be sure to put the valve back in right with all the pieces in this order:

So where can I get a spare or replacement valve for my A-5?
The best place to get one is of course thru Tippmann at (260) 749-6022.  I think I paid $35 (shipped) for my last valve.  The first valve I had lasted about a year.

You can also go through Chase Paintball on-line and get the vale or individual vale parts.

Doro Paintball on-line also sells the entire vale for $30 plus shipping.

Please feel free to ask questions in this thread.  Also – If there is anything that needs correcting or you have any suggestions feel free to post!