ANS Gen X2 Regulator Piston Overpressure Seal

This listing is for one piston overpressure seal. Other parts shown are for display purposes only.

Back in the days of CO₂, paintball markers would occasionally get quite cold under rapid fire. This allowed the liquid-phase CO₂ to accumulate in the marker, sometimes even beyond the high pressure regulator. Then, as the marker sat in the sun while a player reloaded pods, ate beef jerky, and drank a can of Surge, it would get warm again. This increase in temperature caused a phase change of the CO₂ from liquid to gas. As the gas expanded with rising temperature, it increased pressure in the marker. At some point, this pressure got quite high, which was not only dangerous for the marker, but dangerous for people nearby.

Many manufacturers devised a very clever and effective method of venting this excess pressure - putting a regulator in a regulator. Inside the piston of the ANS regulator lies a screw, spring, pressure plate, and overpressure seal. If the pressure on the marker side of the HPR got too high, it simply vented out through the piston. Genius. I don't know who implemented it first, but similar systems can be found in the legendary regulators of several manufacturers - Palmer's Pursuit Shop and Air America to name two.

The sad reality is, however, that all rubber eventually succumbs to the oxidizing atmosphere in which we live. So these are usually either crumby or gooey; neither of which is going to provide a good seal, resulting in your classic ANS Gen X2 regulator simply venting straight out through the piston in infuriating fashion. ANS no longer carries these, so I'm offering them to help keep those classic ANS regulators on classic markers.