W e s e e t h i n g s d i f f e r e n t l y.
W e s e e t h i n g s d i f f e r e n t l y.
M12 Sidewinder Troubleshooting
- Is your M12 Sidewinder not filling magazines all the way?
- Is your clutch not working properly?
Clutch Adjustment
ATTENTION: If you are following these instructions and the crank becomes difficult to turn, please proceed WITH CAUTION. If the clutch is improperly adjusted, i.e. too tight, you risk breaking your M12 Sidewinder!!
To properly adjust the clutch, fill the loader with BB's and insert an empty magazine. Using a 10mm socket or nut runner, loosen (counter clockwise) the nut in the center of the crank lever ½ revolution. Try turning the crank, the crank should spin easily without making any clicking noise and should not load any BB's in to the magazine. If it does load BB's loosen the nut another ½ revolution.
With the empty magazine inserted into the M12 tighten the nut 1/8 revolution. Turn the crank, if the crank still turns quietly and no BB's are loaded turn the nut another 1/8 revolution. Repeat this process until the crank begins to load some BB's and then slips before completely filling the magazine. Turning the crank will produce a clicking sound while BB's are being loaded. Once the clutch slips the crank will turn smoothly and quietly.
Remove the magazine and count the BB's that have been loaded. If the magazine is not fully loaded reinsert the now empty magazine and tighten the nut another 1/8 revolution. Repeat the process until you get a full magazine and the crank still turns smoothly and quietly after the magazine is full.
If at any point the crank becomes hard to turn and never slips, the clutch is too tight. Loosen the nut until the crank turns smoothly and quietly. Please note that if the clutch is too tight, continuing to turn the crank after it becomes difficult will likely break the teeth on the paddle wheel.
Loading the EMP1 magazines with the M12 Sidewinder
We know many of you are excited to use your M12 Sidewinder with these new EPM1 magazines and they have been designed to work well together.
If you are struggling to fully load an EPM1 magazine, here are a few recommendations:
- The EPM1 magazines require a break-in period, cycle them 10-20 times and you will find it becomes easier to load.
- Load the EPM1 part way or until you start to feel resistance. Remove the EPM1 magazine from the M12 Sidewinder Speedloader and smack it against something semi- hard like the palm of your hand or the sole of your shoe. Repeat each time it becomes difficult to load and this should redistribute and balance the tension in the spring throughout the entire magazine.
- As always recommended, make sure your clutch is adjusted to the EMP1.
*While loading, if you are experiencing resistance in the crank, it feels clunky, or individual bb's pop out with force, this is no fault of the magazine you are using. You may have received an M12 Sidewinder that has a BB detent that is TOO TIGHT.
To remedy this you can:
-Replace the o-ring on the nozzle with a M1.5 x 5.5 , a M1.5 x 6, or -010 o-ring.
-Remove the o-ring on the nozzle.
-3D print a nozzle that has no detent. You can download the .stl file below.