Carbon Arms Pinwheels coming loose

[Fitzghan]

I have been using Carbon Arms Pinwheels mounted on my ELS belt and they work great with one minor issue. The clips work themselves loose rather frequently either from being bumped around during matches or just from snatching shells out during repeated loading practice. I assembled them with the washers according to the directions and thought I remember the directions saying specifically NOT to use any type of lock tite….then again that could have been another piece of gear….who can remember?

My question is, if anybody has had similar issues and if so are you guys just using lock tite, different washers, anything? It is not catastrophic but it gets a little old having to bust out the allen wrench all the time. My only thought is perhaps they are designed to break loose to protect the clips from breaking when they take a hard impact?

[ClutchUSMC]

Blue locktite, stainless hardware, nylon lock nuts, and extra holes for bolts are what hold mine together. They're plastic just add a 2nd hole and bolt for each clip. I have the gen 1 version and have been beating on them for about 18 months. I tighten them down about once a quarter when I go through my entire belt rig tightening and fixing everything.

Take care of your gear and it takes care of you.

[StephensOutdoors]

Well said Tyler. All types & kinds of 3-Gun equipment take a lot of abuse, especially if you train hard & shoot a lot of matches. Lots of great manufacturers support & cater to our sport, but do what you have to do to keep your gear running reliably & efficiently. If that means locktite, lock nuts, lock washers, or extra fasteners ... do it. And definitely have some sort of preventative maintenance program to check or repair your gear to keep it match ready.

[MarkCO]

Just tighten them down more. The washers needs to bite in on both sides. If there are not noticeable indentations, they were not tight enough. The original machined ones need to be cranked down tighter than the molded ones.

[Fitzghan]

Gents,

Thanks for the replies. I PM my gear before every match whether it’s 3 gun, USPSA, or IDPA just like I inspect and case gauge every round. Some things are just common sense. I just thought I remembered the instructions saying not to use locktite and wanted to make sure it wasn’t part of the design for them to break loose with impact before I did work on my kit that cost hundreds of dollars.

Mark,

As far as I can tell they are as tight as the setup allows. If I attempt to tighten more the screw just pops and skips. I’m going to locktite them and call it a day. On a side note I have some extra clips is there a way to just order the backers for the SSL4 pinwheels? Didn’t see that as an option on the website. Thanks again.

[MarkCO]

Fitzghan, if you want to send them to me, I will make sure everything is good and tighten them up. Sounds like you have a stripped screw. I can send you some backers too.

Drop me a PM and I can get you an address and any other details and get you taken care of.

[Fitzghan]

Thanks Mark….. WILCO. First class as always.

[Jesse Tischauser]

I had a set and I went to the local Ace hardware store and bought another set of all the fasteners they use and double fastened them. No more annoying twisting.

[Fitzghan]

Thanks Jesse, I give that a shot if the new screws don't work.