[POG opoorator]

I imagine yours is a 21mm, the 0.04mm difference being due to manufacturing. Maxx makes a variable length nozzle if you want to get an exact match:

CNC Titanium Adjustable Air Seal Nozzle 19mm - 22mm for Airsoft AEG Series

www.maxxmodel.com

For nozzles, the shape of the tip and length are important - both can effect the air seal.

As to nozzles fitting cylinder heads in different guns, need to verify that the nozzle 'support tube' on the cylinder head is the same size. AFAIK AEGs all use the same *diameter support but there may be some oddballs out there?

I really like the design of the Maxx, but I'm saving my pennies so I can lose them to inflation and don't want to risk another nozzle that feels tight so I'd like to stick with lonex nozzles for the lonex cylinder head. So far I'm learning it's really easy to go down a nickel and dime rabbit hole in this game! Thanks for the reply!

 

[POG opoorator]

Oh, that AFAIK is the case.

Thanks for the confirmation!

 

[POG opoorator]

Here is a HIGHLY over simplified image of Airsoft Nozzles.

View attachment 279878
Most have round collars. Item on left.

View attachment 279879

A very small minority has the 1/2 squared collar, found in G36 and some KWA AEG's - right item.

You can always make a long nozzle work by filing down to fit (that's what we did 19 years ago) in a pinch. Nozzle geometry is not a "simple" factor. Some have crosses, some have dots...some are tapered, some are flat. This affect seating of the bb.

View attachment 279880


The thing you don't "need" in a nozzle is the internal o-ring. Being that you are an engineer you know that from Fluid Dynamics that air flow moves in the direction of least resistance. And since the "action" happens so quickly and the AEG isn't a closed system. The area between the nozzle and the cylinder head air tube does not need to be sealed. The top makers know this...Tokyo Marui (Japanese) , Krytac (old Airsofter from the 1990s), KWA (same guy that went to Krytac)...etc. And randomly throwing on an "o-ring" nozzle onto another makers cylinder head may cause "drag" issues...that retards motion.

When o-ring nozzles came out it was for alignment issues with China made parts (from one factory) that were extremely loose in tolerances. Internal gaps in some early AEG's from China had a .8mm gap between nozzle and Air tube...with mis-sized air tubes and sloppy molding for the tappet...you get the picture. They fixed the issue with a nozzle o-ring. The Chinese recycle versus throwing away...and then some one get a a hold of the ill fitting part and clones it...the tolerance get worse. Then couple it with the wrong Airsoft mentality and the info get really polluted and that is where we are at in the Airsoft Industry which has no standards....


And as you can see...it gets complicated.

View attachment 279881

I appreciate the history. It's much worse than I thought! I had theorized that most guns were designed to fit the gearbox into the dimensions, then the nozzle lengths compensated for the variations and then only some suppliers give us the dimensions.

I hadn't formed have any assumptions about the seal of the nozzle yet other than thinking that consistent leaks can still be accurate. You may recall I was curious why there was typically a single o-ring which seemed to be unstable.

My stock nozzle has a partial cross. I thought it might be for some sort of Venturi effect. However, I think it is concave, which seems to indicate it's basically done for no reason (thoughtless copy of another design?) because a round hole would do the same job with less machining. I'll have to take a look and ponder.

Do the packings (hop rubbers) have as much variation from gun to gun? I noticed that my stock packing has longer feed lips than the maple leaf Macron. The BB's need a little force to get through, whereas they just fall through the Macron.