hello everyone
Im new to the site and to the ar world. bought my first ar with an adams arms piston kit and voodoo barrell. First time shooting it i was getting alot of gas back in my face. any ideas where it can be coming from?

Are you sure your are getting gassed and not just air movement from the bcg? If it is a piston system all the gas is vented at the gas block area. If you are getting gassed from the charging handle area there is a problem because you do not have a piston operating system.

Wrong, there is still plenty of gas to the face when running a piston system.  I've had 2 AA systems (still have 1 and still love it) and when run suppressed you still get just as much gas to the face as a DI system.  Why?  Because even a piston system cannot alleviate blowback via the chamber.  It's just reality.

Read what John Noveske had to say about this very issue.

I doubt the OP's "first AR" is running a can.

Are you shooting right hand or left hand?

What barrel length?

What gas system? Pistol, carbine, mid, or rifle?

What handguard? Is it a free float, or something else?

I doubt it too, but it doesn't change the facts.

In OP's case, it simply sounds to me like the rifle is massively overgassed.  Which will still cause premature unlocking of the bolt and removal of the case before pressures drop enough, thus resulting in more gasses escaping via the chamber.  OP may need a heavier buffer to help alleviate that.

However, before doing that I would try switching the gas setting over to suppressed and see what happens.  It probably won't cycle, but you never know.  It will definitely fire, and regardless of whether it cycles or not, he should be able to tell a difference in the gas to the face.  That would be my first test, if it were my gun.

Chamber, as mentioned most likely overgassed. What spring, buffer and ammo?

oops.....