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Thread: Use air in a can to cool barrel?

  1. #1
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    Use air in a can to cool barrel?


    This may be a really stupid question but here it goes anyway:

    You know that air-in a can stuff you use for dusting off keyboards etc- what about using that to cool a barrel?

    You could put the little hose attachment on the tip, point it right into the breach and blow compressed air through the barrel, the air will cool the breach, and the stuff comes out pretty cool too.

    Under normal conditions your barrel wont get hot enogh, and the air doesn't come out cold enough to affect the metal.

    Seems like it might help while out shooting prairie dogs etc.

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
    stangfish
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    If you turn the can upside down it does.

  3. #3
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    How's that?

  4. #4
    stangfish
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    try it and you will see. Point it in a safe direction. hint. It is not just "air" in that can.

  5. #5
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    Ah you mean the chemical they use? Yeah you can absolutely get some condensation, even some frosting from the effect, but I doubt the temperature swing would be enough to create a temper issue, the barrel ever gets too hot to hold. A quick burst to cool the breach and move some air, maybe followed by an oiled patch.

    Just a thought of course, who knows if I'll even try it.

  6. #6
    Basic Member scope eye's Avatar
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    I have a carbon fiber air tank from a fireman's apparatus, that is mainly used to fill my air rifle tanks, but I have also stuffed the hose into a center fire chamber, and opened the valve of the regulator at a low setting and that has worked great, and it cools down real fast, the thing weighs only a few pounds and holds 4500 psi.

    Spanky
    RUMs are like woman in Stiletto heals, you know they are going to put you in the poor house, but that has never stopped anyone from pursuing them.

  7. #7
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    Good thinking- thanks for the tip.

  8. #8
    davemuzz
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    Well, I did read in one of my Gun Rag's where the author was test shooting a rifle on a really hot day (+100 degrees) and he didn't want to sit out there all day for the barrel to cool, so he brought along a tube hooked up to one of those water bladders (you know....a drinking water gizmo) and after every 5 shots he would stick the tube in the chamber, turn on the valve and let water flow down the inside of the barrel. Then he would run 4 or 5 dry patches down to "drink up" any left over water.

    Apparently, from the warm barrel whatever water that was left after running the patches was minimal as it would evaporate. The article stated it worked. But again, it was one hot day.

    Dave

  9. #9
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    I use one of those battery powered air pumps for minnow buckets, run a few coils of the hose through some ice in a cooler and put the other end in the chamber and let it run. The humidity is usually so low around here in CO that condensation has not been a problem.

    Mike

  10. #10
    hardcore91lx
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    What about making an attachment for one of the smaller paintball gun tanks, the tank would be refillable and it wont have any moisture in it

  11. #11
    davemuzz
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    I'd say you could use my ex-wife, but the air coming out of her is so cold your barrel would be at sub-sub freezing temp's in less than a second, and THEN, the barrel would just shatter from her steely eye stare. And the worse part is she would bill you and her **** attorney would force you to pay and he would get half!!!

    I'm just saying......

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by davemuzz View Post
    I'd say you could use my ex-wife, but the air coming out of her is so cold your barrel would be at sub-sub freezing temp's in less than a second, and THEN, the barrel would just shatter from her steely eye stare. And the worse part is she would bill you and her **** attorney would force you to pay and he would get half!!!

    I'm just saying......
    sounds like alot to be payin an attorney if you ask me dave.

  13. #13
    davemuzz
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    Yeah.....it's less costly to just bring a dozen new barrels to the range.

  14. #14
    Savage22-250
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    I saw a guy at the range use a tube with a funnel on the end. He stuck that in the chamber with a computer cooling fan hooked to a solar panel. Seemed like a good way to force air thru the barrel.

  15. #15
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    Watched an online video of testing different make bullets by firing into a water tank and after each round tested the tech would send a shot of compress air through the barrel.

  16. #16
    stangfish
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    You could buy an inflatable mattress pump that will really move some air. You might even have one in your garage.

  17. #17
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    Get the freon they use for circuit board testing. Use sparingly.

    Myrl used to take the bolt out and soak the gun in the creek. (elderly 788 worth about 200)

    HM

  18. #18
    Team Savage wbm's Avatar
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    If you really want to cool a barrel really fast just use a CO2 fire extinguisher. It will do the trick! Depending on the humidity where you live a wet towel also works well. In the Southwest a rung out wet towel placed over the barrel cools really quickly. For those of you that live in areas where humidity is so high a catfish could live out of water I suggest you move to the Southwest.

  19. #19
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    I like the wet towel Idea. Usually by the time a barrel is heated, the ice in the cooler is melting somewhat.

    that way you don't have to drag the cooler out to drain it, LOL.

    HM

  20. #20
    jasonR
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    I've never done this, but if you live where someone sells dry-ice (many supermarkets do), then you could use this. It would cool a barrel very fast, I would think without the wet.

  21. #21
    GunDog72
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    Quote Originally Posted by jasonR View Post
    I've never done this, but if you live where someone sells dry-ice (many supermarkets do), then you could use this. It would cool a barrel very fast, I would think without the wet.
    If you do this make sure you wrap the chunk of ice in 2 or 3 layers of towels, a buddy of mine tried this once and the only part he had a towel over was the part he was touching and it ended up freezing/burning (whatever you want to call it) off most of his bluing. I always have really good luck with my .243 (which after 10 shots gets hotter then hell!) with one of those Frog Togs Chilly Pads soaked just in water. After each 3 round group I shoot I go down to check the target and just wrap it on the barrel and it works like a charm. Here in Kentucky it gets deadly hot in the summer so even in the terrible humidity we have this still works good.

  22. #22
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    I'd say just use the previous poster's idea about using a funnel but just swing it towards DC and let all that air from the wind bags blow the heat out but alas all the air coming from Washington is HOT AIR ......... it would be counterproductive!

    Sometime back I remember about a tool called "Sea Breeze" but I've searched for it and it must of gone off the market faster than it came on.

    I think a lot of the ideas put forth thus far gives us all something to chew on ..... enterprising souls that we are ............

    I would rather use dry air and wait a little longer and not have to use patches to remove liquid at the range myself. The trouble with air is it does not remove heat from metal very quickly. I'd see an advantage in using a restriction on an air nozzle with a rubber tip that you could insert and let it BLEED off for a little while being more efficient than a quick blast. The idea of a fan and a funnel certainly has merit.

    Freon certainly has merit as it .... like compressed air .......... is dumping even colder gas because the drop in pressure but you are buying something to essentially dump.

    I think two of those cooling pads would work ......... the second one for around my neck?

    Best regards


    Three 44s
    Last edited by Three44s; 09-21-2013 at 08:03 AM.

  23. #23
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    When I am popping p-dogs I drape a double wrapped cut tee shirt I made to fit over my barrel, soaked in water over it and just keep that wet. Works great & simple to make.
    Other times I have just dunked it in a creek w/ bolt out of it next to one of the places I shoot out here...(plastic stock), run my rod through it a few times and back to shooting. No effect yet except more dead p-dogs.

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