Lubricating a spring-piston airgun - When does it need oil?

[snIPer]

http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2005/08/ ... irgun.html

by B.B. Pelletier

We all want to take care of our airguns, so today we'll look at lubricating a spring-piston gun.

Many guns should NEVER be oiled!
This includes most recoiless target guns like the FWB 65/80/90 pistol and the FWB 150/300 rifle. All the RWS Diana target guns fall into this category, too. These guns have lifetime lubricated piston rings or seals that never need oil. In fact, oiling them can cause early failure.

Some guns require VERY LITTLE oil
This includes all current models of RWS Diana guns - both rifle and pistol. Diana uses a special synthetic piston seal that needs very little oil to work properly. They recommend ONE DROP of oil every 1,500 shots or so. Use a high-grade silicone chamber oil like Crosman Silicone Chamber Oil.

Webley is another brand that needs very little oiling. They use a different type of seal than Diana, but it is self-lubricating. Air Arms guns are the same. The guns that need more oil are the Weihrauchs and Beeman R-series guns. More means abouty three drops of oil evey thousand shots, though the R1 may need more than that during break-in. Treat the Beeman RX-2 as a special case and follow the owner's manual, because it has a special powerplant inside.

Gamo guns also get by with a small amount of oiling. They have done a lot of R&D on their seals, and they're almost like Diana when it comes to oil. The less expensive guns are the ones that usually need a little more oil to stay in shape, and the Chinese are the neediest of all. You can oil a Tech Force 99 with three drops of chamber oil every 500 shots.

What about YOUR airgun?
I can't list them all, so the general rule is that less oil is better than more. The one exception is when you hear a honking or squeaking sound when cocking the gun. Then, it needs to be oiled.

How and where to oil
You drop the oil down the transfer port and stand the gun on its butt for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, shoot it at least 10 times to make sure the oil has spread around the piston seal. The transfer port is directly behind the breech of the barrel. It's the little hole where the air comes from. On some guns, like the RWS Diana 46, you have to open a flip-up loading gate to see the hole. If you are completely baffled, just stand the gun on its butt and drop the oil down the muzzle. It will find its way to the transfer port!

Does the mainspring need to be oiled?
On a new gun, the mainspring has so much lubrication that you can leave it alone for several years. But, if you hear a crunching sound when cocking, the spring needs attention. For the mainspring, we'll use an oil with good lubrication properties, like Weblube from Webley. If you can take the mechanism out of the stock, it will allow better access to the mainspring, but it is possible to drop the oil through the cocking slot. About 10 drops once every 3-4 years is good unless the gun is used a lot. In that case, lube it every year.

Lube the cocking mechanisms
The cocking joint needs grease more than oil. All new guns come properly greased from the factory, but storage in hot climates can speed the loss of lubricant through runoff. Breakbarrels should be greased on both sides of the action fork (where the barrel pivots when cocked), and if possible the pivot bolt could use some, too. Don't disassemble the gun if you don't know how! You can do more damage that way than by just leaving it alone.

Guns with sliding chambers, like the RWS Diana 48, need grease along their chamber walls. Beeman/Feinwerkbau joint grease is specially formulated for this application, but any good lithium or moly-based grease will do the job.

If all this sounds like you should carry an oil can when shooting a springer, that's not the case. I've simply tried to list as many of the lubrication points as possible. Actually, a spring-piston gun will do very well if simply left alone and shot regularly.

[hotshot]

Good important information for all us air gun newbies. Thank you.

[tirths]

http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2005/08/ ... irgun.html

Some guns require VERY LITTLE oil
This includes all current models of RWS Diana guns - both rifle and pistol. Diana uses a special synthetic piston seal that needs very little oil to work properly. They recommend ONE DROP of oil every 1,500 shots or so. Use a high-grade silicone chamber oil like Crosman Silicone Chamber Oil.

This is very controversial. Many including me not agree to go for oiling inside the chamber. And silicone oil?? NO NO!!

Gamo guns also get by with a small amount of oiling. They have done a lot of R&D on their seals, and they're almost like Diana when it comes to oil. The less expensive guns are the ones that usually need a little more oil to stay in shape, and the Chinese are the neediest of all. You can oil a Tech Force 99 with three drops of chamber oil every 500 shots.

I also not agree for GAMO about oiling. It at all you need to oil, better open apart and do a proper lubing.

[snIPer]

Tirths,
Oiling inside the chamber for guns with leather washers is very important as the small amount of oil that is burnt with every shot is what adds to the power of an airgun otherwise it is just a metal blowpipe.
Dieseling is however due to over lubing and should not be confused with the above.

[tirths]

snIPer, if you talk about leather seal the oiling theory is different than the synthetic one.

Airgun is indeed a metal blowpipe oil in the front part of piston will cause detonation and bad for your gun.

Moreover, you never know, how much oil you are burning which generating extra power. There could be lot of spread of velocity will effect accuracy.

HW, once released a gun that used to have separated oil chamber. It was meant for enhance the power by detonation using oil. The metal they have used to make the compression chamber was different also.

[snIPer]

HW, once released a gun that used to have separated oil chamber. It was meant for enhance the power by detonation using oil. The metal they have used to make the compression chamber was different also.

This does ring a bell. Im sure there is some post about this here somewhere.

[hamiclar01]

snIPer, if you talk about leather seal the oiling theory is different than the synthetic one.

Airgun is indeed a metal blowpipe oil in the front part of piston will cause detonation and bad for your gun.

Moreover, you never know, how much oil you are burning which generating extra power. There could be lot of spread of velocity will effect accuracy.

HW, once released a gun that used to have separated oil chamber. It was meant for enhance the power by detonation using oil. The metal they have used to make the compression chamber was different also.

tirths,

spring guns operate in four phases:

1. blowpipe, as the name suggests. used only by low velocity guns/pistols, BB guns

2. popgun: "pellet is held firmly in the bore and no combustion of lubricant occurs". spring guns designed for high level competetions work in this phase, with very little shot to shot variation.

3.combustion: "as the piston moves forwards, the temperature of the air in front of it rises, causing oil or any combustible substance to burn, increasing the pressure further, producing enough power to drive the pellet up the barrel at high velocity. most high powered sporting spring rifles operate this way".

4. detonation: would involve igniting ALL the fuel when the piston moves ahead and compresses air in front of it, raising temperatures to combustion point. this occurs seldon, but can be disastrous.

as you rightly said, detonation was used in the hw35/barracuda, but soon abandoned.

the father son duo of g.v. and g.m. cardew proved phase three by noting the sharp falls in muzzle velocity when they fired spring guns in inert gas. all quotes above are from their classic "he Airgun, from Trigger to Target", pages 13-17, 1995

[tirths]

3.combustion: "as the piston moves forwards, the temperature of the air in front of it rises, causing oil or any combustible substance to burn, increasing the pressure further, producing enough power to drive the pellet up the barrel at high velocity. most high powered sporting spring rifles operate this way".

Combustion, is meant for Air NOT oil. Therefore NO OIL should be in front of the piston.

-Tirtha

[hamiclar01]

3.combustion: "as the piston moves forwards, the temperature of the air in front of it rises, causing oil or any combustible substance to burn, increasing the pressure further, producing enough power to drive the pellet up the barrel at high velocity. most high powered sporting spring rifles operate this way".

Combustion, is meant for Air NOT oil. Therefore NO OIL should be in front of the piston.

-Tirtha

read it again, and think, what will burn......a combustible substance.....oil.

air does not burn on it's own, does it? otherwise we'll have flames leaping out of every kitchen at dinnertime

also, i have quoted my reference , please quote yours

[kanwar76]

3.combustion: "as the piston moves forwards, the temperature of the air in front of it rises, causing oil or any combustible substance to burn, increasing the pressure further, producing enough power to drive the pellet up the barrel at high velocity. most high powered sporting spring rifles operate this way".

Combustion, is meant for Air NOT oil. Therefore NO OIL should be in front of the piston.

-Tirtha

read it again, and think, what will burn......a combustible substance.....oil.

air does not burn on it's own, does it? otherwise we'll have flames leaping out of every kitchen at dinnertime

also, i have quoted my reference , please quote yours

Hamiclar,

IIRC when Mack The Knife was tuning my rifle then he told me never to put oil in front of piston, only apply little on the sides as its result in heavy dieseling.

Rusty?

-Inder

[hamiclar01]

Hamiclar,

IIRC when Mack The Knife was tuning my rifle then he told me never to put oil in front of piston, only apply little on the sides as its result in heavy dieseling.

Rusty?

-Inder

Inder, oil in front of the piston would make the airgun fire in phase 4: (detonation/dielselling), a little oil on the sides would be sufficient for it to fire in the phase 3 (combustion phase).

the two phases are different. the latter is uncontrolled, associated with smoke and potentially dangerous. the former is what, according to the Cardews, gives a sporting airgun it's range and punch, unlike a low powered competition gun which only fires in what they call "popgun" mode, unlubricated.

reading their experiments surprised me, but their method made sense. of course i'd love to be corrected/convinced, if there is another explanation

[Mack The Knife]

Hamiclar,

IIRC when Mack The Knife was tuning my rifle then he told me never to put oil in front of piston, only apply little on the sides as its result in heavy dieseling.

Rusty?

-Inder

http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?t=1319