Air Pump for cooling barrel ?

[SwissShooter]

Was looking at my Coleman battery powered air toy inflator and wondering if it could be repurposed to blow air down a rifle barrel to cool it off ?

[marshall623]

A older gentleman who shot IHMSA used 2 little battery fans that had a small flex hose on them . Between each 5 shot bank he would put one over the muzzle and the other pointed at the side of the chamber . I’ve used a damp cloth between banks and I think it helps especially with a 7-08 Striker , just something else to keep up with during a match .

[Larry Gibson]

I use one here because, in the warmer weather the barrel rarely will cool off by itself. I especially use one when shooting my suppressed .308W which can get very hot and keeps all the smoke and powder residue in the system. The blower, after each shot, not only keeps the barrel and suppresser a lot cooler but also blows a lot of smoke (carbon) out of the system.

[country gent]

The air pump alone in a straight bore will cool but be slow. Like purge welding to maintain a flow and fill level, a muzzle cap with a small hole to restrict flow and hold the barrels level might speed it up some. A rubber cap like comes on tubes with a small hole in the center would do the job. even a piece of tape with a small hole in it to lightly slow the flow so heat can be pulled into the air.

I have seen rattle battle shooters pour water thru the bore after finishing the match to get the heat out and allow them to be handled. 120 rds in 30-40 mins really heats up a barrel. My old match garand has scorch marks in the rear hand guards finish from a match. Ive seen barrels hot enough to raise a blister if touched.
A case fitted to the hose to seal the chamber end and the cap should speed up cooling some

[HP9MM]

I saw a YouTube video of comparing different powders in a 6.5CM with the shooter using a purpose built commercial fan unit inserted in the chamber to cool down the barrel between groups. I thought it interesting so I found a test/review of the fan units. Seems they don't cause any change in the size of the groups whether you used it or not.

[GARD72977]

I saw a YouTube video of comparing different powders in a 6.5CM with the shooter using a purpose built commercial fan unit inserted in the chamber to cool down the barrel between groups. I thought it interesting so I found a test/review of the fan units. Seems they don't cause any change in the size of the groups whether you used it or not.

I think protecting the throat of the rifle is the purpose. Let it get hot and keep shooting will cause excessive throat erosion. I have seen new people at work ruin a a 50 cal accurracy bbl.

[M-Tecs]

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/barrel-cooling.3923854/

[725]

We have electric at my club range. I made a rack for the hot gun and use a fan to wash air over the open chamber towards the muzzle. Works pretty fast. As one cools, I usually shoot a .22 or some other rifle while it cools. Then I switch. Also, I keep the hot one in the shade. Surprising hot hot a barrel stays when exposed direct sunlight.

[djryan13]

The Caldwell barrel fan for AR15 works for most of my bolt actions too. Battery (rechargeable) powered so no need for power at the range. Use it in my K31, Mauser, etc. It even locks into the Garand chamber when I close bolt on it.

[SwissShooter]

Caldwell barrel fan appears to be discontinued and last price I found was 60 bucks.

[Larry Gibson]

I think protecting the throat of the rifle is the purpose. Let it get hot and keep shooting will cause excessive throat erosion. ……...

That is correct and it's what I use the fan for. Not a great problem with cast bullets as the loads are usually shoveling large amounts of slow burning or even medium burning powder down the bore. The HV loads being an exception. It's with jacketed bullets and the use of suppressors that the fan really helps keeping the barrel and suppressor reasonably cool.

[djryan13]

Caldwell barrel fan appears to be discontinued and last price I found was 60 bucks.


Bah!!!! I would definitely repurchase if it broke.

There are other options if you google search “barrel chiller” but all about $40ish.

[akajun]

A lot of the FClass and Palma guys made a barrel cooler from a Mr. Bubbles bait aerator that you can buy in the fishing sections at wal mart and academy and such.
They simply removed the stone off the end of the hose , stood the rifle muzzle up( remember heat rises) and stuck the hose in the chamber.
If it helps accuracy wise or barrel life wise idk but it did significantly cool their barrels faster than mine in between relays.

[country gent]

I think I would leave the stone on and set up a half gallon or quart jar. Run the aerators stone to the bottom fill with half full with ice and enough water to cover stone. A hose set in the lid just below the lid 1/2" would do. then tun this hose into chamber the air would pass thru the water ice and be cooled before entering the rifle barrel. A little more to catty but might be a pretty good set up

[SwissShooter]

Nothing like pumping cold moist air into a hot fouled barrel, What could possibly go wrong ?
:-D

[samari46]

Ha a buddy who was into informal benchrest. Had a rem 700 action,cut down and rechambered for a 308 wildcat thing it was the 30x47 or something like that. Seasons here in louisiana can sometimes get very hot and a hot barrel does take time to cool down. Had a tank about the size of a 20 gallon propane tank and was full of nitrogen. Had a small regulator so he could adjust the flow. He'd finish off his string of shots and take out the bolt and stick the nozzle from the output side of the regulator and blow away. Had a little timer to remind him it was time to shut off the nitrogen. Frank

[Gregorious]

http://barrelcool.com/

Bought this a few years ago, works well and satisfies the chamber flag requirement.

[Preacher Jim]

Years ago we used air mattress pump. Had to have a small 12v battery but they seemed to cool barrel some. Also kept our ammo in small ice chests to keep it the same tempiture.

[ulav8r]

I think I would leave the stone on and set up a half gallon or quart jar. Run the aerators stone to the bottom fill with half full with ice and enough water to cover stone. A hose set in the lid just below the lid 1/2" would do. then tun this hose into chamber the air would pass thru the water ice and be cooled before entering the rifle barrel. A little more to catty but might be a pretty good set up

Take the stone off, use a long piece of tubing and submerge a long coil of the tube in the ice water. That way you are not pumping moisture into the barrel, which would promote rust.

[alfadan]

A guy I used to work with used to shoot prairie dogs. Supposedly he and his buddy would use CO2 with a hose into the breech on their .223s

[bangerjim]

If you really wanna cool, google "vortex cooling tube" and read about the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, a mechanical device that separates compressed gas into hot and cold streams. The gas emerging from the "hot" end can reach temperatures of 200 °C, and the gas emerging from the "cold end" can reach −50 °C. It has no moving parts. But uses air from a compressor, so it would be only good where there is AC power is available.


I used to sell these in a scientific product line I represented years ago. Amazing what just air can do!

bangerjim