Gas systems, oiled or dry?

[bsmithwins]

So, I'm curious about the common wisdom about leaving gas systems dry vs oiled.

First we have the gas piston from a Steyr AUG as removed when the gas system wasn't lubricated between shooting sessions. Total of about 100 rounds fired over 3 shooting sessions.

This is the same gas piston after rubbing with a dry soft cloth. No solvent of any type was used to clean it.

Next is the gas piston after adding 1 drop of oil* to the gas piston after each shooting session. About 120 rounds fired in 3 shooting sessions. The piston wasn't removed to apply oil, I just did one drop on the face of the piston. The oil has crept over the entire surface of the gas piston and the whole thing is oily.

This is the same gas piston after rubbing with a dry soft cloth. No solvent of any type was used to clean it.

There wasn't appreciably more carbon on the piston after applying oil and then shooting it. What carbon there was was much easier to remove after it had the oil on it.

BSW

*Aeroshell Fluid 18

 

[Robenstein]

That is a pretty low round count. Id be more interested in seeing what the difference is in more "real world combat" situations.

But its nice to see for those of us that go out on a sunny day to kill paper bad guys.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
This is the same gas piston after rubbing with a dry soft cloth.


How many hours was that rubbed with a dry soft cloth? Is the gas piston chrome plated? If not that carbon was a pain to remove.

 

[BISCUT]

Depends upon the operating environment and the design of the firearm. AR-15 DI systems in "normal" environment wet is the way to go. If you are in seriously cold (as in a Greenland winter) or in a dry sandy environment a small amount of the mil dry lube is way to go. Otherwise MOST DI systems prefer to be wet.

Scraping carbon build up off a non-chrome lined/plated anything is a real PITA!

 

[Pablo]

I say wet.

Seals better, easier to clean, less wear.

If I lived in a nasty microdust sand environment I would reconsider.

 

[bsmithwins]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
This is the same gas piston after rubbing with a dry soft cloth.


How many hours was that rubbed with a dry soft cloth? Is the gas piston chrome plated? If not that carbon was a pain to remove.


Less than 5 minutes for both. The oiled one was faster but I didn't use a stopwatch.

The gas pistons and regulators on the AUG are hardchromed from the factory.

BSW

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Depends upon the operating environment and the design of the firearm.


Yup. Different guns react different. I have some that have to be almost bone dry while others need to be almost dripping oil.

I will say though that as a general rule of thumb gas systems, in my experience, work better on the dry side while the inertia based ones work better wet.

Temperature effects it as well. The colder it is the more it is effected by the amount of lube used.

 

[bsmithwins]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Depends upon the operating environment and the design of the firearm.


Yup. Different guns react different. I have some that have to be almost bone dry while others need to be almost dripping oil.

I will say though that as a general rule of thumb gas systems, in my experience, work better on the dry side while the inertia based ones work better wet.

Temperature effects it as well. The colder it is the more it is effected by the amount of lube used.


Curious, what firearms do you have that prefer to be dry?

BSW

 

[AMC]

The general rule of thumb is that the gas system parts should have a light film of gun oil on them. Gas system parts will not benefit from being bone dry in any way. Dripping with oil may keep the system a little bit cooler and make it easier to clean but it could also cause a build up of carbon and crud that would not normally accumulate. Go for the middle road of the two scenarios and just keep a light film of oil on the parts. Most quality gun oils that are not high in solvent content will make the parts easier to clean by preventing carbon and soot from tightly adhering, as you noted in your tests above.

When cleaning a gas system, I like to wet the parts down with whatever I am using for cleaning fluid and scrub with a scratchy shop rag or 0000 steel wool. Dry the parts, wipe them off and then apply a light coat of oil and reassemble. My guns are always reliable and clean up easy next time. This process does not need to be complicated!

 

[bubbatime]

The only gas system that I am really familiar with is the AR15. And AR15's should be ran dripping wet. They are much more reliable dripping wet.

 

[Slick17601]

I always ran my Browning Gold wet with Breakfree. The crud would just wipe off at the end of the day.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Depends upon the operating environment and the design of the firearm.


Yup. Different guns react different. I have some that have to be almost bone dry while others need to be almost dripping oil.

I will say though that as a general rule of thumb gas systems, in my experience, work better on the dry side while the inertia based ones work better wet.

Temperature effects it as well. The colder it is the more it is effected by the amount of lube used.


Curious, what firearms do you have that prefer to be dry?

BSW


Most of my experience is with shotguns so perhaps that is why it seems different than some others. I should have specified that. The thread title didn't specify a firearm type( handgun, rifle, shotgun, etc... )so I responded.

Specifically my Mossberg 935 which is a gas based action absolutely needs to be run as dry as possible. If it is too wet it jams or doesn't fully load the shell into the chamber and just doesn't operate right. I have shot a few other gas based semi shotguns and they too seem to operate better on the dryer side although admittedly the 935 more so.

The dryer the better with a 935 is my experience and the accepted norm among users. Even the mfg tells you to run it as dry as you can. Literally you put a small amount of lube on a cloth and then wipe it( i.e. action parts/areas )down. Then go over it with another dry cloth to remove as much of the oil as you can. This is the mfg's oiling procedure and they specifically tell you not to over lube it.

Not dry as in no lube but dry as in all that can be removed after wiping it down is. If you run your fingers over it and they come off shiny and/or damp you have used too much oil and it needs to be wiped down more. It should "look" dry.

The inertia bases semi shotguns I have shot all seem to work better pretty wet. My new Stoeger M3500 likes to be pretty well soaked.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

The M1A/M14 piston should not be lubed.

 

[SOHCman]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Depends upon the operating environment and the design of the firearm.


Yup. Different guns react different. I have some that have to be almost bone dry while others need to be almost dripping oil.

I will say though that as a general rule of thumb gas systems, in my experience, work better on the dry side while the inertia based ones work better wet.

Temperature effects it as well. The colder it is the more it is effected by the amount of lube used.

I have read the 1100 and 11-87 need a dry gas system to run but have never found that to be the case. Using cheap bird shot and a nice coating of clp there us always a bunch of carbon up around the feed tube but it wipes off easily.

I have experienced FTF but that turned out to be a weak recoil spring not throwing the bolt closed hard enough and the shell lip would catch on the barrel instead of driving home once or twice a box.

Curious, what firearms do you have that prefer to be dry?

BSW


Most of my experience is with shotguns so perhaps that is why it seems different than some others. I should have specified that. The thread title didn't specify a firearm type( handgun, rifle, shotgun, etc... )so I responded.

Specifically my Mossberg 935 which is a gas based action absolutely needs to be run as dry as possible. If it is too wet it jams or doesn't fully load the shell into the chamber and just doesn't operate right. I have shot a few other gas based semi shotguns and they too seem to operate better on the dryer side although admittedly the 935 more so.

The dryer the better with a 935 is my experience and the accepted norm among users. Even the mfg tells you to run it as dry as you can. Literally you put a small amount of lube on a cloth and then wipe it( i.e. action parts/areas )down. Then go over it with another dry cloth to remove as much of the oil as you can. This is the mfg's oiling procedure and they specifically tell you not to over lube it.

Not dry as in no lube but dry as in all that can be removed after wiping it down is. If you run your fingers over it and they come off shiny and/or damp you have used too much oil and it needs to be wiped down more. It should "look" dry.

The inertia bases semi shotguns I have shot all seem to work better pretty wet. My new Stoeger M3500 likes to be pretty well soaked.

I have read the 1100 and 11-87 need a dry gas system to run but have never found that to be the case. Using cheap bird shot and a nice coating of clp there us always a bunch of carbon up around the feed tube but it wipes off easily.

I have experienced FTF but that turned out to be a weak recoil spring not throwing the bolt closed hard enough and the shell lip would catch on the barrel instead of driving home once or twice a box.

 

[strat81]

Originally Posted By: Slick17601
I always ran my Browning Gold wet with Breakfree. The crud would just wipe off at the end of the day.


The piston on my Super X2 (a sibling to the Browning Gold) is also remarkably easy to clean. It's coated/plated with something. It has a slight green/gold tint to it. I run it wet.

My old AK had a hard chrome piston. I ran it wet and it cleaned up pretty easily too.

 

[Cmarti]

-5 goose hunting last week and all the semi autos struggled. Gas or inertia, remoil or clp. The only thing in common, cold and too much lube. I think my 935 only needs to be in a room with an oily rag, while my Benelli just needs wiped with one. Some guys use dry lube on the 935, but I have not tried it.

My beat up 870 Super-mag will use pond water, sand or axle grease as lube

 

[Robenstein]

On semi auto shotguns, I have always been a fan of dry lube in the winter. I had a case of the S&W stuff and its worked well during the cold Pheasant season on my CZ712 and my Franchi AL48.