Badass DIY barrel cooler(s)

secondofangle2 · Feb 7, 2023

If you’ve tried one of the commercial offerings, you were probably disappointed with airflow, battery life, or the whole shebang. That inspired me first to buy a rechargeable mattress inflator on Amazon for about $25 and rig a plastic pipe elbow so that it will generally fit in the bolt raceway pointed towards the chamber. That thing blows air out the suppressor of a 26 inch barrel at between 5 and 10 mph and cools the barrel extremely well. The only problem being that it has limited battery life & takes a while to charge on a USB port, and will not run off of an auxiliary battery USB port when battery dead/charging. So when it's dead it's dead for several hours till you get it recharged. FWIW, it does last for about 40 minutes of blowing, which is a pretty good range day.

Then, my brother showed me that the toolmakers like Ryobi and Milwaukee are now making an accessory for the 18v lithium batteries that is basically a high velocity air blower. For cleaning out workspaces, inflating stuff, and whatnot. I got a piece of plastic tubing that likewise fits in the ejection port and up towards the chamber and just duct taped it to the nozzle head of the Ryobi blower and that sucker blows air out the suppressor end at like 15-20 miles an hour. It’s ridiculous, how much air it blows. It will blow for several hours on one charge and I’m sure you have spare batteries in your truck like I do.

Now I can run those 20 shot groups that the Hornady guys were talking about on podcast 50 lol. Seriously though. 10 shots. Cool. Repeat.

Aftermath · Feb 7, 2023

That's cool...pun intended.
Just think, if you run out of ammo, you could use those to launch spitwads.

pineoak · Feb 7, 2023

do you have a model # for that Ryobi? Hope Makita makes something like this given I have the batts already.

secondofangle2 · Feb 7, 2023

Ryobi P738 Inflator

Amazon product ASIN B07YNFWFCT

acudaowner · Feb 7, 2023

it's neat and it cost way less than the chamber chillers and works .

memilanuk · Feb 7, 2023

Interesting... I've got one of those little Milwaukee M12-powered air compressors... I'll have to see if it has an option to work as a blower. While I like my Rifle Kuhl way better than my old BarrelCool... those CR123 batteries are annoyingly expensive for no longer than they last.

BuildingConceptsllc · Feb 7, 2023

pineoak · Feb 7, 2023

memilanuk said:
. those CR123 batteries are annoyingly expensive for no longer than they last.

SureFire 123A Rechargeable Lithium Phosphate Battery 2-Pack with Charger Kit

Buy SureFire 123A Rechargeable Lithium Phosphate Battery 2-Pack with Charger Kit featuring 450mAh, 3.2V Batteries, Life Cycle: 1000 Charges, Charge 2 Batteries in 3 Hours, AC or DC, Auto Charge Termination, Overheat & Overcharge Protection, Short-Circuit, Polarity Protection. Review SureFire null

www.bhphotovideo.com

I've used a different charger and different batteries before, but this is the charger and batteries I use now.

I use the same charger for eight pairs of batteries. Useful in training weaponlights & flashlights as well.

I still keep a pair of lithium CR 123's with each bag of kit as backup.

For use in riflekuhl's which I love, I keep four batteries in rotation. I try to charge when 3 of them have gone weak

We use Riflekuhls for chamber flags btw (with a red tag that says "Remove Before Flight")

David Lepley · Feb 7, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
If you’ve tried one of the commercial offerings, you were probably disappointed with airflow, battery life, or the whole shebang. That inspired me first to buy a rechargeable mattress inflator on Amazon for about $25 and rig a plastic pipe elbow so that it will generally fit in the boat raceway pointed towards the chamber. That thing blows air out the suppressor of a 26 inch rifle at between five and 10 mph and cools The barrel extremely well. The only problem being that it has limited battery life takes a while to charge on a USB port, and will not run off of an auxiliary battery USB port when battery dead/charging.

Then, my brother showed me that the toolmakers like Ryobi and Milwaukee are now making an accessory for the 18v lithium batteries that is basically a high velocity air blower. For cleaning out workspaces and whatnot. I got a piece of plastic tubing that likewise fits in the ejection port and up towards the chamber and just duct taped it to the nozzle head of the Ryobi blower and that sucker blows air out the suppressor end at like 15-20 miles an hour. It’s ridiculous It will blow for several hours on one charge and I’m sure you have spare batteries in your truck like I do.

Now I can run those 20 shot groups that the Hornady guys were talking about on podcast 50 lol. Seriously though. 10 shots. Cool. Repeat.

Awesome idea, what is the ID of the hose that fits?

secondofangle2 · Feb 7, 2023

memilanuk said:
Interesting... I've got one of those little Milwaukee M12-powered air compressors... I'll have to see if it has an option to work as a blower. While I like my Rifle Kuhl way better than my old BarrelCool... those CR123 batteries are annoyingly expensive for no longer than they last.

Yes that was a major reason I got rid of my Rifle Kuhl like a day after receiving it. No way am I going to feed it CR123s. Also, its output is pathetic compared to the options in the OP. And there's kinds no excuse for that - like they could have made it just as good as a rechargeable mattress inflator, right?

memilanuk · Feb 7, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
Yes that was a major reason I got rid of my Rifle Kuhl like a day after receiving it. No way am I going to feed it CR123s. Also, its output is pathetic compared to the options in the OP. And there's kinds no excuse for that - like they could have made it just as good as a rechargeable mattress inflator, right?

I take it you never used one of the predecessors to the Rifle Kuhl? Trust me, it was leaps and bounds better than what came before. Maybe not better (in terms of volumetric flow rate) than a plug-in air-mattress/pool-toy inflator, which was the DIY option at the time... but those weren't exactly (easily) battery powered back then.

secondofangle2 · Feb 8, 2023

David Lepley said:
Awesome idea, what is the ID of the hose that fits?

well, the Ryobi attachment is 5/8" and a 5/8" ID & 3/4" OD tubing can be stretched slightly to fit. However, the 3/4" OD of that tubing and won't fit in the bolt raceway/slot without deforming it into an ovoid shape, and then won't allow you to jam it up in the chamber where the bolt head goes. So it's better to just duck tape a piece of 5/8" OD and 1/2" ID pipe/tube. This ain't a museum piece.

In fact I just tested it. I got 11 MPH with the kestrel and a 22.5" SAC .223 barrel and SiCo SAKER 762 suppressor attached with the bigger tube. With the smaller tube and duck tape I got 14.7 MPH. Blowback with the former was significant, and barely noticeable with the latter because you can jam it up in the chamber better. With larger calibers (e.g, my 338 or 50 BMG), the exiting MPH is even greater, because of reduced resistance with increased cross sectional area of the bore.

secondofangle2 · Feb 8, 2023

memilanuk said:
I take it you never used one of the predecessors to the Rifle Kuhl? Trust me, it was leaps and bounds better than what came before. Maybe not better (in terms of volumetric flow rate) than a plug-in air-mattress/pool-toy inflator, which was the DIY option at the time... but those weren't exactly (easily) battery powered back then.

No I never used one till a couple of years ago when I stumbled upon the Magnetospeed option

Ichi · Feb 8, 2023

Using the Ryobi inflator is a great idea. Not very expensive and runs a long time on a single charge. Bonus that it can be used for other purposes as well.

A few years back I found a 3D printer model of a blower adaptor for DC blower fans. I had one made and found a DC blower fan on Amazon that I could power with a USB lithium battery pack. It works, but I'm only able to move air at 3 MPH through the silicone tube. There's no filter on the intake...

The unit is fairly small. The USB cable and silicone tubing take up the most space. That's a .308 round in the image for reference.

3D Printed Blower Model

DC Blower Fans

StaveyIL · Feb 8, 2023

I use a rechargeable air mattress pump and a length of tubing. Works great. Similar to one of these.

paulrem308 · Feb 8, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
Ryobi P738 Inflator

Amazon product ASIN B07YNFWFCT

Have been using the horrible freight version with rechargeable batteries. Works awesome and huge step up from the air mattress inflator. One I got moves quite a bit of air and cuts down on cooling time quite a bit. Got a couple of extra batteries charged up and works good for a range day. Stumbled onto this by accident when looking for another drill. Hmm, that looks like would work as a barrel cooler. Yep works like a charm. Ymmv

Mike Casselton · Feb 8, 2023

@atepointer
Tagging you in here

memilanuk · Feb 9, 2023

Happened to be cruising the YT, and came across these two videos from F-class John:

Thought they might be of interest to folks

338dude · Feb 12, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
Yes that was a major reason I got rid of my Rifle Kuhl like a day after receiving it. No way am I going to feed it CR123s. Also, its output is pathetic compared to the options in the OP. And there's kinds no excuse for that - like they could have made it just as good as a rechargeable mattress inflator, right?

That’s what I use a cheap mattress inflator had some clear tubing laying around with batteries and all I have less than $20 in mine

carbonbased · Feb 12, 2023

Cool thing about getting the Ryobi high volume inflater is then you can get their 4” clamp fan. The thing works great to blow air over your barrel to reduce/eliminate barrel heat mirage. Cheap and well made.

RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless 4 in. Clamp Fan (Tool Only) PCF02B - The Home Depot

Expand your RYOBI 18V ONE+ System with the RYOBI 18V 4 in. Clamp Fan. This 18V Clamp Fan is the ultimate in portability. Not only does it provide cordless power, but it has the ability to clamp to materials

www.homedepot.com

I don’t know why the Ryobi stuff is so much cheaper than other brands, but as a guy who owns Milwaukee and Bosch cordless stuff, the Ryobi fan is impressive. I need to pick up that inflater.

We have a Ryobi cordless weed whipper with a battery/charger so that’s why it’s an easy decision for me.

At the range I’m going to look like a friggin’ Ryobi dealer.

Dave62677 · Feb 14, 2023

I bought couple of this made by Caldwell when Midwayusa blow them out like 13 bux a piece. I jam a tube in it and insert in the rifle chamber. This thing is rechargeable. Run time is like 3 hours

David Lepley · Feb 14, 2023

Dave62677 said:
View attachment 8075054
I bought couple of this made by Caldwell when Midwayusa blow them out like 13 bux a piece. I jam a tube in it and insert in the rifle chamber. This thing is rechargeable. Run time is like 3 hours

I was actually thinking of a similar setup, my plan was to 3D print a mag block with an internal passage to direct the cooling air.

secondofangle2 · Feb 14, 2023

If there’s enough air being blown you don’t need much of a seal at all just point in the direction of the chamber

David Lepley · Feb 14, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
If there’s enough air being blown you don’t need much of a seal at all just point in the direction of the chamber

Yeah that was my though too, if you can get the nozzle geometry right and straiten the flow down the bore axis you can pretty much count on a good chunk of the flow to reach into the chamber.

carbonbased · Feb 14, 2023

David Lepley said:
Yeah that was my though too, if you can get the nozzle geometry right and straiten the flow down the bore axis you can pretty much count on a good chunk of the flow to reach into the chamber.

You know, there’s a lot of bore guides already being made. A cool idea would be to have one made without a solvent port and just hook a hose up to that.

I think I have an extra bore guide laying about. Perhaps I’ll cut off the solvent port (if it has one, can’t remember), buy that Ryobi thing, buy a hose, and give it a whirl.

David Lepley · Feb 14, 2023

Yeah, fair point, that’s an easy way to go.

Baron23 · Feb 14, 2023

Ryobi? You need to up your game, brother (lol)

carbonbased · Feb 14, 2023

Baron23 said:
Ryobi? You need to up your game, brother (lol)

View attachment 8075246

Me at the range with that thing

smcfarland · Feb 14, 2023

Did the harbor freight version this weekend and worked great!

David Lepley · Feb 17, 2023

My version, a stub of red PEX reaches down into the chamber nicely.

secondofangle2 · Feb 17, 2023

David Lepley said:
My version, a stub of red PEX reaches down into the chamber nicely. View attachment 8077637

Does it cool it off pretty fast?

carbonbased · Feb 17, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
Does it cool it off pretty fast?

@David Lepley rn

David Lepley · Feb 17, 2023

carbonbased said:
@David Lepley rn

View attachment 8077775

Haven’t had the chance to try it yet, but I would guess the velocity down my 28” 6MM barrel with a break on the end is 7-12m/S, in theory it should be possible to use you kestrel to measure the velocity and then you could calculate the drop in temp / unit time for a given air density.

secondofangle2 · Feb 17, 2023

Yeah, the way I estimated the velocities was to put a kestrel at the end of the suppressor or muzzle or whatever. Comes out pretty dang fast.

I wonder how much life, if any, you add to your barrel by doing this, when it heats up. If heat is the true enemy, rather than flame and pressure, I’m betting we are doing our barrels a significant favor with these contraptions.

David Lepley · Feb 17, 2023

secondofangle2 said:
Yeah, the way I estimated the velocities was to put a kestrel at the end of the suppressor or muzzle or whatever. Comes out pretty dang fast.

I wonder how much life, if any, you add to your barrel by doing this, when it heats up. If heat is the true enemy, rather than flame and pressure, I’m betting we are doing our barrels a significant favor with these contraptions.

I can tell you that the “bulk” temperature of spark plug electrodes has a direct impact to erosion rate from my professional life, the same principle should apply in the barrel throat if my thinking is correct.

MrSmith · Feb 18, 2023

Built this. Never used. If anyone wants it they can have it for shipping. .338, .308, .30 "Grendel"

Thank you,
MrSmith

David Lepley · Feb 19, 2023

carbonbased said:
@David Lepley rn

View attachment 8077775

To follow-up, I tested it yesterday in about 38*F ambient. Firing ten shot strings of 6x47 Lapua with 39.5Gr of H4350 the air coming from the muzzle would be more or less ambient temp in ~5-7min

carbonbased · Feb 19, 2023

I just picked up one of the Ryobis. Holy shit that thing is a little turbo! Loud little guy. Glad everyone at the range has earpro lol.

I have a bunch of step-up and step-down vacuum cleaner hose adapters. Gonna check to see if I can find a no-tape solution.

frost1235 · Feb 24, 2023

Oh shit, I've been doing that for a few years! I got the harbor freight/bauer inflator.

03machstock · Aug 28, 2023

First I wanted to say thanks OP for the idea, these things work awesome. I wanted to add that might help someone else that I was hesitant to buy one bc I didn’t want to have to use royobi batteries bc I use dewalt tools, and didn’t want to have multiple platforms. But… I found an adapter so I can still use the batteries I already have.

TylerN · Aug 28, 2023

This is a must in my range bag. A cutoff piece of brass is jammed in either end of the tube to hold the tube in the nozzle and fit in the chamber.

MechanicGino · Oct 1, 2024

Thanks for everyone, who has share idea and project.
I sneak out to idea everyone in this post and build by custom cooler, get it hose dimension and connection pick from here.
I'd like to share my project:

The_Steward · Oct 1, 2024

Huh, I literally just put together a video on something like this. No fancy adapters necessary for most bolt action rifles.

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