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Freezing Lube Test
- Thread starter Steve_In_29
- Start date
That’s actually Dave Timm, the owner. I’m his co-instructor on the training side of the business and I do some of the testing and consulting on the media side. We’ve since tested a couple other lubes that weren’t available at that time and we’ve seen some with good cold weather performance.
Nutty unrelated anecdote, but shortly after FireClean became popular for half a minute and word got out it was basically vegetable oil, I tested (using a clean gun) it in a Vickers carbine course we hosted using my LMT 308MWS. I normally use Slip EWL. It was summer and the FireClean performed like garbage. By lunch on day 1 my BCG was scraping and unusually dry. Multiple reapplies were needed and it didn’t emulsify hardly any carbon. Told LAV on Day 2 how poor it was performing, since he had started shilling for them and he just shrugged and walked away. Kinda telling when the guy who is the face of the product is unable to defend it. I had tested it right after the LAV course by putting it in the freezer and it froze solid. So Dave went into the video knowing FireClean was going to perform poorly.
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Interesting results. I used Break Free CLP on my AR's and other rifles, because that's what I used on my M-14 in the military. Years ago, I was prepping my carbine for a Run 'n Gun match and I was out of Break Free CLP. I didn't have time to run to the store, so I grabbed what was left over in a Mobil 1 bottle from a generator oil change and filled the CLP bottle. It was 5W30 full synthetic motor oil. I took my BCG apart, applied Mobil 1 and headed out for the match.
A Run 'n Gun relay can require 150-180 rounds fired quickly and I normally take the BCG apart and apply more CLP between relays. I fired close to 180 rounds and the barrel was hotter than Hades. After the carbine cooled off, I took the BCG apart to apply more lube. The bolt and gas rings still looked wet, so I did not apply any more lube. I fired 3 more relays totaling around 700 rounds without adding any more lube. When I arrived home, I cleaned the carbine and noticed that the carbon was easier to clean off the bolt and bolt carrier. I've used Mobil 1 on my carbines ever since and shot them in temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to well over 100 degrees without any lube related problems.
I am a believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I started using Mobil 1 on my 1903 Springfields, Mosin Nagants and Mausers. We shoot vintage rifle matches year round at our club and it's not uncommon to shoot a match or two in sub zero temperatures. I have had Hoppe's gun oil, and others, cause the inside of a bolt to freeze up and cause some misfires or completely take the rifle out of commission in extremely cold weather. The Mobil 1 has not caused issues in the same weather.
I noticed something after cleaning and lubing the bore on old Mausers and Mosin Nagants with rough looking bores. When cleaning, I run patches through the bore until they come out reasonably clean. I apply a coat of Mobil 1 to the bore before storing the rifle(s), then run a dry patch through the bore(s) before the next range session. The patches come out absolutely filthy after the oil has been in the bore for a few days. The Mobil 1 tends to draw old fouling out of the bore. My best guess is the detergents in the Mobil 1 work on crud when the oil is left in the bore. I have not seen the same results when using Break Free CLP.
My experience is a sample of one shooter, but I fire at least a few thousand rounds a year through vintage rifles and semi-automatic carbines in all kinds of weather including sub zero temperatures. I've used up most of the commercial firearm lubricants I accumulated over the past 50 years and pared down lubricants to Mobil 1 motor oil and synthetic wheel bearing grease when grease is needed on a M1 Garand or M1A.
A Run 'n Gun relay can require 150-180 rounds fired quickly and I normally take the BCG apart and apply more CLP between relays. I fired close to 180 rounds and the barrel was hotter than Hades. After the carbine cooled off, I took the BCG apart to apply more lube. The bolt and gas rings still looked wet, so I did not apply any more lube. I fired 3 more relays totaling around 700 rounds without adding any more lube. When I arrived home, I cleaned the carbine and noticed that the carbon was easier to clean off the bolt and bolt carrier. I've used Mobil 1 on my carbines ever since and shot them in temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to well over 100 degrees without any lube related problems.
I am a believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I started using Mobil 1 on my 1903 Springfields, Mosin Nagants and Mausers. We shoot vintage rifle matches year round at our club and it's not uncommon to shoot a match or two in sub zero temperatures. I have had Hoppe's gun oil, and others, cause the inside of a bolt to freeze up and cause some misfires or completely take the rifle out of commission in extremely cold weather. The Mobil 1 has not caused issues in the same weather.
I noticed something after cleaning and lubing the bore on old Mausers and Mosin Nagants with rough looking bores. When cleaning, I run patches through the bore until they come out reasonably clean. I apply a coat of Mobil 1 to the bore before storing the rifle(s), then run a dry patch through the bore(s) before the next range session. The patches come out absolutely filthy after the oil has been in the bore for a few days. The Mobil 1 tends to draw old fouling out of the bore. My best guess is the detergents in the Mobil 1 work on crud when the oil is left in the bore. I have not seen the same results when using Break Free CLP.
My experience is a sample of one shooter, but I fire at least a few thousand rounds a year through vintage rifles and semi-automatic carbines in all kinds of weather including sub zero temperatures. I've used up most of the commercial firearm lubricants I accumulated over the past 50 years and pared down lubricants to Mobil 1 motor oil and synthetic wheel bearing grease when grease is needed on a M1 Garand or M1A.
have been using mobil 1 for over a decade and it's the best, cheapest, most versatile lube imho. When it gets cold, I'm talking -10 and below, drop to 0w30. I normally use 10w30 and the bcg remains slick the entire day
for grease I use the green synthetic grease that is waterproof. I was told by some guys from Northern Canadian provinces that they use this on their tractor equipment and firearms without issue. I use it now for my handguns etc and it's fantastic
a dealer gave me box of lucas extreme gun oil and I've tried it and while nice, does not coat the bcg parts for the extended use the mobil 1 does.
Didn’t g96 do pretty good in cold weather testing?
Best cold weather lubes I’ve tried have been Slip2000 and Slip2000EWL, ALG Go-Juice and Go-Juice 0000 VTG, CherryBalmz Winter Balm and LucasOil Extreme Duty Gun Oil. And of course synthetic motor oil, but that’s also toxic and I try to avoid using toxic lubricants.
After the Garand Thumb thread, I picked up some 0w-20 Mobil 1 and it seems to run nice in my AR and bolt guns in cold weather.
But I have a few CZ 527 Mauser-like action rifles, and they can be a little janky. Picky on bolt binding. Like to be greased.
Saw a bunch of great reviews on this stuff:
www.texasrefinery.com
Farmers working in cold or hot weather seem to love the stuff.
But what about firearms? Anyone have hands on experience with this stuff?
Other than that, the Cherry Balmz winter stuff looks interesting.
But I have a few CZ 527 Mauser-like action rifles, and they can be a little janky. Picky on bolt binding. Like to be greased.
Saw a bunch of great reviews on this stuff:
880 CROWN & CHASSIS EXTREME GREASE
880 Crown & Chassis Extreme
www.texasrefinery.com
Farmers working in cold or hot weather seem to love the stuff.
But what about firearms? Anyone have hands on experience with this stuff?
Other than that, the Cherry Balmz winter stuff looks interesting.
I use green grease which is what canadian farmers use on their equipment. never an issueAfter the Garand Thumb thread, I picked up some 0w-20 Mobil 1 and it seems to run nice in my AR and bolt guns in cold weather.
But I have a few CZ 527 Mauser-like action rifles, and they can be a little janky. Picky on bolt binding. Like to be greased.
Saw a bunch of great reviews on this stuff:
880 CROWN & CHASSIS EXTREME GREASE
880 Crown & Chassis Extreme
Farmers working in cold or hot weather seem to love the stuff.
But what about firearms? Anyone have hands on experience with this stuff?
Other than that, the Cherry Balmz winter stuff looks interesting.
For things that do better with some lube but not wet this has been working well for me:
Amazon product ASIN B00Z779GMO
Hornady OneShot is another.
For wet, Mobil-1 and Mobil-1 grease thinned with their oil.
Amazon product ASIN B00Z779GMO
Hornady OneShot is another.
For wet, Mobil-1 and Mobil-1 grease thinned with their oil.
I save the puss from my popped zits and apply that liberally.
Frickin’ perfection. Smells a but funky under heavy fire though. Kinda like when you cook roadkill.
Frickin’ perfection. Smells a but funky under heavy fire though. Kinda like when you cook roadkill.
Instead of reposting, here is some more info I’ve dug up on this matter:
Cold weather lubes
Motor oil pour test
Cold weather lubes
Motor oil pour test
My go to lubes are from SuperLube. They are synthetic and good from -45 to +450 F. They are the same as a well known industrial brand called Nye. Wonder why they didn’t test them.
