Keeping Suppressors Cool

[Aftermath]

I prefer the ebcdic
Edit: I misread that as ascii so my joke doesn’t actually work but you already liked it so I’m gonna let it stand

I knew what you were getting at and I was even shooting for the association without actually going all the way.

 

[Schütze]

That's a good point if you're cooling suppressors directly, but heating the rear of the chamber on a bolt gun so it's still 200F by the time you can get the tube inserted takes enough firing that you're probably already causing damage your barrel. Might as well go w/ the silicon though, it's more flexible & probably fits into chamber more easily

My set up is about the same

How loud and what kind of noise does this thing make?

I just hate these typical little screaming barrel cooler’s. Our amplified hearing protection makes it even worse.

Thanks

 

[R_A_W]

you probably won’t like it… they sound like any air mattress pump or a handheld vacuum

 

[secondofangle2]

There are newer ones that are quieter. This is probably a better contraption to use all around, It doubles as a tire inflator and mattress inflator.

Ryobi inflator

 

[nikerret]

I usually just get a little careless and let it hit my leg. While I sit and cry, it cools naturally. By the time I can walk without cussing, it’s good to go.

 

[Bcamos]

I shoot suppressors a lot.
The best way I have found to cool off hot suppressors is to spray them with water.
I just grab a bottle of water, drill a small hole in the top with the tip of my pocket knife, and spray a thin stream onto the outside of the suppressor. Evenly apply over the entire external surface.
The energy lost to steam conversion is orders of magnitude above moving air over the surface.
A thin stream from about 6-12" in a waving motion is better than a thick stream or just pouring the water on.

I have used high-power fans, and they're ok, but removal from the rifle so air flow can go through the core is needed if you want to drop temperature quickly. Laying them on a metal plate helps a little as well, but not something I usually have on a "non-work" range trip.
Do not shove them into standing cold water, you can risk structural integrity of the suppressor if the cooling rate is too fast, and you will likely wind up with boiling water and steam coming back up through the bore if attached to a firearm.

I don't know if this has been addressed, but my knowledge in the knife world tells me that putting cool water (anything around room/ambient temp) onto hot metal is a recipe for disaster. It will likely weaken welds, cause stress fractures in the metal grain and warping. All things I assume would be detrimental to a suppressor. Now I don't actually know what the operating temps of a suppressor are, so it's possible that they're low enough for the dramatic heat loss to not really affect anything, but it's not a chance I'd want to take.

 

[Jack_L]

I don't know if this has been addressed, but my knowledge in the knife world tells me that putting cool water (anything around room/ambient temp) onto hot metal is a recipe for disaster. It will likely weaken welds, cause stress fractures in the metal grain and warping. All things I assume would be detrimental to a suppressor. Now I don't actually know what the operating temps of a suppressor are, so it's possible that they're low enough for the dramatic heat loss to not really affect anything, but it's not a chance I'd want to take.

The suppressors I am using are primarily Inconel 718, and the amount of water flow is about what you'd get in a heavy rain.
Temperatures can exceed 2000 degrees Fahrenheit in the core in extreme use (continuous belt-fed full auto for a couple hundred+ rounds), with external temperatures in the 18/1900 area. This is an extreme case. What I am referring to is "normal" use of semi-auto fire where the surface temperature is in the 750 degree area (depending on the suppressor design), or significantly lower if you aren't really trying to find failure points.

Folks that make suppressors for military applications have to take thermal shock into account, and build for that.
Here's a good example of why:
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ETA: Don't know what I'm doing when it comes to embedding video here, sorry for the jumble.
USMC In The Snow
At about 1:24 you can see a suppressor that is well into the cherry red area of that external stainless steel girdle (old NT4, not current monocore Inconel 718).

Will a titanium suppressor handle that? I wouldn't bet on it. Not taking a shot at titanium suppressors, they're great when used appropriately with the understanding of what they're going to do, but I'd expect them to be able to handle heavy rain when moderately hot.

I'm not a knife maker, and despite reading Goddard's book and a healthy dose of Forged in Fire I certainly don't consider myself to be more informed on knife making than someone that *actually does it*, but I do feel pretty safe in saying that blade design and material are significantly different than suppressors. BUT I absolutely do agree that "water quenching" (full submersion) a ripping hot suppressor is a bad idea.

 

[secondofangle2]

When I wrap a wet towel on mine, it's barely hot enough to sizzle for just a brief moment, then MAYBE it will steam a little.

I rarely shoot more than 5-10 shots before I let it cool

But with that ryobi blower, it's really no longer an issue, I have rarely used the wet towel trick now that I have like 1000 CFM going through my barrel