How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

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Kip42
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How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by Kip42 »

How do I clean and maintain my Surefire 5.56, 7.62, and AAC 22 can? What is the average service life of these cans?

I noticed it was smoking after 50 rounds. How many can I safely rapid fire?
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WasDustyJacket
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by WasDustyJacket »

Rifle ammo like the .308 burn hot enough that they won't get dirty, much.

I assume the same is true for the 5.56.

For a .22 can you can clean one that comes apart, just don't damage it......
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delta9mda
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by delta9mda »

what .22 can do you have?
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fireguyty
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by fireguyty »

I am interested in this as well. Also I have been wandering what exactly "the dip" is.

Thanks,
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by theflatline »

Also I have been wandering what exactly "the dip" is.

+1
and were do you get "the dip"
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D9M9TR9S
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by D9M9TR9S »

theflatline wrote:Also I have been wandering what exactly "the dip" is.

+1
and were do you get "the dip"

A 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Has to be disposed of properly though because it creates lead acetate after cleaning a can with it.
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WasDustyJacket
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by WasDustyJacket »

and it will ruin un-anodized aluminum
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TOOL1075
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

I just bought an ultrasonic cleaner on Ebay..... Not safe for aluminum either though.

I've used the dip, and if you use the correct protective equipment, you will be okay. Disposal is something to worry about too though. With an ultrasonic, the waste is no worse than lead shavings would be.
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HILMAN76
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by HILMAN76 »

TOOL1075 wrote:I just bought an ultrasonic cleaner on Ebay..... Not safe for aluminum either though.

I've used the dip, and if you use the correct protective equipment, you will be okay. Disposal is something to worry about too though. With an ultrasonic, the waste is no worse than lead shavings would be.

Tool1075, what solution are you going to use in your ultrasonic cleaner?
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

I plan to use water with a dish soap. If it is not doing a satisfactory job, I plan to use something stronger
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by HILMAN76 »

TOOL1075 wrote:I plan to use water with a dish soap. If it is not doing a satisfactory job, I plan to use something stronger
Keep us posted on the outcomes of the different solutions you experiment with. I like the idea of the ultrasonic cleaner rather than using the dip, having to find a place to dump the toxic dip liquid sucks.
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

HILMAN76 wrote:
TOOL1075 wrote:I plan to use water with a dish soap. If it is not doing a satisfactory job, I plan to use something stronger
Keep us posted on the outcomes of the different solutions you experiment with. I like the idea of the ultrasonic cleaner rather than using the dip, having to find a place to dump the toxic dip liquid sucks.
Yeah, I'll let you know.

I don't have a lot of experience with ultrasonic cleaning (just with small jewelry cleaners my wife has used in the past).

I do know that not all cleaning units are created equal, and those that have harder tranducer construction (ceramics, or similar) will probably be more efficient at creating the conditions nessesary for cavitation, given a certain power rating. (i.e. 100W of power consumption by the transducers in one unit may be comparable with 60W in another).

In addition to power, frequency output also influences cavitation in various media, as well as temperature. There are optimum heat conditions of certain liquids to maximize the efficiency of cavitation.

So, when picking a liquid to use, it's probably important to keep in mind the other variables involved so something is not dismissed as useless when it might just need a different amount of heat energy.

Should be fun to mess around with.... I think the fun part is going to be finding something to use as a lubricating solution in which to bathe dry parts post-cleaning.
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HILMAN76
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Harbor freight ultrasonic cleaner.

Post by HILMAN76 »

I was looking at this model awhile back to clean my fired brass shell cases for reloading, its $69.99 and you can get a coupon for 20% off any single purchase at Harbor freight from inside an NRA American Rifleman magazine. Im not sure this is heavy duty enough to clean baffles though.


http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-u ... 95563.html

Sale: $69.99

Image

Description of Chicago Electric Power Tools 95563

Fill our 85 oz. ultrasonic cleaner tank with water or an appropriate ultrasonic cleaning formula (not included), then just drop in your jewelry, tableware, eyeglasses, or waterproof watches, and in a few minutes they are clean. Five preset cycles take the guesswork out of cleaning.

85 oz. capacity
Five cleaning cycles: 90, 180, 280, 380 and 480 seconds
Clean with or without heat
Easy-to-read LED digital timer
Clear-view window
Power cord: 4 ft. 8"
Tank dimensions: 3” D x 9-3/4” L x 5-1/2” W
Overall dimensions: 11-3/8" L x 9" W x 7-1/4" H
Shipping Weight: 6.50 lbs.





Name 2.5 Liter Ultrasonic Cleaner
SKU 95563
Max Temp In Fahrenheit 149
Brand Chicago Electric Power Tools
Color Silver
Material Stainless Steel
Shipping Volume 0.703
Item Type 2.5L Non-Metal Ultrasonic Cleaner
Cord Length In Feet (duplicate attribute) 5
Voltage 120
Max Output Watts 160
Piece Count 1
Capacity 2.5 liter
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TOOL1075
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

I think you get what you pay for. The things you probably get with higher cost units are life of the heater units and transducers, life of the attachment of the transducers to the tank, uniformity of frequency sweep throughout for uniform and repeatable cavitation throughout the tank, etc.
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RobRat
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by RobRat »

Might want to check with the manufacturer, and see what they recommend. I asked YHM about cleaning a 762 stainless suppressor, and here was their reply:

"Sir,
The best way to clean the suppressor is to soak the entire suppressor in
mineral spirits overnight, then remove the next morning and shake the
suppressor out, and then blow it out with some compressed air. Then a
light coat of gun oil may be applied to the outside of the suppressor and
wiped down. Recommended cleaning intervals is after 1000-1500 rounds have
been fired through the suppressor. This is the best method for cleaning
and we have found no better solution than the mineral spirits for cleaning
as it does an excellent job breaking down and disolving the lead and
buildup from the bullets. If you follow this advice for cleaning you
should have no problems shooting .22's or any other caliber through your
suppressor. It is NOT recommended to use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean
the suppressor as there have been issues of metal cracking on the
suppressor believed to have been caused by the ultrasonic cleaner, so they
are NOT recommended to be used on the suppressors."
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TOOL1075
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

ultrasonic use causing cracking in aluminum or titanium maybe.... not stainless steel.

and if you think you can shoot .22LR through a 5.56 can and just clean it with mineral spirits..... good luck.
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Bendersquint
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by Bendersquint »

DustyJacket wrote:and it will ruin un-anodized aluminum
The dip also kills ANODIZED aluminum, all you need it 1 pit in the anodized finish and it will eat it from the inside.

The dip is some nasty stuff but super effective, just ha to stay with Stainless baffles or tubes and you will be fine.

-B
Kip42
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by Kip42 »

delta9mda wrote:what .22 can do you have?
AAC Element
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TOOL1075
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

FYI - there is an old but good cleaner on Ebay for cheap right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

thought I would mention it if someone is looking for one. Less than 4 hours left and it's not even to $100 yet... I don't see it going much past $150 or so, but who knows. good luck :lol:
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HILMAN76
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by HILMAN76 »

TOOL1075 wrote:FYI - there is an old but good cleaner on Ebay for cheap right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

thought I would mention it if someone is looking for one. Less than 4 hours left and it's not even to $100 yet... I don't see it going much past $150 or so, but who knows. good luck :lol:

I lost :( :cry: it ended at $256, ohhhhh well. :lol:



Im trying to find reviews on this unit, http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2-5L-PRO-DIGITA ... 333wt_1139 so far I have found no reviews.
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TOOL1075
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

those units seem to all be made my the same OEM.... and I'm not sure of their quality. There are a lot of them. I almost pulled the trigger on something like that, but saw the Crest unit I got for such a good deal and couldn't pass it up. You never know what you're going to find
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Re: How to clean and maintain a suppressor.

Post by TOOL1075 »

if someone hurries, they might snag this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT
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