Rust-proof your hybrid chambers

[Fnord]

Title should say enough.

This is mine after five years.
Pitting is significant. This is more of a concern when the threads are taken into account; you're only playing with a few hundredths of and inch wall thickness.


My chamber was 'black iron' with the stock coating left on it. Galvanized should hold up longer, but should still be checked occasionally. Carbon buildup holds in moister fairly well.

[wyz2285]

Well I only get in to know spudguns for about 2 years, my hybrid it´s only few month old and it´s made of brass and galvanized iron...
But good advise through, if anybody decide to make a lifetime hybrid, use stainless steel

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

a lifetime hybrid

car engines lol!

[POLAND_SPUD]

car engines

yup they're amazing - even more so from our perspective...

That pipe has probably experienced as many explosions as a typical engine in 2-3 seconds

[Fnord]

Then again, I would not have been able to bring a car engine back to life so quickly after sitting in the corner and corroding for a couple years.
Well, probably not a *modern* overcomplicated engine.
Half the systems bolted on to the thing were effectively dead or dying when that recent video was made... the piston valve was the only thing that still functioned perfectly, haha.

[D_Hall]

Biggest thing is to make sure that you dry the gun out at the end of the day.

As an extreme example, after every shot with VERA, I pump dry air through her for 30 minutes at a rate that turns over the entire volume about once every 30 seconds.

[POLAND_SPUD]

I wonder if applying a thin film of oil would help

Every parts that has ever been on any gun I built is very well preserved due to oil that accumulated on the inside (thx to fridge compressors )

[Fnord]

I used motor oil on the piston once, and it caused large clouds of smoke for the first few shots. It would probably add to the carbon buildup...

I thought about vera when I first saw this... "Huh, wonder if Dave painted his chamber walls, especially being out in the salt-flats"
I kinda figured your purge cycle used a dryer of some type though.

[MrCrowley]

I left my piston hybrid outside overnight once and it rusted more then than it had in total the previous 18 months. After that, I gave it a spray of CRC and it hasn't rusted since; although I haven't left it outside and exposed since then either.

The problem with galv. iron fittings is that the galv. coating comes off from repeated plumbing wrench use. I haven't really checked the inside of my piston hybrid except through a 1" threaded port and it seems to just be coated in a fine carbon dust that isn't transferred to the finger by touch. I've never washed it out for the obvious reasons.

The smaller burst disk hybrid has had plenty of water through it (damn volumetric metering) but is similar to the piston hybrid in that it has no obvious rust, just a fine coat of carbon.

However, I think what you said is sensible and the chambers should be checked regularly both for rust and excessive carbon build up. I'd also add that you shouldn't leave them exposed outside.