Thompsonj
Well-Known Member
Does anyone use one of these? Are they worth having during the summer? Looks pretty cheap to build one
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Barrel cooler
- Thread starter Thompsonj
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If you do a search on this Forum you will find Posts on this subject. Use don't use factory made and DYI Coolers.
Wedgy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2013
- Messages
- 3,278
Chamber Chiller works best for me, much smaller than a mattress pump, quiet and I run it off the same battery pack I use for Labradar. Magneto speed makes on but I haven't tried it.
I'm cheap. I keep a bottle of water and an old bath towel in my range bag. Gets the job done quickly with no batteries or usb chargers. Gotta be me,
Many years ago when Precision Shooting Magazine was still being published, I saw a small CO2 tank that was promoted as a barrel cooling system. Turns out the volume of that tank was too small to work properly.
A tank 20 lb or larger will work properly. A ball valve is used to control the flow with a 3/8" OD rubber hose attached. The tip of the hose is cut at a taper so it will wedge into the neck area of a wide range of chambers.
The photo shows a regulator, which I discovered later on, isn't necessary. In case someone wants to use a regulator I was able to try different ones at the local welding supply shop. This had the best flow: Prest-O-Lite R36-50-580
As for using the CO2. Hold hose in place while you open up tank valve then crack open the ball valve to get a mild flow coming out of the end of the barrel. Generally a barrel can be cooled to ambient in 15 to 20 seconds. When the barrel begins to feel cooler on outside stop and let the metal radiate the effect which will continue for a while. Quite a few other shooters have adopted this system including Dave Miller the gunsmith.
I don't use the system year round, mostly in the hotter months or when I want to speed up the process of finding a load.
A tank 20 lb or larger will work properly. A ball valve is used to control the flow with a 3/8" OD rubber hose attached. The tip of the hose is cut at a taper so it will wedge into the neck area of a wide range of chambers.
The photo shows a regulator, which I discovered later on, isn't necessary. In case someone wants to use a regulator I was able to try different ones at the local welding supply shop. This had the best flow: Prest-O-Lite R36-50-580
As for using the CO2. Hold hose in place while you open up tank valve then crack open the ball valve to get a mild flow coming out of the end of the barrel. Generally a barrel can be cooled to ambient in 15 to 20 seconds. When the barrel begins to feel cooler on outside stop and let the metal radiate the effect which will continue for a while. Quite a few other shooters have adopted this system including Dave Miller the gunsmith.
I don't use the system year round, mostly in the hotter months or when I want to speed up the process of finding a load.
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I use a chamber chiller, if it get really hot I put the gun in the truck with the AC on
fnlights
Well-Known Member
Barrel cooling methods? Chamber Chiller Pro vs The Original Barrel Cooler
Has anyone used the new chamber chiller pro (https://www.chamberchiller.com/USB-Centerfire-Chamber-Chillers/RH-USB-Bolt-Action-308-338?product_id=197) or the original barrel cooler (https://www.area1sports.com/product/complete-barrel-cooler-assembly/)? I'm trying to decide between one or the...
I decided to use a cheap wireless air mattress pump from Amazon and some tubing from a local hardware store - all in was around $20. Ryan from LRO posted a review of all of them online and it was clear that the air mattress pump pushed out the most air - some of those barrel coolers really don't do much.
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I've have done the same after wasting money on a few of the commercial "barrel coolers". I use a $20 cordless, rechargeable mattress pump from Amazon and a flexible hose from Ace Hardware. You never even lift the little pump up. The only issue is that the internal battery doesn't last long enough. I usually use a USB Y adaptor off of my LabRadar battery and plug the mattress blower into it for extended use. Or ............. for an extra $20, just buy a second pump.Barrel cooling methods? Chamber Chiller Pro vs The Original Barrel Cooler
Has anyone used the new chamber chiller pro (https://www.chamberchiller.com/USB-Centerfire-Chamber-Chillers/RH-USB-Bolt-Action-308-338?product_id=197) or the original barrel cooler (https://www.area1sports.com/product/complete-barrel-cooler-assembly/)? I'm trying to decide between one or the...www.longrangehunting.com
I decided to use a cheap wireless air mattress pump from Amazon and some tubing from a local hardware store - all in was around $20. Ryan from LRO posted a review of all of them online and it was clear that the air mattress pump pushed out the most air - some of those barrel coolers really don't do much.
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^^^This with my SS barrels^^^ Lately I have been using the frozen ice/gel packs on all barrels with great results. Just lay them on top of the barrel (2-3 of them) and after a few cools they have a nice channel to fit easily. They have condensation so be aware and I just put some old folded T-shirt to pick up any moisture. Thin cotten allows better heat exchange and wont let the condensation direct on barrel.
If you are shooting for accuracy you want to try to keep your barrel at the same temp with each shot.
Getting the barrel hot and then putting ice on it contracts the metal in the barrel FAST stressing the metal.
Just a suggestion if you can shoot two rifles on station and switch back and forth giving you barrel to cool normally.
Use a barrel cooler with blowing surrounding air to help cool.
Use a Barrel Temp Stirp to see what your barrel is actually heating up to.
I have seen hunters at the range fire off a box of ammo (20 rounds) at 100 yds trying to sight their scope in. They ask why their shot are "Walking" up and to the right. Well their barrel went from 70 degrees to 200 degrees +. in 1/2 hour.
A barrel temperature strip does not inherently help you shoot better but it does help you fine tune a shooting cadence that will help maintain a consistent barrel temperature. This will help improve performance translating to more consistent group sizes on target. In general, recommend that if a barrel begins to reach 140°, it is too hot and continuing to shoot at these temperatures accelerates barrel wear and ultimately leads to a short service life. The optimal barrel temperature is going to be dependent on the rifle. Keeping notes and recording barrel temperatures when the best groups are shot will aid in establishing correlations between barrel temps and on target performance which does help the shooter produce better results.
Getting the barrel hot and then putting ice on it contracts the metal in the barrel FAST stressing the metal.
Just a suggestion if you can shoot two rifles on station and switch back and forth giving you barrel to cool normally.
Use a barrel cooler with blowing surrounding air to help cool.
Use a Barrel Temp Stirp to see what your barrel is actually heating up to.
I have seen hunters at the range fire off a box of ammo (20 rounds) at 100 yds trying to sight their scope in. They ask why their shot are "Walking" up and to the right. Well their barrel went from 70 degrees to 200 degrees +. in 1/2 hour.
A barrel temperature strip does not inherently help you shoot better but it does help you fine tune a shooting cadence that will help maintain a consistent barrel temperature. This will help improve performance translating to more consistent group sizes on target. In general, recommend that if a barrel begins to reach 140°, it is too hot and continuing to shoot at these temperatures accelerates barrel wear and ultimately leads to a short service life. The optimal barrel temperature is going to be dependent on the rifle. Keeping notes and recording barrel temperatures when the best groups are shot will aid in establishing correlations between barrel temps and on target performance which does help the shooter produce better results.
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