The manual for the Hatsan 150 says to "oil you air rifle every 250 shots". I dunno exactly what that means, so I tried searching the web. The info I've found for Gas Pistons were mixed opinions. Some people would say to only oil the breech seal. Some people would say to open the breech and oil the piston. One guy actually said to cock the gun, then let one drop of oil fall into the hole now that the piston was pulled back. Some people say you should never oil a gas piston. So once again, the manual says to "oil your air rifle every 250 shots" and "clean the barrel every 500 shots". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Vague maintenance instructions
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ON my Diana gas piston Airguns of Arizona and PA both said don't clean barrel unless your accuracy starts to go off.
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Do not oil the piston or breech seal. Clean the barrel when new and if starts to group bad you might clean it then.
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"oil" in a sping gun (whether a steel coil spring or a gas ram) MUST be limited to non-petroleum-based lubrication! One of the best, and easiest to find here in the States, is Crosman's Silicone Oil in the 3" tube. Silicone oil is not petroleum-based and will not produce an explosion (diesel) when rapidly compressed to a high pressure - exactly the conditions that occur when you fire a spring gun. When I took up airguns I wondered the same about oiling my guns and the best advice I found was to put just a single drop (or two drops at the most) into the compression chamber when the barrel is broken open on a break-barrel gun. That procedure only needs to be done once a year if the gun is seldom used; twice a year for a gun that sees action frequently. You should listen for the sound of "honking" when you cock the gun to know that more oil is needed - the gun's piston will honk like a goose as it is dragged down the dry compression tube walls. I have in the past set a gun upright overnight, having put 2 drops of silicone oil into the top (crown) of the barrel. The oil migrates downs the barrel, seeps around the breech seal, and works down into the chamber where it also lubes the piston seal. That works well as a type of preventative maintenance; if the gun starts honking on me I'll do the direct application of the drops to the compression chamber.
Underlevers and side levers the same: a drop or two (no more) into the compression chamber, introduced through the air port that leads into the barrel. This is the recommended amount for modern airguns with synthetic piston seals. Older airguns (and a very few models still made today) need more synthetic oil since they use leather piston seals and those must be kept moist and pliable. In no case should you introduce a petroleum product to the compression chamber or the barrel as this will lead to detonation of the oil and potential damage to your gun, you, your marriage, your homeowner's insurance rates, your rental agreement... just bad all around.
Underlevers and side levers the same: a drop or two (no more) into the compression chamber, introduced through the air port that leads into the barrel. This is the recommended amount for modern airguns with synthetic piston seals. Older airguns (and a very few models still made today) need more synthetic oil since they use leather piston seals and those must be kept moist and pliable. In no case should you introduce a petroleum product to the compression chamber or the barrel as this will lead to detonation of the oil and potential damage to your gun, you, your marriage, your homeowner's insurance rates, your rental agreement... just bad all around.
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Any kind of oil weather it be silicone or any other is the manufacturers way of insuring that you will eventually have to purchase a new gun.... Don't do it! To lube it right you must disassemble and use moly grease or a lot guy are using Krytox these days which I'm still not really sold on myself. Oil in compression chamber will eventually destroy the piston seal or break a spring! If you do it the right way you will enjoy thousands of shots until it just need rebuilt... I've been tunning and rebuilding springers for better than 10 years and some just because they want to get the most out their gun but alot because of doing something like what your asking about...
Short term power but destroying you gun!
Sorry for my rant but just the way it is...
James from Michigan,
Short term power but destroying you gun!
Sorry for my rant but just the way it is...
James from Michigan,
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Yes, it will. While silicone oil is generally considered non flammable (easily ignited), it is still combustible. It has a high flash point and even higher auto ignition temperature but those are still below the air temperature achieved in the rapidly compressed air in a spring gun. This oil WILL cause dieseling. Moly paste will also cause dieseling when it gets in front of the piston seal. This is why I use Krytox. It has zero flash point, cannot combust or contribute to combustion. Thoroughly clean all the lubricant out of your compression chamber and only use Krytox and your gun will not diesel.
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@outdoorman, interesting information in your post. For my part, I began using the silicone oil on the recommendation of Tom Gaylord in one of his Airgun University posts on YT. In the 2 years I've been using it I've never experienced a detonation in my springers. These have included both Nitro Piston and NP2 guns as well as some much more mild youth-oriented break barrels. The silicone oil has solved all of the dry honking issues as well. YMMV, as for me and my guns silicone oil has a place in my maintenance cabinet.
@ChuckHunter, I've done the moly grease on my primary springers - you are right that it is a superior lube where metal-to-metal contact takes place. Nonetheless, a very few drops (1 drop?) of silicone oil on the face of the piston seal every so often has done nothing detrimental to my seal over the past 1 1/2 years. My recommendation the to the OP was 75% strong advice to avoid petroleum-based oils and 25% sharing my positive experience with a product recommended by long-time airgunners. As with outdoorman, YMMV.
@ChuckHunter, I've done the moly grease on my primary springers - you are right that it is a superior lube where metal-to-metal contact takes place. Nonetheless, a very few drops (1 drop?) of silicone oil on the face of the piston seal every so often has done nothing detrimental to my seal over the past 1 1/2 years. My recommendation the to the OP was 75% strong advice to avoid petroleum-based oils and 25% sharing my positive experience with a product recommended by long-time airgunners. As with outdoorman, YMMV.
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Detonation and dieseling are two different things. I guess you could say that detonation is excessive dieseling. Minor dieseling is pretty normal in springers since manufacturer's use combustible lubricants in their guns. Minor dieseling is not necessarily a bad thing but it is not a controlled consistent thing that is happening in the compression chamber so I choose to remove it altogether by degreasing and then using a lubricant that cannot cause it in the first place.
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Oil in the combustion chamber is required only for older guns with leather piston seals. Synthetic seals do not require oil.
"Honking" indicates an oversized synthetic seal.
"Honking" indicates an oversized synthetic seal.
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