02-23-2020, 02:19 PM
tdbru Wrote:i thought i read a long time ago, that the ball powder being used in 223 ammo in Vietnam had a high calcium carbonate content. i guess that is a flash suppressor?? not sure, any way i heard antidotal stories that the calcium carbonate would plate out in the gas tube and eventually cause failures to cycle due to plugging up the gas tube. when they went to different powder the problem went away. i also read somewhere that Eugene Stoner intended the gas system design to use cartridges with stick powder, not ball powder for that reason. Since the AR gas system issues have been well sorted out now, in the almost 60 years since the AR's adoption, i wouldn't expect stoppages due to plugged up gas tubes anymore. in line with the OP question, i am curious if anyone has recently ended up with failures to cycle due to not cleaning out the carbon in either the gas tube or the bolt carrier expansion chamber? other than liking things clean, has it ever caused a malfunction? i haven't used my first build much, since i haven't had a lot of time off of work, but i also haven't yet cleaned the gas tube or the BCG expansion chamber. and if i don't have to, for functional reliability, i may not bother. on the other hand if not cleaning these out does indeed cause malfunctions down the road, then i'll have to put it on a maintenance schedule at x number of rounds.
thanks,
-tdbru
This is what I can tell you from my personal experience with 3 AA 16 inch fluted barrels so far.
No matter if it has been factory or handloads are a combination of both. I have on several occasions ran the round count up past 500 rounds without cleaning and have yet to have a issue due too a dirty gas tube are because of a dirty bcg.
I make a habit of doing a strip cleaning at are around 500 rounds. But honestly feel on a function aspect I could go much longer without having to worrie about a issue.
I believe being properly gassed and good quality parts used are more important then cleaning X amount of rounds.
As too the question of cleaning the gas tube. I have never thrown away a gas tube I just keep reusing them, moving them from gas block to gas block and barrel to barrel. I have blown some air in it from my air compressor in the shop between moves that about it.