Diana 34 springer break-in dieseling.

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buckyusn

buckyusn

Member
Mar 25, 2017
271
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TX, United States
I didn't want to hijack another thread talking about breaking in air rifles, so I started this one.



My classic RWS / Diana 34 .177 air rifle came in the mail a couple of days ago. I went out back to shoot it/break it in with some Crosman 7.9 grain pellets, using the iron sights and it sounded more like a firecracker/22 short going off than a spring powered air rifle. I retreated inside and put the rifle up (a.k.a. I wasn't paying attention and didn't break the barrel to look for any tell-tale smoke from dieseling, but since this is a "factory fresh" rifle out of the packaging, I think that's what it is). I did clean the barrel with a Patchworm, some Ballistol, and several dry patches until they came out clean. I understand that there may be different views about cleaning the barrel before shooting the rifle, but I've always been a rebel. 



Question: How long can I expect this dieseling to take place before the rifle settles down? Ten shots..50 shots...100 shots? I have an excellent rubber tire mulch pellet trap, and can shoot in my closed garage until the rifle settles...I don't want to scare or concern any neighbors.



Thanks!
 
I can't speak with any level of real expertise, but allow me to try. :)

Most new guns, unless they're "tuned" or such, get a dose of these.

birchwoodsynthcleaner001.1623889121.jpg


(Make sure you get the synthetics, don't use petroleum products on rubber. Kinda like Vaseline and condoms are a no-no! lol )

And a bottle of silicon oil for general lube-drips.... something like #ad this.
gunoil001.1623889348.JPG




same goes for most my powder-burners.



my 2-cents. i expect change back.



f
 
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its been awhile since ive been into a springer, but its probably 'over lubed' and with the summer heat im sure it doesnt help if thats what it is working itself into the chamber past the piston seal .. if it was me i'd break it down and make sure its lubed right, of course the spring compressor i had rigged up on my workbench has long since been dismantled .. but, ive destroyed a piston seal on a new magnum springer once that was doing that ... wasnt easy to come up with a new one either, took awhile ..
 
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My last new rifle was a Gamo wildcat whisper which I got last year and sold this year. That took about 100 shots to quit dieseling. 

I put a couple of drops of oil down the port of my Diana 36 a few weeks ago and this weekend it took about 60 shots to quit dieseling though the shots settled down at about 30 or 40 as there was not enough oil burning to make any difference to the fps. 
 
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Unfortunately, without complete disassembly, there’s not much you can do to speed up the break in process. The dieseling is happening in the compression chamber, not the barrel, and no matter how clean your barrel is, the compression chamber is probably still coated with the oil they use to protect it during storage and shipping. It could be quite a few shots before it stops, but that depends on the rifle, and who built it on what day. Lol. 
my tx200 stopped after about 20 shots, but air arms is known for not using much lube in their guns. Sometimes for the worse. I would just keep shooting it till it calms down, or stops smoking. Also Bob-in-WV had a good point. Shooting heavier pellets will speed the process, as long as they’re not too heavy to cause damage. 
good luck. 
 
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I had the exact same experience with my first springer. A Hatsan Mdl 95 in .22. So I know exactly what you just experienced. My first shot was out side but I too quickly retreated indoors. I’m able to shoot in my basement. I got about 11 yards to work with. So I put on some ear muffs and started the break in procedures. I don’t remember exactly how many pellets I had to shoot before it quited down. Maybe 20 or 50. So if you can shoot indoors for a while that may help to not alert your neighbors. 
 
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If you have the knowledge , go ahead and take the gun apart and clean the excess lube out. Keep in mind most of the lube is an anti rust material rather than a lube. Cleaning this out and adding proper lube greatly speeds up the breakin and is actually better for the rifle in the long run. Whenever I got a new gun, that was the first step, also a chance to remove metal chips and debris left from manufacturing. In a few cases the excess metal chips had already damaged the seal. If you have the skill and knowledge to dissamble your springer, do it....best thing for your new rifle!!
 
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Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I did just get an Air Venturi rail lock spring dis-assembly tool. I've never taken a spring or piston gun apart before, so this would be a first for me. I've taken the stock off of my Crosman NP-4 Fire and replaced the trigger with a CDT trigger kit (big improvement, by the way). My original plan was to try a Vortek tune kit after I got a few hundred rounds through the rifle and learned it some. I've watched a couple of disassembly videos on YouTube, but this would be the first time I've actually done one.



I do have heavier pellets (10.5 grain Crosman Destroyers) that I can use to break in the rifle in my garage. I think I will try that route, rather than do my first complete tear down on such a nice piece of hardware (the bluing quality on the rifle is actually quite good). If the piston gets damaged in the process, I will do the tear down and Vortek tune kit.
 
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If you have the knowledge , go ahead and take the gun apart and clean the excess lube out. Keep in mind most of the lube is an anti rust material rather than a lube. Cleaning this out and adding proper lube greatly speeds up the breakin and is actually better for the rifle in the long run. Whenever I got a new gun, that was the first step, also a chance to remove metal chips and debris left from manufacturing. In a few cases the excess metal chips had already damaged the seal. If you have the skill and knowledge to dissamble your springer, do it....best thing for your new rifle!!
Click to expand...

I agree with this. 

But if you don't want to jump right into it, shoot it for a while. As another member mentioned, heavy pellets can help. 

And it may never stop dieseling, especially if the piston seal is cut and it's over lubed. Or the spring may break before it does, older RWS guns had a bout with this for a while. 

Just shoot it for a while and feel it out. Make sure you like the gun and it shows some good potential for accuracy first. 
 
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I can't speak with any level of real expertise, but allow me to try. :)

Most new guns, unless they're "tuned" or such, get a dose of these.

birchwoodsynthcleaner001.1623889121.jpg


(Make sure you get the synthetics, don't use petroleum products on rubber. Kinda like Vaseline and condoms are a no-no! lol )

And a bottle of silicon oil for general lube-drips.... something like #ad this.
gunoil001.1623889348.JPG




same goes for most my powder-burners.



my 2-cents. i expect change back.



f
Click to expand...

The lube in the rifle from the factory is petroleum based. That's why it diesels in the first place. 

Breech seals in RWS guns if black or usually Buna rubber. Petroleum won't hurt them. The piston seal is either a type of nylon or urethane, and petroleum won't hurt them either. 

There is not a single place on a spring piston air rifle for silicone oil to be used. It's a rubber lubricant and that's all. It offers near zero lubrication for steel, and will cause parts to gall under high heat (such as inside a compression tube). And it's an oil, so it will get everywhere inside, regardless of where you put it or want it to stay. 


 
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I can't speak with any level of real expertise, but allow me to try. :)

Most new guns, unless they're "tuned" or such, get a dose of these.

birchwoodsynthcleaner001.1623889121.jpg


(Make sure you get the synthetics, don't use petroleum products on rubber. Kinda like Vaseline and condoms are a no-no! lol )

And a bottle of silicon oil for general lube-drips.... something like #ad this.
gunoil001.1623889348.JPG




same goes for most my powder-burners.



my 2-cents. i expect change back.



f
Click to expand...

Synthetic oils can and most often are petroleum type oils. The are generally made either from natural gas or by breaking down and rebuilding the molecules in crude oil to get molecules of specific properties.

Silicon oils are also synthetics, some of the carbon, usually methyl groups have been replaced by silicon chemical groups. Silicon oils and greases are much more rubber friendly than pure carbon based or petroleum products, natural or synthetic, but from all I read do not have as good of a lubricating property. They do have a higher flash point hence the lack of the dieseling problem with pure carbon based lubricants.
 
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Good afternoon. I started shooting in my garage this afternoon. Only about 18 feet or so between me and the pellet trap. I have about 20-30 shots with 10.5 grain Crosman Pirahna pellets through it using the factory sights and it looks like it is starting to settle down a little. I couldn't take the TX heat in my garage anymore, and had to take a break from it. All of this is shooting from a standing position, and the rifle seems to be pretty accurate with just the factory fiber optic sights. It was grouping well, just about an inch low and good for windage, so I adjusted the sights and now it is grouping consistently with a dead on hold. I had two fliers, which I called because I flubbed the trigger pull. I have to say that the trigger seems really nice right out of the box. I can already tell that this is going to be a fun plinker and occasional pest killer!



I will update this thread with my "final" break in shot count, and anything else I learn along the way. Thank you everyone for your feedback, input, and advice.
 
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Still working through the break in process. About 125+ shots in and the rifle is definitely starting to quiet down. I know that I'm only shooting at around 15ft max right now, but I have to say the accuracy of the rifle with iron sights is pretty impressive! I also am impressed with the wood stock and bluing on the rifle. For the money, I'm quite pleased with the rifle so far. It compliments my PCP airguns well, and it is nice having a quality spring rifle to challenge myself with.



If anyone is considering a spring powered rifle for their stable, this isn't a bad one to go for. The $200 price tag for what is a well built rifle really isn't bad:

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/1828970


 
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Good to hear your getting the bugs worked out. 
I got my 34 Meisterschutze pro compact here in the classifieds. Its been tuned a bit. Upgraded springs and such. Ive had it about a month. I have two PCPs but I’d been searching for a springer that I actually enjoy shooting. I added a rubber butt pad to help secure the buttstock when cocking. I am enjoying this gun. Good fun for my backyard plinking. And it takes a little more skill to accurately shoot a springer compared to a PCP. So the challenge is fun. The trigger is amazing for a break barrel. But now that I’ve been shooting it for a month there is a little more creep on the second stage than I’d like. So I’m going to look and see if I can adjust that out. 
.
35D5059C-E1EE-4D89-9E4B-2DA29C85EA23.1624070435.jpeg

 
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