Iceni Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 Thought I'd pop a little thread into chat about O-rings. It seems that most of you buy from Airsoft shops and pay well over the odds for them. So I thought I'd put a link or two up and mention what they are and how you go about getting them at the correct price. O-rings are a basic seal. Used worldwide for hundreds of applications. They fall into a standardised measuring system for 99% of applications Airsoft included. O-rings are not magical items made by Airsoft companies, to their own standards. Rather Airsoft has made components that fit into the standards that O-ring manufacturers produce. As such you can go to any Bearing and Seal supplier and they can measure the rings and sell you the correct ones off the shelf. For the purposes of Airsoft pistons and cylinders we are only concerned with 1 material, and that is Nitrile sometimes called Buna-N. It's one of the more common materials, and meets the demands of airsoft perfectly, having good oil resistance, reasonable heat resistance, and enough elastication to be pushed and compressed to seal the rather sloppy manufacturing standards in airsoft. Compressed gas rings are also often nitrile, but it is good to take the ring to the Bearing supplier and have them look at it as there are other materials like EPDM and Viton, and you might have an oddball. Some chemicals can significantly affect O-ring material, EPDM for example is not suitable to propane applications and most companies have a list you can check compatibility with. Buying rings is as simple as measuring them, be as accurate as possible, and consider you may have imperial (inch) specification rings (I have not had an encounter with imperial rings at all in airsoft but it's not to say it doesn't happen). Sloppy airsoft standard will mean you will need to pick to the nearest 1mm in most cases. Depending on the application you may need to round up or down depending on the seal you need to make. O-rings are measured in 2 dimensions. Thickness of the band, and Inner diameter. And a third specification is given to the shore hardness of the ring (exactly the same as buckings). Standard is 70 shore hardness for nitrile, but harder and softer rings are available. A typical piston head ring is therefore 2.5mm x 19mm x 70 shore hardness. These rings are 50 for £5. Or 10p each in most cases. A typical Cylinder head ring is 1mm x 19mm x 70 shore hardness. Again typically 50 for £5. The formula for measurement is correct for every o-ring on your guns. You can't find the right ones to space an inner barrel, Measure the OD of the inner barrel, and pick a thickness of ring that will bridge the gap to the ID of the outer barrel. Remember you will have to add the thickness twice. So OD inner barrel 8mm, ID outer 10mm. would be a 1mm x 8mm x 70 shore hardness (the math is 1+8+1 = 10mm). This site does all of the above, And it gives more measurement options than the standard 2. Use the chemical compatibility chart. And save some money buying in bulk, It's generally a very similar price for 2, 5, 10 and 50 rings! And the postage is free regardless of the order size.https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Seals-O-Ring-Seals/c19_4501/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messy Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 my life changed forever when i realized this lol. I spent AGES searching for WE o-ring replacements and couldnt find them anywhere and then I looked on ebay for just "0-rings" and found boxes full of lots of sizes for £5 or so. I still have the one box i bought - has provided every seal iv needed since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albiscuit Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Plumbers merchants should have boxes and boxes of sizes and most will leave you for as long as it takes for you to find the right one and only ask for pennies or a cup of tea in payment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommikka Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 My old favourite was polymax.co.uk and stocked up with a lifetimes worth of common sizes But it can depend on the type of o-rings for the job. Nitrile/Buna is pretty common but I do have needs for more specific material o rings but I’m pretty sorted for spares kits or access to tech guys with the right o rings Check manuals and parts diagrams as even if the dimensions aren’t obvious the parts/reference numbers may relate to the spec sizes (always consider whether imperial or metric sizes have been used by the manufacturer Should that fail many o ring companies have printable size guides for you to compare with the actual o ring you need to replace. But once downloaded and before printing check if they have set the size as a4 or American letter size (if it’s letter size and your printer adjusts to fit UK a4 size paper then it will distort the guide) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshOnSnow Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Yeah as strange as it sounds, I had a bad mag last week and my plumber was round fixing a radiator, we got talking and he actually fixed the mag in like 10 seconds. Who'd have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albiscuit Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 I used to run a plumbers merchants and hardware stores, the customers with weird requests were always my favorites. Had people coming in for all sorts of bits for strange projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshOnSnow Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Albiscuit said: I used to run a plumbers merchants and hardware stores, the customers with weird requests were always my favorites. Had people coming in for all sorts of bits for strange projects. “I want to buy a plunger, 10m of chain and how much for that cardboard cutout of the policeman in the window?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albiscuit Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 I was more thinking the people building weird sh*t from pvc pipe work or the magician that used to by stuff for tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators djben9 Posted April 1, 2018 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2018 Funny that I read this topic, , had a leaky mag yesterday, tightened screw and no luck, undid screw, just twisted o-ring around, done it back up and seems fine today although will test again later .... Not had a chance to measure as it’s done up now but anyone know the size of them for a TM glk 17 mag?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Prisce Posted April 1, 2018 Supporters Share Posted April 1, 2018 Believe they are standard in glocks at 18mmx2mm. Someone confirm this before he uses this as fact! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators djben9 Posted April 1, 2018 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2018 Just now, Prisce said: Believe they are standard in glocks at 18mmx2mm. Someone confirm this before he uses this as fact! the one in the mag with the long screw...... i also need to replace if possible.....any ideas?) dont panic, not ordering anything yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Prisce Posted April 1, 2018 Supporters Share Posted April 1, 2018 Oh are you talking about the one around the valve? If so ignore what I said! That measurement is for the o ring around the base of the mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators djben9 Posted April 1, 2018 Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, Prisce said: Oh are you talking about the one around the valve? If so ignore what I said! That measurement is for the o ring around the base of the mag. yeah the one you have on the long screw that goes through the mag, not the actual valve........at least we are in the same area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callumbagshaw Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 If you can't find an O-ring to fit your mag this stuff works too: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blue-Gasket-Maker-RTV-silicon-high-temp-sealer-instant-sealant-water-oil-resists/252800552624?epid=602577438&hash=item3adc164eb0:g:eYUAAOSw~AVYvWZO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators djben9 Posted April 5, 2018 Moderators Share Posted April 5, 2018 Firesupport do something similar with gas mags ive heard..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algy Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Tokyo Marui give the dimensions for their o-rings in their manuals, which should also fit clones as well. http://www.tokyo-marui.co.jp/support/manuals/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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