How long should an HW break barrel breech seal last

[TonyL]

Well, in my experience the genuine HW ones last a very long time......

One of my 95s.....bought new in 1995. Fitted V-Mach kit in 2014. It was still shooting brilliantly, and very consistently two years ago. So, breech seal about 27 years old!

Conversely, in 2019, a "supposedly genuine HW" one in a 35 lasted two months!

P.S...the 95.....although the seal looked flattened and to be well past its best, it was still quite pliable and, as said, still performed very well.

[Neil54]

What lubricant do you use?
Could it be deteriorated by lubricant?

[Barryg]

What lubricant do you use?
Could it be deteriorated by lubricant?

I did wonder that, but the breech only gets an occasional wipe with Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil.

Tony, 27 years that's amazing The broken seals in the pic did look OK and worked I only decided to change them because the fps was inconsistent, I wonder if you tried to remove your old ones they would crumble, I have now fitted a new standard seal and the fps are consistent, but I'm thinking of getting a heavy-duty seal from somewhere if they are easy to get, I have had almost indestructible Diana breech seals from Terry Robb but not HW.

[TonyL]

I did wonder that, but the breech only gets an occasional wipe with Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil.

Tony, 27 years that's amazing The broken seals in the pic did look OK and worked I only decided to change them because the fps was inconsistent, I wonder if you tried to remove your old ones they would crumble, I have now fitted a new standard seal and the fps are consistent, but I'm thinking of getting a heavy-duty seal from somewhere if they are easy to get, I have had almost indestructible Diana breech seals from Terry Robb but not HW.

Nope. When I removed that old seal from the 95, despite it looking well flattened, it was still soft and flexible, Barry. Although, outwardly, it looked to be past its best it was still working well and, I suspect, would have carried on doing so for a good while longer.

The aforementioned one that wasn't very old from the 35 was, I suspect, a seal made for the supplier as opposed to a genuine Weihrauch one.

I also wonder how some stockists might store seals.

The worst one I ever saw was one from a Webley Stingray a couple of years ago that I looked at for a friend. It had gone very dry and hard and little fragments had to be carefully removed using a cocktail stick.

[angrybear]

I did wonder that, but the breech only gets an occasional wipe with Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil.

Obvious answer would be stop using it, or change to a different product, & see if it makes a difference, a good wipe of silicone grease, just to the rubber seal, before fitting might help a bit.

[evert]

My 2008 HW80 and my 2009 HW95 are still on their original breech seals.

Normal gun oils are made for metal lubrication and preservation, not lubrication of synthetics.
Wrong lube seems to be the obvious problem here.

Or do you want us to realise that Diana seals are better than HW seals???

[TonyL]

What lubricant do you use?
Could it be deteriorated by lubricant?

I did wonder that, but the breech only gets an occasional wipe with Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil.
.

Obvious answer would be stop using it, or change to a different product, & see if it makes a difference, a good wipe of silicone grease, just to the rubber seal, before fitting might help a bit.

Normal gun oils are made for metal lubrication and preservation, not lubrication of synthetics.
Wrong lube seems to be the obvious problem here.

Makes sense.

[Barryg]

So, it looks like most think it was the oil that caused it to crumble, I still might get a heavy duty seal

[junglie]

I did wonder that, but the breech only gets an occasional wipe with Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil.

Tony, 27 years that's amazing The broken seals in the pic did look OK and worked I only decided to change them because the fps was inconsistent, I wonder if you tried to remove your old ones they would crumble, I have now fitted a new standard seal and the fps are consistent, but I'm thinking of getting a heavy-duty seal from somewhere if they are easy to get, I have had almost indestructible Diana breech seals from Terry Robb but not HW.

I only use silicone oil to wipe them over prior to fitting & they last well over 15 years still soft when i change them.

[Barryg]

I have found two heavy duty breech seals for sale and have sent off for one of them and I won't be putting much lube on it this time


Out of stock so going to stick with factory seal.

[MartiniDave]

I recently bought a pair from "the bay", fitted one to a 35, after 5 days just sitting in the cupboard I went to use the rifle only to find the seal had split completely! Not impressed at all. I've messaged the vendor and will see what, if anything, they say.

Dave

[maximus]

Also, some of these after market jobbies prevent the barrel from closing properly. I'd stick to oem personally. Regards Max

[TonyL]

What lubricant do you use?
Could it be deteriorated by lubricant?

I would well imagine that some lubes wouldn't be a seal's best friend, Neil.