What happens when a GBB freezes?
 

I'm asking this question because my gun case was mistaken for a toolbox and was put in the garage for about 7 hours. It contained my TM M.E.U. in a Nova Kimber Warrior metal kit along with 3x TM M.E.U. mags. When I ransacked the house and finally retrieved it from the garage it was supercold and had frost on it. I quickly disassembled it and dried as much as I could off but did not manage to take the hop up + inner barrel assembly out of the aluminum outer barrel because I was afraid that I would bend it out of shape again (I say again, because I bent/widened the gap that the hop up + inner barrel assembly is insert into while installing it by accident and had to fix it). All of the internals were well greased and the mags were well lubed the day before this incident. What kind of damage could the cold have done to my GBB? Are there any pieces that may have been destroyed by the cold?

edit: This has nothing to do with the gun problems I was having before as this unfortunate event happened earlier today.

I am very mad that this has happened.

Dont take my word on it but aslong as there is no moisture u youll be ok. I think it would be unlikly but i guess its possible to crack an o ring or crack the hop up rubber. I would say give it some test fires and see how it performes. Really when you shoot a GBB to much it gets supper cold anyways so i think all is ok. but maybe some other members can give there opinions too.

Id suggest keeping it at room temp. for a day or two to regain the natural state. Visually inspect it to see if you can identify any obvious deformations that might affect the operation. Like the user above me mentioned some things Id be extra cautious about my hopup rubber and o-rings.

Did you store the mags with gas in them? Is there any gas left in them at all, like when you just touch the gas release valve do you still feel pressure?

Don't force anything of course, if removing the barrel (inner or outer) gives more resistance than normal then Id apply a small amount of silicone oil to ease them out. If after all this all appears normal I'd try and fire off a round or two and see if anything has changed in its performance.

Do not put the thing on a heat source or anything as rapid cooling and warming can defect the metal parts, possibly beyond repair. As always though when in doubt do some research or get a hold of a gun doc that knows GBBs.

Hope nothing has been too farked as that sounds like a beaut of a pistol!

depending upon the actual type of materials used the inner and outter could have contracted at a different rate, being cold for so long. then bringing the gun indoors and quickly disasembling and warming up the parts. this could cause the parts not to return closley to machined size, given the tight fit of inner and outter barrels to begin with it is possibly they will not come apart again, now iam sure the gun will be fine however check the seals.

yes your gun is designed to operate a very cold temperatures but not for that length of time.

i do agree that sounds like a nice pistol, oohh kimber where are thee!

should be fine thou, maybe new rubber, and o-rings.

I'd say you didn't damage it at all.

Just let it warm up to room temperature on it's own and you'll be fine.

I drove 4-5 hours with my M9 in my trunk in -50c weather and all I did was let it warm up a little bit and it was good to go. However the magazines did travel in a backpack in the back seat so that did make a difference.

what about gas cylinder? my brother left it inside all time then use it immediate for game. will it result loss on power?

HAHAHA.... -50C ... only in Saskatoon..

I haven't had time to test fire it yet... I hope its okay though.

Edit: I'll update the status of the gun once I put a mag or two through it.

Though I don't have time or space to test fire right now, I did quickly check the pistol a few hours ago and the mags still had pressure in them. They were all half full the night before the incident. Would any of the rubber parts freeze and crack? What about the inside of the BBU. WOuld anything there be worn? How would I figure that out? By eyeballing you can't really see if nearly brand new rubber is damaged can you?

I just finished a like 4 hour game in -5. Wasn't very effective but there is no problems with it now

I have to agree with Styrak. In all honesty it should be fine, just let it warm up.

The gun is fine.

Avoid using it when its frozen, let it thaw at room temperature (i.e., don't heat it) and everything will be okay.

Clean it after it thaws to make sure theres no moisture (of special importance if you having anything with iron content). I would have actually avoided disassembling it while it was frozen, I think there's more chances of damaging something then (like the hop up sleeve which will be less flexible if frozen).

What happens when a GBB Freezes? It gets cold.

But seriously... nothing will break. Just let it warm up at room temperature and it will be fine. At worst some of the orings can freeze up, but they should be fine after warming up.

Never shoot it when its 'frozen cold'. Don't disassemble it ether.

It's a GBB, not a fine piece of precise mechanical and eletrical machinery.

That's a relief that nothing should be damaged. What are the signs and symptoms of a worn/damaged rubber o-ring or hop up rubber? I want to know what to look out for when I test the gun out.