From: DAS
Subject: Re: Re:: Ben Franklin AIR Pistol?

njohnson@nosc.mil (Norman F. Johnson) writes:
#A TIP:
#
#Keep your pneumatic pellet guns stored under pressure to extend
#seal life.  I have a Benjamin .22 pistol that has always been
#stored with 9 pumps (10 is recommended max) since 1972.  It has
#never needed new seals and is always ready to go when an attack
#tree rat or ground squirrel becomes beligerent.
#
#I forgot my own advise and let a Crossman 760 go unpressurized -
#it too lost its seal at about 6 months.  These guns can be pumped
#without cocking the action for safety.
#
#God Bless!
#
#Norm

This is good advice. I store most of my pneumatics like this. But I would
like to add one caution. Compressed air (with no pellet or BB) can
cause significant damage to eyes, ears and even bare skin at close range.
So be careful if you have kids. In fact, the best bet is to probably
store charged air guns as if they were loaded guns. And ALWAYS discharge
them in a safe direction!

BTW, I have heard that the reason that storing pneumatics in the
charged state works to keep the seal tight is because the rubber used
is porous and the pressure "puffs up" the material. If they are stored
without pressure, the seal material actually contracts. Using this theory,
I have "fixed" several guns by soaking the seal in light oil to "puff"
it up long enough to hold the initial charge. But be advised, some
materials might actually deteriorate with contact with oil.