General maintenance PCP HW100

C

Chopper73

Member
Joined
May 15, 2025
Messages
3
Reaction score
3
Location
Stafford
Hi all, I’m new to the forum, I’ve got a Wiehrauch 97K and recently a second hand great condition HW100 PCP rifle.
I’ve ordered a holder from midwater - what a totally nice bloke he is 👌🏻👍🏻 and great price !

All works fine and as it should, it’s my first PCP rifle so I was wondering the following

1). What general maintenance do I need to do or check with pre charged, other than normal clean and pressure variation in storage to keep seals good?
2). The air bottle I have has 1.5 years left on its test, do local gun shops do this?
3). Barrel clean - any tips ?
4). General service - is there a timeline recommended to this, I’d like to get it checked out near the winter months

Think that’s enough for now - thanks in advance for some feedback, here’s a photo of my 97K it’s mint, but the HW100 is now its replacement
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2070.webp
    IMG_2070.webp
    919.7 KB · Views: 17
1. Don't.
2. Buy a compressor and forget about testing the bottle- but just use it at 240 bar, not 300.
3. Some clean after 500 shots. Some say you need 500 shots to re-lead after cleaning. That gives you maybe 0 good shots...
4. As 1.

You will get lots of advice.
Half of it is often rubbish.
Your real problem is to decide which half is which.
I'm having a bad day...
 
colinb said:
1. Don't.
2. Buy a compressor and forget about testing the bottle- but just use it at 240 bar, not 300.
3. Some clean after 500 shots. Some say you need 500 shots to re-lead after cleaning. That gives you maybe 0 good shots...
4. As 1.

You will get lots of advice.
Half of it is often rubbish.
Your real problem is to decide which half is which.
I'm having a bad day...
Click to expand...
Thanks, it would be worrying if you were on a good day 👍🏻 , hope tomorrow it’s better, thanks for the advice I did consider the compressors - good call
 
Spent nearly an hour today at the range helping a newbie who did not know that a new sight on his new gun would not be aligned with the barrel....
 
Hi
And welcome to the AGF, as already hinted at we don't all do things the same way, and it doesn't mean someone is wrong

Here is my advice to your questions:

1). What general maintenance do I need to do or check with pre charged, other than normal clean and pressure variation in storage to keep seals good?
Never leave a PCP empty of air, it may damage the seals, it needs to be under pressure.
I wipe my guns over with ballistol oil after every use, this helps to protect the metal. My son uses a silicon cloth to wipe his guns down after every use.
Never put your gun away wet, let it dry out first
Keep the filler probe clean and always replace the blank probe after use, you don't want dirt getting into your gun

2). The air bottle I have has 1.5 years left on its test, do local gun shops do this?
I used to get my local dive shop to do this but he retired. I now take mine to the local gun shop who have them collected by a company that certifies them.

3). Barrel clean - any tips ?
If it's a new gun then it's advisable to clean it to remove any lubricants present from manufacturing. To do this it's best to use what's known as a pull through kit where you pull cloths through the barrel that clean it. After that, this is where you may get a difference of opinion; I don't clean my guns until I start having problems with accuracy. Others may clean at regular intervals or after a change of pellets.

4). General service - is there a timeline recommended to this, I’d like to get it checked out near the winter months
If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Enjoy your guns
 
The simple answer to most of the above is unless you have a specific need/good reason to do something, don’t. The platform is over 20 years old with proven reliability. Testing wise, I prefer to go direct to a testing station that actually does it in house, as an RFD sending it away tends to cost more and take longer, but I appreciate that isn’t practical for everyone.
 
Bluesboydave said:
Hi
And welcome to the AGF, as already hinted at we don't all do things the same way, and it doesn't mean someone is wrong

Here is my advice to your questions:

1). What general maintenance do I need to do or check with pre charged, other than normal clean and pressure variation in storage to keep seals good?
Never leave a PCP empty of air, it may damage the seals, it needs to be under pressure.
I wipe my guns over with ballistol oil after every use, this helps to protect the metal. My son uses a silicon cloth to wipe his guns down after every use.
Never put your gun away wet, let it dry out first
Keep the filler probe clean and always replace the blank probe after use, you don't want dirt getting into your gun

2). The air bottle I have has 1.5 years left on its test, do local gun shops do this?
I used to get my local dive shop to do this but he retired. I now take mine to the local gun shop who have them collected by a company that certifies them.

3). Barrel clean - any tips ?
If it's a new gun then it's advisable to clean it to remove any lubricants present from manufacturing. To do this it's best to use what's known as a pull through kit where you pull cloths through the barrel that clean it. After that, this is where you may get a difference of opinion; I don't clean my guns until I start having problems with accuracy. Others may clean at regular intervals or after a change of pellets.

4). General service - is there a timeline recommended to this, I’d like to get it checked out near the winter months
If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Enjoy your guns
Click to expand...
Spot on ☝️
 
Hi @Chopper73 and welcome to the forum, where you'll find a wealth of friendly knowledge and advice.

Please make sure you keep your HW97, they're fantastic springers, a joy to shoot and a change from a PCP.

As others have said, PCP's and HW100's don't require a great deal of maintenance, other than keeping them charged and firing them regularly to keep any moving parts free. There's never been an exact storage pressure, but most suggest anywhere between full which is 190/195 bar on an HW100 and above regulator pressure which will be just over 100 bar.

Regarding charging, there's a process to follow with HW100's to ensure you don't get cylinder leaks due to shavings of O ring on the probe getting in the fill valve. Basically ensure you have a foster fitting on your probe, such as those supplied by Best Fittings. Detach the probe from the bottle lead prior to inserting it in the fill port. Once inserted you connect the bottle lead. Fill with air, discharge the excess. Then detach the fill probe from the bottle lead and remove it from the fill port. I don't lubricate the O rings on the fill probe or dust plug as it attracts dust and dirt.

Regarding barrel cleaning, some say do, some say don't. I personally think there's something wrong with a barrel if you have to clean it every hundred shots to retain accuracy. I have to ask why it's clogging with lead in such a way it interferes with the flight of the pellet. My HW100 in 20 was purchased in 2016, it's never had the barrel cleaned, hundreds, if not thousands of rounds through it and it was keeping up with my mate's Walther and Wolverine R on a recent trip to Pete's Airgun Farm. My lads HW100 purchased in 2017 is the same, as is my 2021 HW100 and my lads 2023 HW100, both in 177.

Regarding cleaning the barrel on an HW100, you also have to be careful how you do it to make sure you don't dislodge the breech O ring. If you have to clean the barrel I advise doing it after removing it from the block. You first remove the stock, then the air cylinder where you'll see a grub screw which releases the barrel. Secure the barrel and then clean it. I always clean a barrel on a service as I don't know the history.

Other than that, the HW100 is a great gun, probably one of, if not the best mass produced hunting guns available. They also hold their own target shooting.

Enjoy your gun and the forum.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top