Gas vs Piston

powdergun

powdergun

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Please excuse my ignorance but I'm trying to educate myself as much as possible on AR's ( Looking to buy one some time)

What is the difference between piston and gas operated systems.

Which is easier to maintain/clean ?
Which is more trouble free and durable ?

Thanks for your help
 
Theoretically, a high quality piston driven AR is more reliable than a similar quality DI, just because the gas is not vented into the rifle's receiver. In practise, unless you plan on storming some beach with the thing, you'll not see much difference. I recommend buying what you want more. If the piston is cooler, grab that. If you'd rather have a cheaper rifle, DI will work just fine.

As for differences between the two, in a DI rifle, when the rifle is fired, gas from the burning powder is vented through a hole in the barrel that leads to a tube under the handguard. From there, the gas is vented into the bolt, and the gas propels the bolt rearwards. In a piston gun, the gas is vented from the barrel into a part called a tappet. From the tappet, the gas is vented against a rod. The rod is then driven rearward, and it then drives the bolt. With a DI gun, the excess gas is going into your bolt and receiver, where on a piston gun, it would be vented from the handguards.
 
Athrun[Zaft said:
Theoretically, a high quality piston driven AR is more reliable than a similar quality DI, just because the gas is not vented into the rifle's receiver. In practise, unless you plan on storming some beach with the thing, you'll not see much difference. I recommend buying what you want more. If the piston is cooler, grab that. If you'd rather have a cheaper rifle, DI will work just fine.
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this is not necessarily true, the piston adapted ARs push the bolt carrier back from the top, which the AR is not designed for. this can lead to the bold carrier tipping and possible jams or unusual wear, the DI system pushes from the center of the bolt carrier.
as mentioned, your not gonna notice the difference, but i would buy a purpose built piston rifle like the ACR, or a DI AR
 
powdergun said:
What is the difference between piston and gas operated systems.

Which is easier to maintain/clean ?
Which is more trouble free and durable ?
Click to expand...

Aside from the cost (piston setups are noticeably more expensive), you'll probably get the same level of reliability and durability with either a DI or piston system.

From a cleaning and maintenance standpoint, the difference between a DI and piston system is night and day. The piston system runs far cleaner, cooler and will probably experience less wear on certain key components (BCG).

You honestly can't go wrong with either a DI or piston, but if it's in your budget and you have less time for cleaning, maintenance, etc. - a piston probably fits the criteria better. With respect to the comments about carrier tilt, this isn't something you have to be concerned with on any of the modern setups.

I would also echo scott585's comments that if you want a piston system get a dedicated, purpose-built one (and not an add-on or conversion kit). Core15 is on the lower end of the scale, with PWS, LMT and Adcor in the middle and LWRC and HK having the best piston systems (also $$).

Good luck!
 
You need to clean both DI and Piston AR15...you just clean at different places. Piston Ar15 will have less carbon at the bolt but of course the carbon goes somewhere else like the front of the gun by the piston.

One big advantage DI ar15 have over the Piston is the cheap and easily accessible spare parts.

An average person will not shoot enough bullets to see the difference between piston and DI Ar15 in reliability and durability. By the time you shoot 3000 factory .223 REM ammo, you already spend enough money on ammo to buy another Ar15.
 
blaxsun said:
And that's certainly one opinion. :D



No advantage here. Aside from the BCG (sometimes the bolt is the same), everything else is identical.
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The BCG is a big part of the gun...And DI BCG is easier to get.
I can list at least 5 places to get a DI BCG off the top of my head. The bolt carrier is usually specially design to each different piston system as well.
It is also harder to get the actual piston parts ...depending on which piston you go with.
Until there is more of an universal piston system, it will be harder to get the parts.

It is proven that DI AR15 have more accessible parts over piston.
 
There was a very good article in Front Sight magazine a little while back. You'd need to be an USPSA member to get the mag.
Both systems have very good reasons to exist. Both have good and bad sides of design.
If I were to get an AR (I got no ARs yet) I'd go with 'gas' one.
 
andrew3081 said:
The BCG is a big part of the gun...And DI BCG is easier to get.
I can list at least 5 places to get a DI BCG off the top of my head. The bolt carrier is usually specially design to each different piston system as well.
It is also harder to get the actual piston parts ...depending on which piston you go with.
Until there is more of an universal piston system, it will be harder to get the parts.

It is proven that DI AR15 have more accessible parts over piston.
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How often do you have to replace a BCG unless it's an NEA? ;) My point was that the bolt is usually interchangeable between both systems. Actual piston parts, sure. Maybe. How often have you heard of a piston system going kaput. Exactly...
 
andrew3081 said:
One big advantage DI ar15 have over the Piston is the cheap and easily accessible spare parts.

An average person will not shoot enough bullets to see the difference between piston and DI Ar15 in reliability and durability. By the time you shoot 3000 factory .223 REM ammo, you already spend enough money on ammo to buy another Ar15.
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These points kind of contradict each other in my opinion. By the logic of the second statement, the average person will also not shoot enough bullets to break a piston system and need to find spare parts in a hurry.

I'm not a fanboy of either system, but I always have to laugh at that argument. Are peoples AR's breaking down all the time, leaving them in a scramble to find parts so they can make the range with their buddies this weekend? If you run a piston conversion, you can change out your piston gas block for a DI gas block, then just swap your carrier in about 10 mins. DI parts could be your piston rifles spare parts.

I'm a target shooter, if one gun breaks down, I bring another to the range. Unless you're dropping in Afghanistan, I think access to spare parts is a moot point.
 
Well, how many rounds a day? What's the distance? Anything else?
AK47 (in 7.62mm, not AK74 in 5.45mm) is a very good gun in most cases. Unless one needs to shoot and hit at over 100m, every single time.

Then other guns come into play.
 
blaxsun said:
Get the gun you want and don't worry about justifying it. It's only money... ;)
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He is correct just get what you think you will be happy with I went through the same thing for my builds and I went DI just beacause I felt my comfterbal with it and I am happy with DI with no problem of reliability
 
Conte said:
These points kind of contradict each other in my opinion. By the logic of the second statement, the average person will also not shoot enough bullets to break a piston system and need to find spare parts in a hurry.

I'm not a fanboy of either system, but I always have to laugh at that argument. Are peoples AR's breaking down all the time, leaving them in a scramble to find parts so they can make the range with their buddies this weekend? If you run a piston conversion, you can change out your piston gas block for a DI gas block, then just swap your carrier in about 10 mins. DI parts could be your piston rifles spare parts.

I'm a target shooter, if one gun breaks down, I bring another to the range. Unless you're dropping in Afghanistan, I think access to spare parts is a moot point.
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Not really about shooting it until it breaks. Some parts are just lemons and break with little usage. Not every single part in every Ar15 will last the same amount of time and usage.
Not everyone has unlimited cash, if a $1400 dollar breaks, just bring another one to the range? It will cost money and TIME to repair it...which is a pain in the ass.
Most people have A2 front sights for DI Ar15...A2 sight wont work with piston system. And the carrier and some bolts are different from DI and piston Ar15.
Yes you can use some parts for spare parts, but not all.

I think both systems have their pros and cons...it is really down to personal preference.


blaxsun said:
How often do you have to replace a BCG unless it's an NEA? ;) My point was that the bolt is usually interchangeable between both systems. Actual piston parts, sure. Maybe. How often have you heard of a piston system going kaput. Exactly...
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Yes, the piston system does not break often, but it does break from time to time. DI system break as well.
There are many parts to the AR15...so any part can break, not just the bolt.

Never say never...............
 
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