Is heating a breech plug dangerous?

[Deer Nut]

The last few times I cleaned my muzzleloader I put the breech plug in the oven to speed up the drying time and ensure all moisture is gone. Can this weaken the metal? Is this dangerous?

 

[HorseDoctor]

Doubt if the average kitchen oven would get hot enough to damage a plug. That said, A little while at 200-250 degrees f. certainly couldn't hurt. A quick rubbing alcohol rinse & some canned air is even faster though if you're in that much hurry.

 

[Sligh1]

I love shotgun cleaner. It's a wet cleaner that completely evaporates. Same thing as what brake cleaner is. Awesome. I do that after its scrubbed clean. Then, I finish with a can of air. Dry as dry gets. I'd think oven is fine though but I guess I shouldn't answer that as I'm not 100%.

 

[meyeri]

Not an authority on the subject, but I would assume that the breech plug is tempered to withstand pretty high heat/pressure during the combustion of the powder. I bet low/medium heat would be fine.

 

[LYON]

We used to put our breech plugs on top of a hot cast iron stove to dry them out. Never had a failure. I would imagine it would take some pretty high heat to cause damage.

 

[Central Iowa]

No problem to the breech plug at that temp but I would let it cool down before you put it back in due to expansion.

 

[Deer Nut]

Thanks guys

 

[BDAHMS]

Each grade of steel has a different temp needed to change its chemical integrity. Not sure what steel a breech is made from but I have drawn metal parts back during heat treating at 400 deg. So an oven could absolutely reach a temp to make a breech brittle. I would keep it below 225 if you were using it. A safer method in my mind would be to borrow your wife's hair dryer