VENT 3 – 5.56 x 45mm

CLEANING VENT SUPPRESSORS

Cleaning the PTR® VENT family of suppressors is a simple but important part of ownership. Much like maintaining the air filter on your car or air conditioner, fouling will accumulate with use over time and needs to be addressed for maximizing the effectiveness of the system. Regular cleaning and proper maintenance will increase the performance and lifespan of the suppressor. The exact round count at which to clean the VENT suppressor is highly dependent on the combination of the host weapon, barrel length, and ammunition choice; a good general guideline is to run a cleaning cycle on the distal (muzzle) end of the suppressor around the 1,500-round mark for centerfire rifle cartridges and 1,000-rounds for centerfire pistol cartridges. A full head-to-toe cleaning cycle of the suppressor is recommended around the 5,000 round mark regardless of caliber.

There are several effective solvents that are safe for the titanium construction of the VENT suppressor line as well as the DLC coating. These include (but are not limited to) C.A.T 206, Breakthrough Suppressor Cleaner, Bore Tech Decimator, Simple Green, and gray bottle CLR. To date, our testing has shown C.A.T. 206 to be the most effective solvent for cleaning.

The process for cleaning is a simple two or three step process based on the equipment you have available to you.

Note: We highly recommend the use of an ultrasonic cleaner (which are readily available for a reasonable price) as a force multiplier, but it is not required.

1. Soaking

1. Find a suitable vessel in which to place the muzzle end of your VENT suppressor to allow it to be saturated in the solvent of your choice. Clear plastic cups are a cost-effective option, but a glass mason jar, plastic tubing, or a Breakthrough Suppressor Cleaning Kit work perfectly well.
2. Fill your vessel up approximately 2”-3” with your solvent of choice and place your VENT suppressor muzzle down inside. Allow the porous muzzle end of the suppressor to soak in the cleaner anywhere between 4 and 12 hours, depending on the severity of fouling. If required, it is ok to soak beyond the recommended cleaning schedule. If able, slight agitation every-so-often is helpful but not necessary.
3. OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED STEP: If you are using an expensive solvent, fill the sonic bath with at least 2” of water. Place the suppressor still inside the vessel and solvent used in the previous steps into the sonic bath.

If you are using a cost-effective solvent, place your VENT suppressor in a sonic bath filled up with at least 2” of the solvent of your choice. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Some solvents may be incompatible or dangerous for use with your ultrasonic cleaner.
Run the sonic bath machine for approximately 30-minutes on the vibration cycle. This cycle is more powerful than static soaking and will aid in breaking up fouling that is far beyond what would be accrued by the recommended schedule.

2. Rinsing

1. Remove the VENT suppressor from your solvent vessel and thoroughly rinse with water from both the distal and proximal end of the suppressor.
2. Once most of the retained solvent is flushed, plug the distal (muzzle) end of the suppressor with the palm of your hand and fill the suppressor approximately halfway with clean water. Plug the proximal end with your other palm and vigorously agitate the water trapped inside. Pour the water out and repeat this process until the liquid leaving the suppressor looks unchanged.
3. OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED STEP: Place your VENT suppressor back into the sonic cleaner and run a short cycle to remove whatever stubborn residue is left on the inside.
4. We recommend allowing the suppressor to fully dry out before use to minimize the possible inhalation of chemicals from gas blowback. Use of compressed air to expedite this process can be helpful.

This cleaning cycle mostly focused on the distal (muzzle) end of the suppressor. A full head-to-toe cleaning cycle of the suppressor is recommended around the 5,000 round mark regardless of caliber. This simply involves filling the suppressor fully with solvent verse the level in the above steps. When used in conjunction with the lower round count cycle, your suppressor should stay effective for many rounds to come.

Note: If using the VENT 2 suppressor heavily on a carbine firearm it may be necessary to do an inverted version of the cycle outlined above before switching to pistol suppression. This will clean out the locking recesses of the booster cage within the blast chamber. Failure to do so may result in misalignment of the piston and cause damage to the suppressor. Because the user has direct access to this portion of the suppressor, it is recommended they use brushes, picks, and other tools to aid in and expedite this process.