Anybody know if the vented aluminum free-float tubes actually stay any cooler under rapid fire than the solid (unvented) models?

Thanks in advance.

SD

Have not done a comparison, but I say that more air movement would = cooler.

yep..less material to absorb that heat too....theres a reason for all them holes...

Quoted: Anybody know if the vented aluminum free-float tubes actually stay any cooler under rapid fire than the solid (unvented) models?

The process involved is that the barrel gets hot and transfers heat to the air around it.  Them:

- If you don't have vent holes then the only way for the heat to escape is for the heat to be transferred to the aluminum handguard then transferred to the surrounding air.  This is very inefficient because air doesn't transfer heat very well.  And because the air around the barrel is allowed to get very hot, it won't absorb heat from the barrel as well because the greater the difference in temperature the faster the heat will be transferred.  Because all of the heat is being transferred through the handgaurd, the handguard will obviously get hot.

- If you have vents, then convection will allow the hot air to rise through the vents on the top which pulls cold air in through the holes on the bottom.  This allows heat to move away from the barrel with only one transition (barrel to air) instead of  3 transitions (bareel to air, air to handguard, handguard to air).  Since the air between the barrel and the handguard stays cooler, the heat is able to transfer more quickly because there is a greater difference in temperature.  Because the hot air is able to escape on it's own there is less heat transferred to the handguard.

- Obvisouly the more vent holes the cooler the handguards will be.  The best option for staying cool is railed handgaurds.  They usually have more vent holes than other vented float tubes, plus the rails provide much more suraface area, as if they were cooling fins.

Thanks, Hoplophile.

That's just the info I was looking for.

SD