Spring Life Span

[xxdabroxx]

I am trying to get a definitive answer to the age old question of if a spring is left compressed, does it lose tension?

So, does leaving a spring such as a mainspring in a 1911 or a spring in a magazine compressed for an extended period of time lead so a shortened lifespan of the said spring?

A lot of people say that the act of compressing and decompressing the spring is the only thing that causes them to wear out. I believe that leaving a spring compressed is putting the spring under stress and shortening the life span of said spring. If the former is true, then leaving the main spring compressed for an extended period of time on a 1911 will not have any effect on the life of that spring. If the latter is true the spring will be weaker and possibly prone to breakage/ light primer strikes due to being compressed for an extended period of time. It is my belief that a spring that is compressed for a long period of time will get a "memory" and retain the tension it once had.

How say you?

[Dr Rockso]

Modern springs are designed to keep stress below the elastic limit of the spring's material, even when fully compressed. They won't lose a significant amount of tension when left fully compressed for long periods of time.

[M. Sage]

I am trying to get a definitive answer to the age old question of if a spring is left compressed, does it lose tension?

Do the springs on cars sag if the car just sits around? No. The springs in auto suspensions are compressed (not all the way, but compressed) all the time. There are a lot of other springs that stay compressed at least partly all the time, and it doesn't cause wear.

Leaving springs compressed does not cause them to lose tension.

I saw on the net somewhere, someone found a couple of 1911 mags that had been loaded since WWII. He popped them into a 1911 and shot through them with zero issues. The springs were fine.

Working the spring back and forth is what wears it out, not having a load on it.

As for spring memory; it's not like most other steels. It's already got a memory position, that's what makes a spring a spring.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

It isn't the compression that causes springs to wear, it is the decompression. I know some guys that had M-16 mags that they brought back loaded from Vietnam. 25 years later they found them in the attic, and took them shooting with no problems. You can leave a magazine loaded more or less forever. Unless the metal corrodes, the ammo will go before the spring does. I have several rifles in the 120+ year range that still have original springs in them. And they still work just fine. Even those that have the mainsprings in to bolt under partial compression all the time. If you are constantly loading and unloading your mags, the springs will wear. If you load it up and leave it in the trunk of your car, it will be there when you need it.

-Mb

[JDay]

I am trying to get a definitive answer to the age old question of if a spring is left compressed, does it lose tension?

So, does leaving a spring such as a mainspring in a 1911 or a spring in a magazine compressed for an extended period of time lead so a shortened lifespan of the said spring?

A lot of people say that the act of compressing and decompressing the spring is the only thing that causes them to wear out. I believe that leaving a spring compressed is putting the spring under stress and shortening the life span of said spring. If the former is true, then leaving the main spring compressed for an extended period of time on a 1911 will not have any effect on the life of that spring. If the latter is true the spring will be weaker and possibly prone to breakage/ light primer strikes due to being compressed for an extended period of time. It is my belief that a spring that is compressed for a long period of time will get a "memory" and retain the tension it once had.

How say you?

I have dozens of magazine that I have left loaded for years between uses that continue to work just fine. I also keep my 1911 in condition 1 at all times around the house, its never had a single ftf. This 1911 was purchased in the mid 80's btw.

[stphnman20]

I've had mags loaded (1911, G19, AR15) for more then 2 years when I was deployed. And till this day, I have never had a problem with them..

[biscuitninja]

Modern springs are designed to keep stress below the elastic limit of the spring's material, even when fully compressed. They won't lose a significant amount of tension when left fully compressed for long periods of time.

While I generally agree with you, springsteel does have a set memory to it. And to go along with that... any engineer designing a mechanism will design a system with significant overhead to take into account spring sag/ memory set of or a small amount of varience in "k" factor.

otherwise, i don't think it will mean too much in most modern guns. Unless we are talking about decades.
-bix