KYBOY Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Ive always used oil in the gear box of my blower but have been wondering, what about grease instead? Anyone tried it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Grease is more appropriate for long term use. Oil needs to have a resevoir or circulation system to be really effective. That's my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Oil,that`s what mine was designed for. And I make sure I change it every 3,000 revolutions.(yeah,like I can count that high) I use comparatively light oil so it gets slung around and lubes everything continously,less drag than heavier oil or grease.I keep a cookie sheet under it when it`s on concrete or in the shop to catch the drips.A clean shop is a happy shop,so says the wife! That could explain my present less than cheerful mood. <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I use Lucas oil (pure oil) or slick 50 (synthetic)...try it your like it! Polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE it reduces friction by 13.5% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I think that what is most appropriate for long term use is what the blower is designed for! Would you use grease instead of oil in your car "for long term use"? The blowers I own are set up to use oil from the manufacturer. I use a light weight machine oil, commonly sold out here for oiling swampcoolers. Note that many blowers are *made* to leak oil and so oil is applied in small amounts at regular intervals and not poured in by the quart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 My opinion for what it's worth: I have a Lancaster hand crank blower circa 1901. There is a little brass fitting for putting oil in. Oil for me works. It gets flung around enough to lube the gears. My opinion on grease is that in the colder weather, grease hardens up so much that it won't let the blower freewheel when you stop cranking and if it is cold enough, you may not even get it to crank unless you are a beast. Why work yourself to death before you even get to forge. I haven't tested this theory because a, there is no place to shoot grease in mine and b, grease makes no sense to me because I feel that grease won't make it to all the areas in the gear box where oil coats all areas. Again, just my thoughts. Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Ive been using "used" motor oil in mine since Ive had it..It was designed for oil like most of them..It also drips occasionally I was jujst curious about grease as Ive never tried it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Don`t do it,it`s a trick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I think that what is most appropriate for long term use is what the blower is designed for! Would you use grease instead of oil in your car "for long term use"? The blowers I own are set up to use oil from the manufacturer. I use a light weight machine oil, commonly sold out here for oiling swampcoolers. Note that many blowers are *made* to leak oil and so oil is applied in small amounts at regular intervals and not poured in by the quart! I don't want to run contrary to the Master, but I may not understand the purpose in this particular application. I would use a light grease on bearing surfaces where there may not be a way to apply oil frequently. If there is a requirement to use oil than I don't suggest going against the manufacturer's prescribed maintenance procedures. Would you use oil in your wheel bearings? Then again, I doubt anyone could turn a blower to those rpms so heat isn't a huge consideration. Being a former electronics technician by career I have seen plenty of dirty oil that turned to varnish in motor applications stopping a fan motor until it could be torn apart and thoroughly cleaned with due effort. I persoanally have not had the pleasure of tearing apart a hand cranked blower so I don't know what conditions are present inside the case. Maybe the OP should try a modern light grease and give us his opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 If you use oil, don't over do it, I over oiled my buffalo blower, and it blew oil into the tube, which then created a series of explosions which threw flame back through the blower chamber, thereby causing and involuntary muscular contraction which nearly led to a loss of a perfectly fine pair of boxer briefs. no joke!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 If you use oil, don't over do it, I over oiled my buffalo blower, and it blew oil into the tube, which then created a series of explosions which threw flame back through the blower chamber, thereby causing and involuntary muscular contraction which nearly led to a loss of a perfectly fine pair of boxer briefs. no joke!! Mike,you`ve been watching CNN again haven`t you. You`re not thinking about throwing your hat into the ring in 2012 are you? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Are you sure that was the oil? Backfire explosions are not unknown even when using bellows with no oil. Most of the blowers I can recall had provision for an oiler, though sometimes it havd be broken off/removed and the port gunked over. And I have seen archaic oil. I have also had to chip out archaic grease and soak gearboxes in solvent for several weeks interrupted by cleaning binges. Old oil seemed easier to clean up. Might be interesting to try some of the more modern lubes on blowers. I know some folks have tried chainsaw bar oil as it tends to stick to the gears better. However I know that mine were designed for oil and work with oil---and not 90 weight either! I'd think that folks in cold places would need engine block heaters on their blowers if they were using a heavy oil this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 However I know that mine were designed for oil and work with oil---and not 90 weight either! I'd think that folks in cold places would need engine block heaters on their blowers if they were using a heavy oil this time of year. Now that you mention it Thom this time of year I do use both. Inside it`s oil and when I leave the blower outside overnight this time of year the forge elves come along and turn my oil to grease. Luckily I work in a magick shop and the elves have no dominion there.As soon as the blower is brought in and warms up their spell is reversed and my oil returns. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Oil instead of grease in wheel bearings? YES!!! most floating axle type rear ends have oil lubricated wheel bearings. Most semi-trailer axles have oil filled wheel bearings as well. Look at one and you can see the little window on those trailer axles to check the fill level on the end. My 1972 Chevy 3/4 ton has oil lubricated rear axle bearings and grease filled fronts. NOW, I would NEVER put grease in an oil type bearing or vice versa. The bearings are designed for one and will not give proper lubrication with the other. Plain bearings such as are often forund in old gear box blowers are designed for hydradynamic lubriction by an oil film. If filled with grease, the grease gets used and nothing refills the bearing and you are running dry. In my Cannady Otto's and Buffalos I run ATF oil. That is Automatic Transmission Fluid. It has the lowest pour point, one of the best anti-wear packages and higher smoke points of any easy to find, over the counter most anywhere oils. My Cannady Otto's don't leak, so I change that oil yearly. The buffalos are total loss machines so I have a little drip feed oiler mounted and it drops one drip about every 2 minutes and that is the smoothest little sheet metal rivet forge blower you ever saw. I have a catch pan under. ATF is good in my case when my unheated shop is 20F or 105F. Turns easy, costs little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajajoaquin Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I was told to use ATF in my blower gearbox, rather than grease. Now that I think about it, there's some precedent to that logic. ATF has a pretty high detergent content, and is good at cleaning sludge out of mechanisms. I remember in the old days, if you had a car with a noisy lifter, one of the solutions was to change the oil, and replace one quart of oil with ATF. Get it good and hot, drive it around a bit, but without a lot of heavy service, and then change the oil again, putting in all oil. If the lifter was making noise because it was fouled with gunk, it would return to service. It would make sense to use that same property in a century-old gearbox, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 As you can see from the answer, anything (and everything) works. Just depends on how much exercise you want I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I just run the old oil out of the Cummins through mine. Delo 400 with some diesel, and carbon added through soot Freed up an old gunky blower, and runs well. Because of the leaks I don't want to be pouring new oil through it. At 12 qts per oil change in the Dodge, and 5 in the Saturn I have plenty of oil. It also work great for freeing up rusted tongs from the flea market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Maybe the OP should try a modern light grease and give us his opinion. Maybe he shouldn't. Unless he wants to destroy the blower bearings, which are likely just the cast iron the case is made from. A few drops of oil each day, twice if it is a long day and no grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Maybe he shouldn't. Unless he wants to destroy the blower bearings, which are likely just the cast iron the case is made from. A few drops of oil each day, twice if it is a long day and no grease. Larry is so much more direct than I am. What`s that English saying,"Horses for courses"? I know I want my blower to last another 100 or so years so I won`t be taking any chances with greasing it.Oil worked for the last 100 so why risk it now? You do know they don`t make replacement parts anymore now don`t you? Save the grease for your wheel bearings,ball joints and other applications it was designed for,that`s my advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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