I just wanted to throw a question into the wind as it were.
I just bought myself an old hand crank blower that's in very good condition. I believe that it's stamped "buffalo forge co." This thing puts out an unbelievable amount of air with only very little cranking (I've just made the change from and old hairdryer and the difference is incredible!). Here's the question......The blower has a lubrication port at the top. I'm just wondering what the best lubricant (in our wonderful Canadian climate) would be. Unfortunately my shop area is not heated, so until I get the forge fired up it's quite cold this time of year. I remember tripping across a post at some point mentioning using ATF as a blower lubricant, but I'll be darned if I can find it again. I think I've also come across a different thread where someone had mentioned 90 weight gear oil. I don't want to do any unintentional internal damage by tipping in the wrong stuff. Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

usually use 30 wt or atf or marvel mystery oil all will work .. think of what was available turn of the century (1900s) if your real cold ide use atf . have fun

Check out winter rated white lithium grease designed for Marine use.

Don't get fancy, non-detergent (if you can find it) 30wt for summer and 10wt for winter works just fine. Just a few drops every couple hours or so or it'll be dripping oil all over the floor.

Frosty

Marine Lithium grease does not drip.

In Canada, you will likely want ATF or a light oil like 10w. 90w or grease will make cranking much harder and not gain you any better lubrication. Heck, I use ATF in South Texas in the middle of summer and never had a blower fail for lack of lube.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Honestly, two things that concern me are...potential additives in lubricants that might harm my blower, and secondly the current cold climate.

If its so old you "think" it has buffalo.........whatever you put in it as far as lube won't hurt it. No synthetic parts, know what I mean?

I use 30w motor oil non-detergent.In my 400 blower it's never given me any trouble when it's as low as 20 F out,but I'm sure it get's a little colder there .But I would think anything that you use would need some viscosity to get up to the top gears. I do agree that 90w is way to much.

I'm a Marvel Mystery Oil user for my blowers and general lubrication needs around the forge and have had no issues in my unheated Wisconsin man cave.

Marvel Mystery Oil and non detergent 30 wt. 50/50.
Finnr

I use either ATF or 10 wt. Never had a problem with either in hot 90+ or cold 15 or so

I have a buffalo to and they ar not meant for oil, i spray wd-40 in it and it makes it turn better allthough the inside is also got some high preasure bearing grease

Depends on the Buffalo. Yours is one of the small sheet metal ones like I use on my demo forge. Not meant to hold anything thinner than grease
Finnr

I cleaned all the grease out of mine, and coated them with spray lithium grease. You are better off to give them a light coat, and clean and recoat them more often than have buildup of hardened grease to clean up later, in my opinion. WD-40 is for water displacement, and I don't use it as a lube for anything anymore, it just doesn't stay put.

Power blower on the shop forge for several years here. Prior, I used Phillips MM ( non detergent ) 30 wt. Canedy Otto blower. I use Marvel on the drill press year round ( electric ). I use bar and chain oil on the Kerrihard slides and other areas year round. Currently 10

A few drops of W30 every now and then has kept my old Buffco cranking for years.

I cleaned all the grease out of mine, and coated them with spray lithium grease. You are better off to give them a light coat, and clean and recoat them more often than have buildup of hardened grease to clean up later, in my opinion. WD-40 is for water displacement, and I don't use it as a lube for anything anymore, it just doesn't stay put.

I have to agree about wd-40 it isnt meant for a lubrication... ive seen guns that used it and its hardened up made a big mess ... took scrapeing out with a screwdriver and wire brush carb cleaner wouldnt loosen it up much !

Good Morning,

It is better to have any lubricant inside the blower. There are no bearings, only bushings. The gears are straight cut and they will act as a pump when you turn the handle. There are no seals so if a bushing is worn there will be a trace of oil dripping, Normal. We normally use any kind of engine oil. Atf is very thin and may leak more, but it provides sufficient lubrication. 80w90 gear oil is probably more expensive.

Chrysler has been using ATF in their standard transmissions for years.

The blower will be happy it gets anything other than water!!

Neil

I have both a Cannady Otto and a Buffalo sheet metal rivet forge blower. Both lubricated with ATF.
I spent quite a few years specifing oils for a large machine shop. I did a little study and offer the following; ATF has the lowest pour point of any easy to obtain oil. It has an extremely good anti-wear package, designed for gears and plain sliding bearings. It is not a detergent oil, as it is not designed to work in an engine.
For my Cannady Otto's. both quite sludged, I filled with kerosene, waited and drained. Then refilled with kerosene, and turned gently for about 5 minutes, drained. Refilled with engine oil, turned for about 5 minutes and drained. Filled with ATF. I drain and replace yearly. Has worked well since 2002.

The little Buffalo was packed with hard grease and gunk. Soaked in kerosene overnight, used a soft brass brush to clean. I took the small oil drip port off the top and added an 1/8" pipe fitting. Since this litte blower is on my demo rig, and a little hard to reach, I plumbed a small Gitts brand drip oiler to it. The oiler valve is easy to reach and refill. I have it set to drip about a drop every 3 minutes. I do have a catch pan under. This is now one of the smoothest little Buffalo around. These little Gitts oilers are pretty cheap and if I have another similar one to do I will repeat.

I'm brand new to this. I've built a forge using a 24" tub, adobe, and a 1" pipe with 14 - 1/4" holes in it for forced air. I've powered air with a hair dryer, and use charcoal for fuel. I can get a railroad spike hot enought to loose magnetism and glow a light red. To me, it doesn't seem quite hot enough to be very maleable under my hammer. Q: Do I need more forced air to get the forge hotter? That's my best guess. Any suggestions?