• Best lubricant for metal on metal connections

    From Peter Ross@21:1/5 to All on Thu Apr 14 18:13:01 2022
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use? Thanks

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  • From 2G@21:1/5 to peter....@gmail.com on Thu Apr 14 18:53:42 2022
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:13:03 PM UTC-7, peter....@gmail.com wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks

    Grease is oil suspended in a thickener, which keeps the oil in place for extended periods of time. That said, there are many different types of oil and grease:
    https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/29658/multi-purpose-grease https://knowhow.napaonline.com/know-how-notes-different-types-of-grease-and-where-to-use-them/#:~:text=Fresh%20and%20salt%20water%20attacks,compatible%20with%20lithium%2Dbased%20grease.
    https://bisleyinternational.com/difference-between-white-lithium-grease-silicone-grease/
    You can use oil alone, but it's lubricating capacity will degrade faster than grease. I lubricate internal bearings with a general purpose oil, such as control linkages. I use grease on external parts such as landing gear. Any grease will attract dust,
    etc., because that is what grease does.

    Tom

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to All on Thu Apr 14 20:34:26 2022
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:53:43 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:13:03 PM UTC-7, peter....@gmail.com wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks
    Grease is oil suspended in a thickener, which keeps the oil in place for extended periods of time. That said, there are many different types of oil and grease:
    https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/29658/multi-purpose-grease https://knowhow.napaonline.com/know-how-notes-different-types-of-grease-and-where-to-use-them/#:~:text=Fresh%20and%20salt%20water%20attacks,compatible%20with%20lithium%2Dbased%20grease.
    https://bisleyinternational.com/difference-between-white-lithium-grease-silicone-grease/
    You can use oil alone, but it's lubricating capacity will degrade faster than grease. I lubricate internal bearings with a general purpose oil, such as control linkages. I use grease on external parts such as landing gear. Any grease will attract dust,
    etc., because that is what grease does.

    Tom
    I started using Super Lube Synthetic grease a few years ago. I think I bought it for my boat but tried it on my glider and really like it. It doesn’t seem to attract a lot of dirt.

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  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Peter Ross on Thu Apr 14 21:46:53 2022
    On 4/14/22 19:13, Peter Ross wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks

    There's lots of variations on lithium grease, but in general there's
    synthetic and petroleum based products. Synthetic in my experience
    dries out and cakes, I wouldn't use it on main pins. Petroleum based is better, but attacks rubber and plastics, so make sure it doesn't contact
    them.

    For small bearings, many people use a lightweight spray containing
    Teflon, which isn't sticky and doesn't attract dust and dirt.

    -Dave

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  • From 6PK@21:1/5 to peter....@gmail.com on Fri Apr 15 07:39:15 2022
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:13:03 PM UTC-7, peter....@gmail.com wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks
    I also use Super Lube. I think pretty much available everywhere

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  • From bumper@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 15 08:39:15 2022
    On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 7:39:17 AM UTC-7, 6PK wrote:
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:13:03 PM UTC-7, peter....@gmail.com wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks
    I also use Super Lube. I think pretty much available everywhere

    Synco Super Lube synthetic grease (and oil for guns). Used it for years on glider wing pins etc. clean, broad temperature range and never experienced drying out or any other issue. For electrical plugs and connections, use either silicone grease, Dow DC-
    4, or other dielectric grease.

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Peter Ross on Fri Apr 15 10:39:39 2022
    White lithium grease. Every few flights, I wipe off the gunk and
    reapply. Works like a charm.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/14/22 19:13, Peter Ross wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks

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  • From George Haeh@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 15 09:18:24 2022
    My AME (Canadian for A&P) is a fan of TriFlow Superior which happens to be required for certain rotor heads which have a much harder life than glider components.

    Another AME uses LPS lubricants which may have approvals for aviation use and is offered by Aircraft Spruce.

    Both are greaseless.

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Fri Apr 15 18:57:36 2022
    On 4/15/2022 9:39 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    White lithium grease.  Every few flights, I wipe off the gunk and reapply.  Works like a
    charm.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/14/22 19:13, Peter Ross wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot
    of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and
    collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use? Thanks

    What parts of the glider are you wiping? "Every few flights" sounds like "high maintenance" to me.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sat Apr 16 09:21:24 2022
    Not high maintenance. The (what do you call them?) lift and drag pins
    and the l'Hotelier fittings are presented at the outer tips of the
    center wing section of the Stemme. A simple wipe with a paper towel and
    a dab of grease is all it takes. Of course, I need to clean my finger
    tip. That's the "high maintenance" part. :-)

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/15/22 19:57, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/15/2022 9:39 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    White lithium grease.  Every few flights, I wipe off the gunk and
    reapply.  Works like a charm.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/14/22 19:13, Peter Ross wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on
    sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their
    ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP
    recommended using regular car oil. What do you use? Thanks

    What parts of the glider are you wiping? "Every few flights" sounds like "high maintenance" to me.


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  • From 6PK@21:1/5 to georg...@gmail.com on Sun Apr 17 11:59:28 2022
    On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 9:18:26 AM UTC-7, georg...@gmail.com wrote:
    My AME (Canadian for A&P) is a fan of TriFlow Superior which happens to be required for certain rotor heads which have a much harder life than glider components.

    Another AME uses LPS lubricants which may have approvals for aviation use and is offered by Aircraft Spruce.

    Both are greaseless.
    I have to agree with the TriFlow but mostly for things like bearings. etc.
    For spar pins, spikets I still Use Super Lube through..

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  • From Herbert Kilian@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 18 08:05:12 2022
    On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 1:59:29 PM UTC-5, 6PK wrote:
    On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 9:18:26 AM UTC-7, georg...@gmail.com wrote:
    My AME (Canadian for A&P) is a fan of TriFlow Superior which happens to be required for certain rotor heads which have a much harder life than glider components.

    Another AME uses LPS lubricants which may have approvals for aviation use and is offered by Aircraft Spruce.

    Both are greaseless.
    I have to agree with the TriFlow but mostly for things like bearings. etc. For spar pins, spikets I still Use Super Lube through..
    Super Lube also makes an awsome oil, comes with a needle applicator. Very easy to use with bearings that have a felt cover and under Mylar.

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  • From jfitch@21:1/5 to bumper on Mon Apr 18 08:26:51 2022
    I'll be contrarian here: I don't like SuperLube for this. After many years of using an HP marine lithium grease, I switched to Superlube, even got the High Pressure variant. I noticed what I thought was an increase in fretting on the drag and lift pins,
    and for sure an increase in corrosion. It does not stay between the surfaces well. I've gone back to the marine grease.
    On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 8:39:17 AM UTC-7, bumper wrote:
    On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 7:39:17 AM UTC-7, 6PK wrote:
    On Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:13:03 PM UTC-7, peter....@gmail.com wrote:
    What's the consensus on the best grease/lubricant/oil to use on sailplanes? I see a lot of pilots use white lithium grease on their ships at our airport. It seems to cake and collect gunk. An AmP recommended using regular car oil. What do you use?
    Thanks
    I also use Super Lube. I think pretty much available everywhere
    Synco Super Lube synthetic grease (and oil for guns). Used it for years on glider wing pins etc. clean, broad temperature range and never experienced drying out or any other issue. For electrical plugs and connections, use either silicone grease, Dow
    DC-4, or other dielectric grease.

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  • From Craig Reinholt@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 18 11:56:41 2022
    I agree with Jon. Upon a recommendation from Craig Funston, I've gone to Lucas Red n' Tacky grease.
    https://lucasoil.com/pdf/TDS_Red-Tacky-Grease.pdf

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