Re: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication
That sounds great, Jerry. When I replaced my gears with "Bucks Gears," Peterson Engineering Corp. sent a small plastic bag of their super-duper grease, whose name I don't know. But it was red. Is the new stuff red also? Thanks, Joe --- On Tue, 6/2/09, Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> wrote: From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 4:55 PM As some of you may know, I am refurbishing an old Celestron 22" for the University of Nevada at Reno. As part of that work I am fitting new worm gears on both axes. The RA gear is a custom 21" 360 tooth gear with a 14.5" gear on Dec. I have never been happy with the Lubriplate #105 I have used for years on worm gears. Over time it breaks down with the lithium portion getting thick and the oil portion getting gummy. So I went looking for a new lubricant. My test setup was the 21" gear with moderate spring pressure for the worm engagement. With the Lubriplate the average of 5 measurements of torque on the worm was 43 oz-in. With the new lubricant it was 22 oz-in. The new lubricant is Super Lube Synthetic Grease with Syncolon (PTFE). It has an operating temp range of -45 F to +450 F. I bought a tube of Item # 21030 (3 oz.) on the Internet. How this grease behaves down the road I don't know but by cutting the worm torque almost in half I'm willing to see. Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Jerry, I think this is the lubricant (Syncolon) that my proctologist used. Rodger Fry PS. I couldn't resist this. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Bauman" <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 6:24 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication
That sounds great, Jerry. When I replaced my gears with "Bucks Gears," Peterson Engineering Corp. sent a small plastic bag of their super-duper grease, whose name I don't know. But it was red. Is the new stuff red also? Thanks, Joe
--- On Tue, 6/2/09, Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> wrote:
From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 4:55 PM
As some of you may know, I am refurbishing an old Celestron 22" for the University of Nevada at Reno. As part of that work I am fitting new worm gears on both axes. The RA gear is a custom 21" 360 tooth gear with a 14.5" gear on Dec.
I have never been happy with the Lubriplate #105 I have used for years on worm gears. Over time it breaks down with the lithium portion getting thick and the oil portion getting gummy.
So I went looking for a new lubricant.
My test setup was the 21" gear with moderate spring pressure for the worm engagement.
With the Lubriplate the average of 5 measurements of torque on the worm was 43 oz-in.
With the new lubricant it was 22 oz-in.
The new lubricant is Super Lube Synthetic Grease with Syncolon (PTFE). It has an operating temp range of -45 F to +450 F. I bought a tube of Item # 21030 (3 oz.) on the Internet.
How this grease behaves down the road I don't know but by cutting the worm torque almost in half I'm willing to see.
Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
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_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Too much information Rodger O:)
Jerry, I think this is the lubricant (Syncolon) that my proctologist
used.
Rodger Fry PS. I couldn't resist this. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Bauman" <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 6:24 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication
That sounds great, Jerry. When I replaced my gears with "Bucks Gears," Peterson Engineering Corp. sent a small plastic bag of their super-duper grease, whose name I don't know. But it was red. Is the new stuff red also? Thanks, Joe
--- On Tue, 6/2/09, Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> wrote:
From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Worm Gear lumbication To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 4:55 PM
As some of you may know, I am refurbishing an old Celestron 22" for the University of Nevada at Reno. As part of that work I am fitting new worm gears on both axes. The RA gear is a custom 21" 360 tooth gear with a 14.5" gear on Dec.
I have never been happy with the Lubriplate #105 I have used for years on worm gears. Over time it breaks down with the lithium portion getting thick and the oil portion getting gummy.
So I went looking for a new lubricant.
My test setup was the 21" gear with moderate spring pressure for the worm engagement.
With the Lubriplate the average of 5 measurements of torque on the worm was 43 oz-in.
With the new lubricant it was 22 oz-in.
The new lubricant is Super Lube Synthetic Grease with Syncolon (PTFE). It has an operating temp range of -45 F to +450 F. I bought a tube of Item # 21030 (3 oz.) on the Internet.
How this grease behaves down the road I don't know but by cutting the worm torque almost in half I'm willing to see.
Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
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I''m not defending lubriplate; never used it to lube drive gears. Long-term degredation is a loosely-defined term. Lubricants will pick up contaminants from the atmosphere with time, as well as lose volatile components, rendering them thicker. I can't answer for each telescope user, but it's not unreasonable to expect a gear train to be cleaned with solvent and re-greased at least once a year, especially one in an observatory with little or no evnvironmental control. A gear lube should certainly last a season at least, but expecting something to last several years with no loss of lubricity is probably unrealistic. It would pick up grit and contamination, necessitating a cleaning and replacement anyway.
participants (4)
-
Chuck Hards -
erikhansen＠TheBlueZone.net -
Joe Bauman -
Rodger C. Fry