Hi Tech grease and oil...

[moray james]

Have been looking into SOTA lubricants to use on my Continuo inverted bearing. Came across Power UP Lubricants which offer lower friction and greater load bearing than either PTFE loaded lubricants or moly products and are compatable with most all lubricants though they do recommend cleaning the bearing and using just the Power Up alone.
Will be picking up some Thixogrease next week to try on my inverted bearing. Have requested info on their additives to use with thin oils like the Marvel Mystery air tool oil for use in non inverted bearings and on motor bearings. Just wondering if there are any here who have experimented with high performance lubricants in their turntables? Check out the site. Looking forward to comments from those who have crossed the manufacturer's recommended lubricant line.

Powerupusa.net - Power Up Lubricants Home Page - Boundary Lubrication, Oil Additives, NNL690, HydraMaxx, ThixoGrease, GEN49D, RCL1000, Automotive, Industrial, Marine

[AVWERK]

Krytox

BTW Sota uses 2 drops of Tufoil on the Star shaft

Regards
David

[Conrad Hoffman]

IMO, correct mechanical design is everything and beyond that the best you can do is choose the right type and viscosity of lube. With few exceptions, most claims are snake oil, probably because almost nobody has the ability to test the stuff. No experience with Powerup. Krytox is great stuff in the right application, but that's not everywhere. Synthetic oils are good where they're good, but again, not everywhere. Castor oil has great properties if you're willing to change it before it goes bad. Kluber makes some great lubes, but their distribution people make no effort to sell them, so info is sparse. Nye has a choice for everything and their engineers are more knowledgeable than just about anyone. They'll actually talk to you. They also have small quantity distribution. The only useful rule of thumb I've found is, if you can buy it locally in an auto store, it's a really bad choice.

[SY]

I found a significant difference in friction in the bearing of my VPI by making up a blend of mineral oil and 4% tungsten disulfide nano-fullerenes (ApNano). I didn't have a direct way to measure it, but I basically timed how long it took the platter to come to a rest after spinning it up to 33 rpm without the belt, then letting it go. The new lube nearly doubled that time.

[moray james]

Thanks for the info will look into these products. Sy,mork said nano nano.

[moray james]

an audiophile friend just told be about a product he finds works extremely well in inverted style bearing as well as other types which require a grease. It is a watch makers lube made by Moebius # 8301. Moebius has recently been bought out by Swatch so I can't get any technical data on the product but I do know that it is a graphite loaded grease. The graphite provides both electrical continuity to bleed charge off of the platter via the bearing and it also provides damping. Am looking to some of the recommendations made here to see if any of those companies know this product and make similar. thought I would pass this on. My friend much prefered the Moebius 8301 to a PTFE lube he had been using.

[Conrad Hoffman]

Sy, was the viscosity of the two lubes exactly the same? Viscosity is usually the controlling factor on spin down tests. Temperature also the same?

IMO, any point contact bearing- ball against flat or ball, is a nearly impossible situation for lubes. There are few if any additives that have enough film strength to keep the parts separated, so the choice of those materials becomes critical.

[jean-paul]

Originally Posted by moray james

Thanks for the info will look into these products. Sy,mork said nano nano.

You started. Now do the trick with the fingers !

[moray james]

Conrad I am not up on the mechanical side of bearings or lubricant but I am picking up some good info on the forums. The Power Up lubricants will (they claim) withstand 200,000.00 pounds per sq inch. So how does that measure up to the force of a 15 pound platter riding on a 3/8 dia. bearing?

Jean-Paul: my fingers are all covered with grease I can't nano nano now.

[Globulator]

Originally Posted by moray james

The Power Up lubricants will (they claim) withstand 200,000.00 pounds per sq inch.

This is always a meaningless measure however unless you compare like with like. The best lubricants for pressure alone are gearbox oils, they use also sulphur compounds for the EP ability, that will also leach out copper.

The best (non vegetable) oils are ester synthetics, then PAO synthetics, then semi-synth (cracked), then regular mineral oil.

Grease on the other hand is merely oil in suspension, you still need to know the original oil. I would expect most turntables to benefit from a clean and re-assemble, I'm not really sure of the best to use - I'd be tempted to try a 0W40 PAO synthetic myself - AKA Mobil 1