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Winch Servicing - Grease?


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We have Harken 42 primaries. They need servicing regularly, and the palls stick so they don't actually work. This is the primary problem.

 

To service them we actually have to unbolt the whole winch from the boat which is a 2 man job and a pain in the arse.

 

We also have smaller Neilson secondary winches for the kites, and three very old side winders on the mast for halyards and clew out hauls. All these other winches never need servicing, and the palls never stick.

 

We use the proper Lewmar winch grease on the Harkens, and are economical with it.

 

Is there a better way to deal with these winches?

What would happen if we used no grease at all and run them dry?

What do other people do (other than buy Andersons in the first place, grrr, if only we had the extra $$$ at the time)

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Fish, winches need serving yearly, whether they need it or not.
I use a very light synthetic grease like inox or something you would use in a fishing reel or similar. Never use an ordinary grease like you would use in such things like say a wheel bearing. That kind of grease is designed to work in a different way, as in a large volume. That kind of grease is actually a gear oil held in a carrier of very fine clay. It is designed to work in volume and the clay slowly leaches out the oil. Once the oil has leached out, you are left with this useless dry'ish gunk that sticks everything together.
I use the synth grease on pawls because light oil doesn't last.
Not only does grease act as a lubricant, but more importantly, it acts as an isolator between dissimilar metals. Especially the pawls because often these are the first and easiest things to get contaminated by salt water.

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I use motorcycle chain oil - spray type, the pawls don't stick and the grease stays put. Lasts for years too!

I would have thought this would be too sticky?  While all the moving parts will be greased, they'll also stick together and any small particles that find their way in will also stick?  

On the other hand, I haven't actually tried this so... maybe I should just shuddup now  :thumbup:

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Thats the thing with a lot of motorcycle chain lubes, they are designed not to be sticky otherwise all the road dust would stick to the chain which leads to premature wear on the chain and sprockets. They dry to a waxy finish so as not to attract the dust. 

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Thats the thing with a lot of motorcycle chain lubes, they are designed not to be sticky otherwise all the road dust would stick to the chain which leads to premature wear on the chain and sprockets. They dry to a waxy finish so as not to attract the dust. 

I'm clearly out of touch - I sold my last bike about 10 years ago.  

M/C chain lube sounds like the answer all right.  Don't tell the manufacturers though, they'll re-brand it with the word 'Marine' and put the price up!

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Viscotene is still available. And it's as slippery as. When i was working for Wynns, I tried some on a power boat propellor. We water skied all day with the boat and when we trailor'd the boat that evening, the stuff was still on the prop.
CRC have a version called Tac2, but I don't think it is quite as slippery. There are several other Brands that make a Chain lube as well. They are all basically what is called an "Open gear Oil". They have what they call, extreme EP, or "Elastopolymer strength". The stuff goes all sticky and stringy.
Another product well worth trying is Moreys Airtool oil. It is a light oil with this exact same EP strength. Slippery as snot, sticks like the proverbial, but is light weight.
All of the Moreys greases are good as well, but their Marine grease in particular is something stunning. Extreme anti washout properties and as smooth as silk. Well worth a try. I use it in the stern bearing and hardly have to pump grease in, where as the ordinary everyday greases washed out quickly.

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Some good stuff here, thanks for the replies.

It would appear our primary problem is that we only ever used grease and not light oil on the palls.

I am very interested in the motorcycle chain lube.

The spray on lube, where can I get that from? is that the sort of thing Repco or Supercheap Auto supply?

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A product by CRC - Hi-Performnce Multilube Gel might be suitable.

I use it on chains (like bicycle chain) on a mower deck so lots of dust about but no dust adheres to it.

 

 

Edit : It is spray on

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All those CRC RIB rides at Russell after the coastal , buy that.

I can't recall exactly but there is one type of grease you don't want on a winch because it reacts with bronze( IIRC). Lithium?

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lithium i think is good

 

that bad seems to be....

 

Many of the automotive greases have anti-wear additives that are made from polysulfides and/or chlorinated esters. These additives will attack "red metals" (copper) and will pit bronze and many brass alloys

 

molybdenum disulfide which has better temperature handling capabilities but is more expensive and should not be used around brass or bronze bearings.

 

http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/Greases%20and%20Lubrication.ashx

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