McLube OneDrop

[Justin_NSA]

Ball Bearing conditioner. Anyone use the stuff? I won a couple small applicator bottles in the 2017 Summer Sailstice event
I always have a can of SailKote on board so I like their products.

 

[Ted]

I've been using "One Drop" for many years. It's a great product for its intended use. It lubricates the bearings without allowing them to slip/skid like other lubricants would. Follow the manufacturer's directions and don't use too much of it.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Thanks Ted!

 

[Jackdaw]

Plus (amazingly), it does not gum up with junk!

 

[Justin_NSA]

That's what I like about their SailKote. While my mast was down this winter I scrubbed my sail slug groove and sprayed it. The mainsail goes up and down so much easier.

 

[JamesG161]

Plus (amazingly), it does not gum up with junk!

I normally don't argue with Jack, but I had to look up the McLube One Drop and if does prevent spider dung build up.

McLube advertising and Jack say yes.

But it is...

"Petroleum distillates, solvent dewaxed heavy paraffinic oil"
Translation...
Highly Refined Mineral Oil [cheaper version]

So Jack is right again and more many other de-gumming uses!
Jim...

PS: McLube One Drop MSDS

 

[jviss]

What is this stuff? I mean, if you have Harken blocks, for example, where they use Torlon balls, what other lubes or generic lubricant will work? I mean, $15 for 0.5 oz. Ouch!

 

[justsomeguy]

what other lubes or generic lubricant will work?

Water.

 

[JimInPB]

if you have Harken blocks, for example, where they use Torlon balls, what other lubes or generic lubricant will work?

The brand name Torlon, actually describes a family of related polyamide-imide plastics. There are more than a dozen different varieties out there that I am aware of. Without knowing which version we are talking about, it is impossible to give a perfect answer.

Most of the time when I see lubricants specified for materials in the Torlon family, they are either PTFE or PTFE + Graphite based. Graphite can be quite messy. That would leave me reaching for something like Tri-Flow spray as a first choice of easily-available, general purpose lubricant for this material. Tests with motor oil, transmission fluid & gear lube showed little change in retained flexural strength or weight, so you can actually use a pretty wide variety of lubricants if you want to.

This family of materials degrades in the presence of strong bases, so be a little careful of what types of degreasing cleaners you might use around them. Hydrofluoric acid is another problem chemical for this type of material, so the spray cleaner “Fantastic” should not be used around it.

Grade 4301 is most often referred to as “bearing grade” & is often specified in applications where no lubrication is intended. The flexural modulus for this stuff is off the charts for a plastic. It’s pretty tough stuff. It’s also pretty slippery all by itself. Grades like 4275 or 4203L often get specified for plane bearing applications. Glass reinforced grades like 5530 & carbon fiber reinforced grades are sometimes used in applications where smaller parts need to carry bigger loads. Grades like this tend to be more lubrication sensitive. If I was going to specify a grade to make ball bearings out of, it would probably be 4203, but I have no way to know if that is what Harken uses or not. Again, if I knew the grade, I could give a better answer.

 

[uncledom]

Mclube came out with one drop because the PTFE in their other product was so slippery it would allow the bearings to run free without the little plastic balls turning. This in turn flat spotted the balls and ruined the block. I've had the same bottle of one drop for four seasons, lubricate every block and sheave, and have barely made a dent in it.

 

[jviss]

Wow, JiminPB, thanks for the incredible reply! Wow. And uncledom, thanks.

I just hate not knowing what these patent solutions are, and paying the price they command, but if this stuff does the trick, and does it well, I guess I will get a tube.

 

[pateco]

Ball Bearing conditioner. Anyone use the stuff? I won a couple small applicator bottles in the 2017 Summer Sailstice event
I always have a can of SailKote on board so I like their products.

My new Harken Winches have ball bearings in the feeder arms I think I am going to have to pick some of this up.

 

[thinwater]

McLube one drop is ONLY for linear bearings, such as travelers and batten cars. It is NOT for most blocks, which should only be cleaned out.

We only recommend OneDrop™ for products with tracks. We give the following directions for performing maintenance on travelers and ball bearing Battcars:
Condition: Use only a single drop of McLube OneDrop ball bearing conditioner. Too much oil attracts dirt.

[I spoke with the tech guys at length for a review and they are quite clear on this. I use it on the traveler only and like it. Use VERY little. Is it better then similar machine oils? I do not know.]

 

[jviss]

@thinwater , I spoke with Harken about this, too, and got a different story. As a matter of fact, when I asked about how to lube the new Harken blocks I bought, they recommended McLube One-drop, and sent me a tube, gratis.

Also, there's this:

Bearings that roll: such as ball bearings in the traveler cars, Carbo blocks, and the Torlon® rollers in Black Magic® blocks, all need to be regularly cleaned in fresh water or a warm soapy liquid. After cleaning, adding a small drop of McLube® OneDrop™ conditioner helps maintain them in good condition.​

From: https://www.harken.com/article.aspx?id=43021

 

[thinwater]

@thinwater , I spoke with Harken about this, too, and got a different story. As a matter of fact, when I asked about how to lube the new Harken blocks I bought, they recommended McLube One-drop, and sent me a tube, gratis.

Also, there's this:

Bearings that roll: such as ball bearings in the traveler cars, Carbo blocks, and the Torlon® rollers in Black Magic® blocks, all need to be regularly cleaned in fresh water or a warm soapy liquid. After cleaning, adding a small drop of McLube® OneDrop™ conditioner helps maintain them in good condition.​

From: https://www.harken.com/article.aspx?id=43021

I think it depends on whether you talk to sales or engineering (and tech support can be either). I spoke to the engineering department for background on an article. They even checked with production about whether any of the blocks are prelubed; they are not. Internal communication seems imperfect. I also think it is possible they don't quite know. They are sure they help on linear bearings, and perhaps that is all they are sure of. It is clear to everyone that too much will attract dirt; I've seen that, as have many others. One drop; might help.

There is a parallel in winch maintanance. Some manufactures (Harken) recommend only very light oil on pawls, others (Antal and Maxwell) recommend a thin layer of grease. The grease clearly lubes better, but I'd better dinner Harken is afraid of overuse, so they have taken the safe path. I get that.

A gray area.

 

[jviss]

Indeed. I'll try ONE DROP of OneDrop in the blocks, no more. It's more important, I think, to wash them out.

Right now I have Harken everything - blocks, traveler, furler, etc. I'm impressed with the quality, function, and support. The furler is remarkably easy to furl, compared to my Profurl on the C36.

 

[Scott B]

Mclube came out with one drop because the PTFE in their other product was so slippery it would allow the bearings to run free without the little plastic balls turning. This in turn flat spotted the balls and ruined the block. I've had the same bottle of one drop for four seasons, lubricate every block and sheave, and have barely made a dent in it.

Went to a seminar/presentation at a Chandlrey presented by Harken. He said Sailkote was a great product but DO NOT use Sailkote on the ball bearings for that very reason and why they came up with one-drop.

 

[uncledom]

The admiral works for a base plastics manufacturer and they are one of the suppliers for McLube.

 

[Jackdaw]

Went to a seminar/presentation at a Chandlrey presented by Harken. He said Sailkote was a great product but DO NOT use Sailkote on the ball bearings for that very reason and why they came up with one-drop.

Right. SailKote is so slippery that bearings don’t roll, they slide.

 

[BigEasy]

Right. SailKote is so slippery that bearings don’t roll, they slide.

So anything with bearings such as turning blocks, traveler bearings, genoa car bearings & roller furler bearings should be flushed with water and minimally lubricated with ( one drop) of One Drop. That pretty much relegates the use of SailKote to the bearing surfaces of tracks/slides, luff grooves & luff tapes (when hoisting sails), and sail surfaces. I have been using SailKote as a general purpose dry lubricant on just about all sail hardware over the years. Will try One Drop to check out results. If you are prudent to occasionally flush the bearings and minimally apply one drop, hopefully there shouldn’t be a problem with buildup, correct??