Did the video begin with him having an assistant hold his beer?
More efficient way to clean gears?
- Thread starter Davidasailor26
- Start date
Harken grease is know to oxidize, dry, and harden faster than Lewmar (I ran ASTM tests). Superlube Sythetic Grease is also excelent that way.
Gasoline would be a good substitute....cheaper than mineral spirits, but you would have to use it outdoors. Early on during my Navy days, one of the senior petty officers told me to get some "solvent" from the wheel well of a P-2 aircraft. Greenhorn that I was, I spent 30 minutes looking in the wheel well with no joy. Had to go back & tell him that I couldn't find the "solvent". He took me out to the plane & climbed up the wheel to show me a valve, that attached to a fuel tank line, that accessed all the "solvent" that one could possibly need. 
Over the course of six years, no one ever mentioned using Avgas to clean parts, it was always referred to as "solvent!"
Over the course of six years, no one ever mentioned using Avgas to clean parts, it was always referred to as "solvent!"
I’ve heard of using diesel too. The “odorless” mineral spirits are not as pungent though.Gasoline would be a good substitute....cheaper than mineral spirits, but you would have to use it outdoors. Early on during my Navy days, one of the senior petty officers told me to get some "solvent" from the wheel well of a P-2 aircraft. Greenhorn that I was, I spent 30 minutes looking in the wheel well with no joy. Had to go back & tell him that I couldn't find the "solvent". He took me out to the plane & climbed up the wheel to show me a valve, that attached to a fuel tank line, that accessed all the "solvent" that one could possibly need.
Just to clarify: Are you suggesting that SuperLube PTFE grease would be a good substitute for the Lewmar grease for maintaining their winches?
As @dlochner stated... MEK and MEKP are not the sameEven Practical Sailer article agreed with me.
______
MEK is the activator for Fiberglass Resin.
Trust me, it will ACTIVATE paper products.
Help me please...
@rgranger the resident SBO Chemist.
Chemical Engineer aka
Jim...
MEK is
MEK is just one more carbon than acetone and is a decent solvent for slighly polar organic materials.
and MEKP is ...
...and MEKP is a polar organic peroxide... (a.k.a. bad stuff). The oxygen-oxygen bond in the middle of the molecule is easily cleaved and when broken, creates two free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive and will take an electron from just about any molecule with a double bond. You also have a free radical on a hydrocarbon that also has several attached oxygen atoms. The rate of a combustion reaction is often limited by how fast the oxygen atoms can find the hydrocarbon... when they are chemically bound... they can find each other VERY FAST!
Find a youtube on how micelles work. Soap and detergents have a really cool mechanism for how they clean your skin.
Organic chemistry; brings back nightmares
. Happy that you Chem E's deal with that stuff for the rest of us!
So far I haven't found anything better, cheaper, or more convenient than diesel. I have a variety of tools, from dental picks, small screw drivers, brass wire brushes, and tooth brushes that work well for this project..
Doing winches carefully by hand is something I enjoy doing as it gives me an opportunity to see and check each piece for damage ow wear, before they break.
Some Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dr Hook, Moody Blues or Byrds tunes help make the job more fun.
Doing winches carefully by hand is something I enjoy doing as it gives me an opportunity to see and check each piece for damage ow wear, before they break.
Some Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dr Hook, Moody Blues or Byrds tunes help make the job more fun.
Two different things. MEK and cardboard ( or other fuels) will not auto ignite through a reaction.Even Practical Sailer article agreed with me.
______
MEK is the activator for Fiberglass Resin.
Trust me, it will ACTIVATE paper products.
Help me please...
@rgranger the resident SBO Chemist.
Chemical Engineer aka
Jim...
No "E" ... Just a lowly chemist.Organic chemistry; brings back nightmares
This would be more dangerous than anything else I could do in my house.
Ultrasonic Cleaner ? It Works!! - YouTube
Ultrasonic Cleaner ? It Works!! - YouTube
Maybe use less grease! If you spend that much time every year, you may be over-lubricating the gears…
Greg
I think I might have just passed the decade mark. I'm pretty disappointed, I'd hoped ONE of you would come up with a better method, or just one I haven't tried yet. I am thinking about my gas powered 2500 psi pressure washer that will etch concrete and some simple green, here someone "hold my beer".
Don't get the Simple Green on your ports. It will make them cloudy.
Soak the parts over night. Time is your friend here. The longer the soak, the easier it is to remove the grease.
Not having seen a picture of what your gears look like and the amount of grease you are trying to clean off. Maybe just maybe, like others are eluding to is you are using far to much grease of any kind.
I speak from experience here with my thru hull seacocks. One year I used way much grease during my spring commissioning and actually cause the head thru hull to cease up in a half open position. There was no way it was going to move in either direction all season long. It finally took a heat gun to apply heat to it to melt the grease free as I watched it drip out on the ground.
Just my opinion, try not to be lulled into more is better.
I speak from experience here with my thru hull seacocks. One year I used way much grease during my spring commissioning and actually cause the head thru hull to cease up in a half open position. There was no way it was going to move in either direction all season long. It finally took a heat gun to apply heat to it to melt the grease free as I watched it drip out on the ground.
Just my opinion, try not to be lulled into more is better.
@thinwater Same question here: Is Superlube Synthetic Grease a good substitute for Lewmar grease or not a good substitute? The trailing statement "Superlube Sythetic Grease is also excelent that way" leaves me questioning if it is "excellent that way" means that it hardens or an "excellent that way" as a substitute.
At the end of the semester I went to my Organic Chem Prof and asked about my grade. He looked at a list of students and grades and asked what my name was again. He then went to the list, found my name and drew a line under it. Those below the line failed. I changed majors.Organic chemistry; brings back nightmares