Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

To be more specific the gears are in the reduction gearbox on a and I
know I'm going to regret mentioning this Sinclair C5 "Electrically
assisted tricycle'" (and before anyone starts .. yes I have one, yes
they are fun and no I wouldn't want to ride one though the city in the
rush hour etc .. not that *they* are dangerous but some other road
users are! .. g).

Anyway, I believe it uses an epicyclicic (?) system of gears driving a
toothed belt to a rear wheel. These parts are getting pretty rare so
no owner want's to damage them by using the wrong lube?

I suggested the diffs and reduction gears in RC cars / trucks are
often lubricated with a white 'grease' (if they were lubricated at
all)?

So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. And no, I'm not going to try WD40 ;-)

p.p.s. And no it doesn't use a washing machine motor as they were (are
still?) AC and this is DC .. it's just they got one of the biggest
manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor for the C5 and
they also happened to make AC motors for all sorts of things,
including washing machines .. ;-)

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 18:58:18 GMT, T i m wrote:

Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

Yes, but only using the correct grease!

Some types of grease will weaken nylon gears causing them to break.

CPC.co.uk sell (Sold?) a special white grease for lubricating plastic
gears.

sponix

In article ,
T i m writes:
Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

Anyway, I believe it uses an epicyclicic (?) system of gears driving a
toothed belt to a rear wheel. These parts are getting pretty rare so
no owner want's to damage them by using the wrong lube?

I suggested the diffs and reduction gears in RC cars / trucks are
often lubricated with a white 'grease' (if they were lubricated at
all)?

So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

I recently bought some motor drive potentiometers with plastic
reduction gearboxes and slip clutch. These seem to have some
white lube on them too.

I happen to have some white lube which looks pretty identical.
It's the grease I use to repack my bicycle wheel bearings
(which are metal, not plastic though). It claims to be 100%
synthetic, packed with micron sized Teflon particles, and
guaranteed not to separate out. Don't know if it's really
similar stuff though. You tend to use white grease on
bicycle wheel bearings so you can easily see if it's
becoming contaminated and needs changing.

p.p.s. And no it doesn't use a washing machine motor as they were (are
still?) AC and this is DC .. it's just they got one of the biggest

Washing machine motors are Universal motors, and would run on
DC. Actually, mine is driven using SCR's IIRC, so I presume it
is running on DC as there aren't enough SCRs to drive it on full
wave AC.

manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor for the C5 and
they also happened to make AC motors for all sorts of things,
including washing machines .. ;-)

So what's the top road speed on the fast spin program? ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 21:06:04 +0100, --s-p-o-n-i-x--
wrote:

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 18:58:18 GMT, T i m wrote:

Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

Yes, but only using the correct grease!

Well, that was my worry ..

Some types of grease will weaken nylon gears causing them to break.

Indeed .. I have heard of some plastic expanding under the wrong
lube?

CPC.co.uk sell (Sold?) a special white grease for lubricating plastic
gears.

It seems that lots of this 'specialised' lube gets rolled into a more
'universial' solution these days ...

sponix

Cheers fella ..

T i m

On 05 Jun 2005 20:18:25 GMT, andrew@a17 (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:


So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

I recently bought some motor drive potentiometers with plastic
reduction gearboxes and slip clutch. These seem to have some
white lube on them too.

Several 'plastic' machine things I have taken to bits seem to have
that sort of white lube in them .. like the plastic / gear bits in a
video?

I happen to have some white lube which looks pretty identical.

I assume a problem could be that although they *look* similar they
could be very different chemically? ;-(

It's the grease I use to repack my bicycle wheel bearings
(which are metal, not plastic though).

(I guessed you would be off a tricycle by now!)

It claims to be 100%
synthetic, packed with micron sized Teflon particles, and
guaranteed not to separate out. Don't know if it's really
similar stuff though. You tend to use white grease on
bicycle wheel bearings so you can easily see if it's
becoming contaminated and needs changing.

Good thought ..

p.p.s. And no it doesn't use a washing machine motor as they were (are
still?) AC and this is DC .. it's just they got one of the biggest

Washing machine motors are Universal motors, and would run on
DC. Actually, mine is driven using SCR's IIRC, so I presume it
is running on DC as there aren't enough SCRs to drive it on full
wave AC.

Fair enough .. although wouldn't the brushes / windings be different
(240V 12V?) ..?

manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor for the C5 and
they also happened to make AC motors for all sorts of things,
including washing machines .. ;-)

So what's the top road speed on the fast spin program? ;-)

Unassisted on the flat ..15 mph .. down hill .. how much bottle do you
have!

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 18:58:18 GMT, T i m wrote:


To be more specific the gears are in the reduction gearbox on a and I
know I'm going to regret mentioning this Sinclair C5 "Electrically
assisted tricycle'"

Spares are still available for the C5...you could always see if they
sell an "official" grease:

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/index.php

it's just they got one of the biggest
manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor..

The whole C5 was assembled by Hoover in Merthyr Tydfil.

sponix

--s-p-o-n-i-x-- wrote:

Spares are still available for the C5...you could always see if
they sell an "official" grease:

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/index.php

Well twist my nipplenuts and call me Nigel, they even sell modding kit! I
fancy one with the "Evo" 24v conversion, 30mph in a C5 would be one helluva
way to go...... )

T i m wrote:

Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

To be more specific the gears are in the reduction gearbox on a and I
know I'm going to regret mentioning this Sinclair C5 "Electrically
assisted tricycle'" (and before anyone starts .. yes I have one, yes
they are fun and no I wouldn't want to ride one though the city in the
rush hour etc .. not that *they* are dangerous but some other road
users are! .. g).

Anyway, I believe it uses an epicyclicic (?) system of gears driving a
toothed belt to a rear wheel. These parts are getting pretty rare so
no owner want's to damage them by using the wrong lube?

I suggested the diffs and reduction gears in RC cars / trucks are
often lubricated with a white 'grease' (if they were lubricated at
all)?


Yes. Lithium silicone mix I think.

Some plastics are self lubing...nylon is I think, and possibly
polycarbonate.

However the thought that the ginger pig would have moulded his gears
from anything but the cheapest ****e he could get a quote on its
laughable: So its best to assume they were made of recycled fan
housings, like his famous loudspeakers 'acoustically contoured chamber'
har har.


So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

I think its more a question of the application rather than the material..

On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 23:13:24 +0100, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

--s-p-o-n-i-x-- wrote:

Spares are still available for the C5...you could always see if
they sell an "official" grease:

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/index.php

Well twist my nipplenuts and call me Nigel, they even sell modding kit!

Hi Nigel g .. yep, there re quite a few folk selling spares now and
quite a few bits / complete vehicles appear on eBay.
I
fancy one with the "Evo" 24v conversion, 30mph in a C5 would be one helluva
way to go...... )

When I was racing electric vehicles one member 'modded' a C5 with 2
motors and 4 batteries (so 48V) and was doing over 50 mph ... ;-(

Maybe when we are being charged £1.50 / mile to drive in London things
like the C5 (or recumbants in general) may become the norm?

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 22:30:36 +0100, --s-p-o-n-i-x--
wrote:

On Sun, 05 Jun 2005 18:58:18 GMT, T i m wrote:


To be more specific the gears are in the reduction gearbox on a and I
know I'm going to regret mentioning this Sinclair C5 "Electrically
assisted tricycle'"

Spares are still available for the C5...you could always see if they
sell an "official" grease:

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/index.php

And a few other places .. ;-)

it's just they got one of the biggest
manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor..

The whole C5 was assembled by Hoover in Merthyr Tydfil.

And supported by their mobile engineers supposedly? It's a shame the
C5 was 30 years too soon .. pretty clever (and inovative at the time)
design / ergonomics and most will still run today with a new set of
tyres, drive belt and battery ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Mon, 06 Jun 2005 03:38:14 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:


I suggested the diffs and reduction gears in RC cars / trucks are
often lubricated with a white 'grease' (if they were lubricated at
all)?


Yes. Lithium silicone mix I think.

I guessed it might include one or the other .. I wonder if there is
any difference between white and black lithium grease (apart from the
colour)?

Some plastics are self lubing...nylon is I think, and possibly
polycarbonate.

Indeed. I believe this gearbox lasts longer with some lube (feedback
from those who are still using C5's regularly).

However the thought that the ginger pig would have moulded his gears
from anything but the cheapest ****e he could get a quote on its
laughable: So its best to assume they were made of recycled fan
housings, like his famous loudspeakers 'acoustically contoured chamber'
har har.

Really? I thought most of the bits on the C5 were faily high spec (and
why he lost a fortune on the project) .. chassis designed by Lotus,
Europes biggest single piece plastic moulding for the body tub,
electronics by Ferranti, charger by Selmer, battery by Crompton etc
etc?


So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

I think its more a question of the application rather than the material..

I'm sure 'reduction gearbox' would play a big part in the requirement
(revs, load, temperature etc) but I also suspect the choice of lube
would still be more subtle than if the gears were 'metal' (even if
recycled carb bodies g) ?

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I'm trying to find the answer to a 'should or shouldn't I lubricate
'plastic' gears' and if yes, with what?

To be more specific the gears are in the reduction gearbox on a and I
know I'm going to regret mentioning this Sinclair C5 "Electrically
assisted tricycle'" (and before anyone starts .. yes I have one, yes
they are fun and no I wouldn't want to ride one though the city in the
rush hour etc .. not that *they* are dangerous but some other road
users are! .. g).

Anyway, I believe it uses an epicyclicic (?) system of gears driving a
toothed belt to a rear wheel. These parts are getting pretty rare so
no owner want's to damage them by using the wrong lube?

I suggested the diffs and reduction gears in RC cars / trucks are
often lubricated with a white 'grease' (if they were lubricated at
all)?

So, any tribologists out there please (and I know there are many
'plastics' used for this type of role and the particular material used
may (will) dictate the lubrication used).

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. And no, I'm not going to try WD40 ;-)

p.p.s. And no it doesn't use a washing machine motor as they were (are
still?) AC and this is DC .. it's just they got one of the biggest
manufacturers of motors in Europe to make the motor for the C5 and
they also happened to make AC motors for all sorts of things,
including washing machines .. ;-)




I have a new, unused C5 motor sitting in my garage if you (or anyone!) is
interested.

Alan.

On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 23:04:42 +0100, "Alan"
wrote:


I have a new, unused C5 motor sitting in my garage if you (or anyone!) is
interested.

Is it *just* the motor Alan or gearbox as well? I believe the motor is
'special' in the mountings for the gearbox (and therefore tricky to
interface an alternative motor to the housing)?

Hiave you considered putting it on eBay?

If you like I could mention it on the C5 list (if you want to send me
some details re price / location off list etc).

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I have a couple of spare C5 motors myself as I was part of the
team that cleared one of the Sinclair places when the project was over
;-)