What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Aren't these mostly 'sealed for life' ?

If you can get access to the bearing then use something light. Say
sewing machine oil or 3-in-1.

Cheers,

Paul.

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Well, the best stuff's called Anderol and it's expensive and minimum of
order of 5 litres

.... so forget that

I've just re-oiled the pb bearings in the fans in a SATA cradle using
the RS equivalent of 3 in 1 oil - it's what I had to hand. For computer
fans you prolly want an oil with not too much drag, try 3 in 1

--
geoff

In message .com,
writes

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Aren't these mostly 'sealed for life' ?

They pop out quite easily if you're careful about it


If you can get access to the bearing then use something light. Say
sewing machine oil or 3-in-1.


--
geoff

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
.. .
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating. Oiling them
runs the risk of oil + dust creating an abrasive mix that will quickly wear
the bearing away. Powdered graphite is the best lubricant. However, if you
must oil it, use sewing machine oil.

Colin Bignell

In article ,
raden writes:
In message .com,
writes

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Aren't these mostly 'sealed for life' ?

They pop out quite easily if you're careful about it

Yes, having fitted a new one, I thought "nothing to lose",
and just pulled on the fan. The whole bearing came out,
and it looks like it was designed to. It seems to have
been oiled originally, but the oil has gone thick, maybe
due to muck getting in (wasn't very well dust proofed).
Fan is a strange size/power rating, otherwise I wouldn't
have bothered thinking of repairing it.

If you can get access to the bearing then use something light. Say
sewing machine oil or 3-in-1.

OK, thanks.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In message , nightjar
writes

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
. ..
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating.

Until they dry out

Oiling them
runs the risk of oil + dust creating an abrasive mix that will quickly wear
the bearing away.

Sorry, but ********

Powdered graphite is the best lubricant.

Sorry, but it isn't

PB bearings absorb the oil, they are porous.

Graphite will just clog up the bearing surface

However, if you
must oil it, use sewing machine oil.

For computer fans, yes

for larger bearings really Anderol should be used

Trust me - I have a clue


--
geoff

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , nightjar
writes

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating.

Until they dry out

You are presuming that they are oil impregnated porous bronze bearings.
Decent self-lubricating bronze bearings have a suspension of lead in the
bronze and don't dry out, nor do graphite impregnated porous bronze
bearings.

Oiling them
runs the risk of oil + dust creating an abrasive mix that will quickly
wear
the bearing away.

Sorry, but ********

I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks. One of
the quickest way for anyone to wreck them was to oil the bronze motor
bearings.

Colin Bignell

wrote:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Aren't these mostly 'sealed for life' ?

If you can get access to the bearing then use something light. Say
sewing machine oil or 3-in-1.

I would use gun oil for this sort of thing, since we have it and since
we don't have sewing machine oil, but I have no idea if they really are
the same sort of product. And what about shaver lubricants, they are
pretty light? Are there really big differences or is a light oil a light
oil? Anyone know?

--
Holly, in France
Holiday Home in Dordogne
http://la-plaine.chez.tiscali.fr/

On 15 Nov 2005 23:49:15 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan?

"Small bearing oil". Needs to not go gummy with age (3-in1 is terrible
for this) and mustn't contain solvents that annoy the plastic (some of
the Teflon containing oils have additives to keep it in suspension which
are a bit problematic).

I use "Finish Line", because it's what I use on my bike and it's handy.
Break Free or Tri-Flow are useful too. If you don't have some, get a
small bottle because this stuff is always handy.

Sewing machine oil would work fine.

Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Much too viscous

WD40 will work, if you're really stuck and it's what you have,

In article ,
says...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?


I've used it in the past when I didn't have anything else to hand, and
it seemed to work OK. I'd use it in preference to 3-in-1, which gums up
quite quickly.

On 15 Nov 2005 23:49:15 GMT, Andrew Gabriel wrote:

What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

3 in one oil

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 08:14:10 -0000, nightjar wrote:

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , nightjar
writes

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
k...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating.

Until they dry out

You are presuming that they are oil impregnated porous bronze bearings.
Decent self-lubricating bronze bearings have a suspension of lead in the
bronze and don't dry out, nor do graphite impregnated porous bronze
bearings.

Oiling them
runs the risk of oil + dust creating an abrasive mix that will quickly
wear
the bearing away.

Sorry, but ********

I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks. One of
the quickest way for anyone to wreck them was to oil the bronze motor
bearings.


Indeed. Those are very low torque low ROPM bearings indeed, and must be run
essntially dry.

The same is NOT true of motor bearings, which are high RPM and medium
torque. These must NOT be run dry.

Colin Bignell

In article ,
says...
snip
WD40 will work, if you're really stuck and it's what you have,

I've found it doesn't last well. Good for cleaning out the 3-in-1
before you apply some 10W40 though :-)

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
. ..
....
I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks. One of
the quickest way for anyone to wreck them was to oil the bronze motor
bearings.


Indeed. Those are very low torque low ROPM bearings indeed, and must be
run
essntially dry.

The same is NOT true of motor bearings, which are high RPM and medium
torque. These must NOT be run dry.

You are thinking of the wrong type of clock. The ones I made were industrial
timers, based on synchronous motors.

Colin Bignell

In message , nightjar
writes

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , nightjar
writes

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
k...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating.

Until they dry out

You are presuming that they are oil impregnated porous bronze bearings.

I am

Decent self-lubricating bronze bearings

But they're not, they are cheap and nasty, aren't they

have a suspension of lead in the
bronze and don't dry out,
nor do graphite impregnated porous bronze
bearings.

Oiling them
runs the risk of oil + dust creating an abrasive mix that will quickly
wear
the bearing away.

Sorry, but ********

I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks.

And what sort of RPM are we talking about

completely different animals

One of
the quickest way for anyone to wreck them was to oil the bronze motor
bearings.


Repairing fan motors with PB bearings is part of what I do now for a
living (well, not me personally anymore).

I buy 1000 pb bearings at a time, they are kept immersed in oil for best
results

I do have a clue ...

Sorry, Colin, but you're completely wrong here

--
geoff

In message , Andy Dingley
writes

I use "Finish Line", because it's what I use on my bike and it's handy.
Break Free or Tri-Flow are useful too. If you don't have some, get a
small bottle because this stuff is always handy.

Sewing machine oil would work fine.

Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Much too viscous

Actually, it's not, it would be OK


WD40 will work, if you're really stuck and it's what you have,

I would advise against that, it would just wash out any oil left in the
bearing


--
geoff

In message , Rob Morley
writes
In article ,
says...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?


I've used it in the past when I didn't have anything else to hand, and
it seemed to work OK. I'd use it in preference to 3-in-1, which gums up
quite quickly.

OK, we'll see

I oiled the bearings in my SATA cradle fans a couple of days ago. I'll
report back if and when they get noisy

--
geoff

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 21:33:40 GMT, raden wrote:

In message , nightjar
writes

I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks.

And what sort of RPM are we talking about

The last one I looked at was around 16 poles so 400rpm ish carrying
next to bugger all load of any description but for some obscure reason
those *do* get buggered if lubricated with light oil - probably I
reckoned to the lack of sealing and a slighly dusty environment.

Anything much bigger like car radiator fan motors (and probably boiler
fans) thrive on having the bearings soaked in a light oil for a few
days.


--

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , nightjar
writes

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , nightjar
writes

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
. uk...
What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan? Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Bronze bearings are usually intended to be self-lubricating.

Until they dry out

You are presuming that they are oil impregnated porous bronze bearings.

I am

Decent self-lubricating bronze bearings

But they're not, they are cheap and nasty, aren't they

Creating an even suspension of lead in bronze is not that simple, so they
are not cheap, or at least they weren't when I used them. I suspect that
many plain bronze bearings these days are just that: plain bronze.

....

I spent more than a decade making and repairing industrial clocks.

And what sort of RPM are we talking about

I don't have a motor to hand now, but it was either 1100 RPM or 1350 RPM.
They were then stepped down to speeds between 1rpm and 1/12 rph, depending
on the timing function they were required to carry out.


One of
the quickest way for anyone to wreck them was to oil the bronze motor
bearings.


Repairing fan motors with PB bearings is part of what I do now for a
living (well, not me personally anymore).

I buy 1000 pb bearings at a time, they are kept immersed in oil for best
results

I do have a clue ...

Sorry, Colin, but you're completely wrong here

I think you have interpreted my warning that oiling bronze bearings runs the
risk of knackering them to mean that it will, inevitably do so. It does not,
it means there is a risk of doing so and I also speak from personal
experience. However, I will admit that experience was quite a long time ago
(there is not much call for electromechanical process control these days)
and that much of the equipment I made probably was used in relatively
hostile environments.

Colin Bignell

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 22:56:02 UTC, Matt
wrote:

Anything much bigger like car radiator fan motors (and probably boiler
fans) thrive on having the bearings soaked in a light oil for a few
days.

And washing machine spiders...or so I was instructed.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
Avenue Supplies, http://avenuesupplies.co.uk

Andy Dingley typed:

On 15 Nov 2005 23:49:15 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

What's a good bearing oil for a phosphor bronze (I think)
bearing in a small computer fan?

"Small bearing oil". Needs to not go gummy with age (3-in1 is
terrible for this) and mustn't contain solvents that annoy the
plastic (some of the Teflon containing oils have additives to keep it
in suspension which are a bit problematic).

I use "Finish Line", because it's what I use on my bike and it's
handy. Break Free or Tri-Flow are useful too. If you don't have some,
get a small bottle because this stuff is always handy.

Sewing machine oil would work fine.

Would a tiny bit of car
engine oil do?

Much too viscous



Yes But....

WD40 will work, if you're really stuck and it's what you have,

Which was designed as a water displacer (WD) with F-all lubricating in it,
even paraffin would be a better choice.


-

nightjar nightjar@ wrote:

Creating an even suspension of lead in bronze is not that simple, so they
are not cheap, or at least they weren't when I used them. I suspect that
many plain bronze bearings these days are just that: plain bronze.

'Twas ever thus, surely? The most common type is just sintered bronze
alloy, impregnated in oil. The trade name "oilite" came to mind and
Google soon led me to http://www.bsaoilite.com.

The following is copied from their standard range brochure which can be
downloaded from
http://www.bsaoilite.com/content/ind...=67&struid=104

quote
Standard OILITE bearings are impregnated with a highly refined mineral
oil to ISO VG (SAE 30) having a high viscosity index and containing
anti-oxidant, anti-rust and defoamant additives.

A replenishment of oil should be carried out after 1000 hours of use or
yearly. These intervals can be extended for bearings with relatively
thick walls and shortened for low porosity bearings. Bearings running
submerged in oil or in oil-splash will not require replenishment.

A wide range of operating temperatures are [sic.] available. Please
contact our Technical Department on +44 (0) 1473 233300.

To prevent possible seizures with stainless steel or hard-chromium
plated shafts, an addition of molybdenum disulphide to the impregnation
oil must be specified.

Any particular application thought to be outside standard conditions
should be referred to our Technical Department who can be contacted on:
+44 (0) 1473 233300.

However, here are some basic rules:
1. Low viscosity oil for low temperatures, high speeds or light loads
2. High viscosity oil for high temperatures, low speeds or heavy loads
3. High viscosity index oil for wide variations in operating
temperatures
4. Oxidation stable oils for long-period usage
5. Oil with ‘oiliness’ additives for boundary conditions
6. Oil of lesser ‘oiliness’ for full film (hydrodynamic) conditions
7. Oil with Extreme Pressure (E.P.) additives for very heavy or shock
loads
/quote

--
Andy

In message , Andy Wade
writes
nightjar nightjar@ wrote:

Creating an even suspension of lead in bronze is not that simple, so
they are not cheap, or at least they weren't when I used them. I
suspect that many plain bronze bearings these days are just that:
plain bronze.

'Twas ever thus, surely? The most common type is just sintered bronze
alloy, impregnated in oil. The trade name "oilite" came to mind and
Google soon led me to http://www.bsaoilite.com.


.... ...

However, here are some basic rules:
1. Low viscosity oil for low temperatures, high speeds or light loads
2. High viscosity oil for high temperatures, low speeds or heavy loads
3. High viscosity index oil for wide variations in operating
temperatures
4. Oxidation stable oils for long-period usage
5. Oil with €˜oiliness additives for boundary conditions
6. Oil of lesser €˜oiliness for full film (hydrodynamic) conditions
7. Oil with Extreme Pressure (E.P.) additives for very heavy or shock
loads
/quote



Which, as I said before, is all a bit over the top for a computer
cooling fan

.... but then, it is uk.d-i-y, isn't it


--
geoff