[GreenKeys] Teletype Oil (Ad Nauseum)

[Steve Schlink]

At 04:17 PM 8/17/2011 -0400, Christian Gauger-Cosgrove wrote:
>I'm definitely not an expert, but a good friend of mine who recently fixed 
>up an IBM Selectric (not a teletype, but close enough!) he recommended 
>using Marvel Mystery Oil (it's a nice light oil with some solvent mixed in).

>Said friend also recommended using silicone grease or - if you really want 
>to shell out money - flouroether based greases like duPont's Krytox. 
>Mostly as silicone grease and flouroether greases don't damage rubber and 
>are also stable at large temperature ranges (plus they help stop parts 
>from corroding because they are very chemically inert).

I have to disagree about silicone not attacking rubber. Take a look at the 
O-ring manufacturer's sites and you will see that several synthetic 
"rubber" compounds are attacked by "silicones". The other concern about 
using silicone around electronics is that one of its properties is a very 
high dielectric strength. Given its propensity to creep, that could be a 
problem on the various contacts.

>But yeah, best choice is a silicone grease, as flouroether greases are: A. 
>Expensive B. Impossible to remove C. Expensive D. Not easy to find E. 
>EXPENSIVE F.

         Not sure why we need anything different than has been used on them 
for the last 50 years.

Steve




>Did I mention they're expensive yet? Cheers, Christian On 17 August 2011 
>14:57, Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com> wrote: > > ----- Original 
>Message ----- > From: "Bruce Gentry" <ka2ivy at verizon.net> > To: 
><GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net> > Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 10:39 AM > 
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Teletype Oil (Ad Nauseum) > > >> Keelan Lightfoot 
>wrote: >>> I've been reading the GreenKeys archives, and It's >>> 
>surprising how often the topic of oil comes up here. >>> Without 
>re-opening the subject for debate, I just wanted >>> to throw something 
>out to the group. >>> >>> The oil is a nice light straw colour, has no 
>smell, and >>> contains very little extra 'stuff'. Now my teletypes >>> 
>don't need to smell like rancid lemons soaked in used >>> motor oil, and 
>at $16 a gallon (compared to $6 for 3 fl >>> oz of the stinky stuff) I'm 
>saving money in the long run >>> too! >>> >>> Just thought I'd 
>share. >>> >>> - Keelan >>> >> The oil used in hydraulic elevators has 
>very few >> additives, has >> excellent anti-wear properties, and is 10W. 
>Â  It is >> blended to minimize >> aroma, many customers object to their 
>buildings smelling >> like a garage. >> Make friends with an elevator 
>mechanic in  the service >> department,  and >> you should be able to 
>get a gallon can or jug for a cup of >> coffee and a >> donut. Â They have 
>tens or hundreds of gallons of it in the >> shop or >> stashed on 
>jobs. >> >> Â  Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY Â  Â Elevator Constructors Local 
>62, >> retired. > > Â  Â  I did a little research on oils and greases. I 
>am no > expert plus I don't yet have a Teletype machine. Here are > some 
>comments. > Â  Â  1, Lubrication seems to be a rather complex subject, > 
>I've been trying to learn what I could for some time. My > interests were 
>in special lubricants for fine machinery such > as clocks and camera 
>shutters but I also wanted to find out > as much as I could in general. I 
>found out what a "grease" > is and the difference between the applications 
>of greases > from oils. > Â  Â  2, There are a couple of manufacturers of 
>specialized > oils and greases. Two are The Nye Company, who has been in > 
>business since the days of whale oil, and Kano Labs another > old-line 
>company. The Nye product line is much more > extensive. > Â  Â  3, There 
>are several specialized lubricants for > aircraft some of which have 
>applications elsewhere. An > example is the grease specified by Collins 
>for use on the > gears and cams of 51J and R-390 receivers. It has a mil 
>spec > number but is available as Aeroshell No.7 among others. I > have 
>some and find it to stick much better than general > purpose white lithium 
>grease or synthetics like Mobil > grease. Perhaps not suitable for 
>Teletype machines. > Â  Â  4, The kind of lubricant depends on what its 
>for. > Different types are needed for helical gears, hypoid gears > 
>(probably not found in Teletype machines), and very with the > material. 
>Greases are needed where an oil might run off the > object but greases 
>need sliding action to stay distributed. > The amount of pressure and the 
>speed of rubbing surfaces is > important. Temperature range is important. 
>Some oils and > greases are more resistant to moisture (washing off) 
>than > others. > Â  Â Modern oils and greases are much more resistant to > 
>oxidation and consequent hardening than were traditional > ones. Some oils 
>and greases have better anti-oxidation > qualities than others. > Â  Â The 
>oil originaly used on Teletype machines appears to > have been one 
>supplied by Teletype under a "KS" number. KS > is a prefix used by Western 
>Electric for items made by > outside suppliers (means Kearny Spec). Is the 
>spec for this > oil available somewhere? It would be interesting to know > 
>what exactly it specified, perhaps no more than the > viscosity. > 
>Â  Â  Since these machines are getting old and probably fit > the catagory 
>of precision equipment the choice of a > lubricant should be done with 
>some care to mimimise the wear > and strain, I presume that replacement 
>parts are not so easy > to obtain so preserving the existing ones is 
>important. > Also, many newer lubricants are "slipperier" than older > 
>ones, this is connected to the wear rate but also affects > the smoothness 
>of running of the lubricated equipment. > Â  Â  I have a good opinion of 
>Nye, it would be worth someone > who understands the requirements for 
>Teletype service to > contact them and discuss suitable lubricants with 
>one of > their specialists. > > > -- > Richard Knoppow > Los Angeles > 
>WB6KBL > dickburk at ix.netcom.com > > 
>______________________________________________________________ > GreenKeys 
>mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys > 
>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: 
>mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: 
>http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: 
>http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > 
>______________________________________________________________ GreenKeys 
>mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys Help: 
>http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net 
>This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email 
>list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html