How much grease do you put on a winch?

[Conachair]

Never again on the pawls, been there

But the rest? Begining to think less may be more.

And where? Might just do the bearings this time and see what happens.

What do you lot do?

 

[Vara]

Just a smidge, which is slightly less than a tad, and just on bearings and shaft surface.
On an average 4 winch boat a standard tube should last 30 years...well mine did, just had to buy a new one!
Prefer Singer sewing machine oil to 3in1 which always seems to leave a residue.

 

[EdWingfield]

I thought no grease, clean light machine oil.

 

[rob2]

According to Lewmar, just enough to glisten on the bearing surfaces and similar with light oil on the pawls. You can download the service manual from the Lewmar website.

Rob.

 

[oldbilbo]

"Less is more"....

I remember a fascinating Club Lecture by Jim Edwards of Harken UK on deck gear maintenance. He pointed out that sheet winches accumulate salt crystals when seawater dries inside. When the winches are next used/rotated, those crystals are ground into fine powder and dispersed through the residual grease.

Then the mixture acts as grinding paste on your expensive bearings. Jim suggested that such treatment can readily take one-third off the life of winches.

The remedy? Use his - or others' - proprietary lubricant instead of garage grease, use very little of it, and - more important than anything else - stick the fresh water hose into each winch handle socket for a few seconds each time you fill up, to rinse away the salt-laden water inside.

 

[VicMallows]

The remedy? Use his - or others' - proprietary lubricant instead of garage grease, use very little of it, and - more important than anything else - stick the fresh water hose into each winch handle socket for a few seconds each time you fill up, to rinse away the salt-laden water inside.

Did he explain WHY proprietary lubricant was different?

Sticking the hose in the handle socket may well work on Harken winches?....but will result in nothing more than a facefull of water on mine

 

[dt4134]

A very thin film of grease is sufficient.

You should clean them regularly, although I find I strip & clean other peoples' winches on racers more frequently than I do on my own cruiser.

I just use Lithium grease. Not sure what sort of grease is in the proprietary ones, but they can't be that magic despite the price.

 

[oldbilbo]

Did he explain WHY proprietary lubricant was different?

He was on his employer's business and time. Of course he plugged his employer's products. It would have been discourteous to press him....

 

[ghostlymoron]

This was how much I put on mine - I now know that this was WAY too much.

 

[dt4134]

This was how much I put on mine - I now know that this was WAY too much.

Although you don't actually have to take the winches off the boat to do it

 

[neil_s]

If you use too much lube the rain will wash it all over your decks for you as I found out. Good clean out and then the merest smear of grease is what's needed.

Neil

 

[MAURICE]

After cleaning the winch you should only lightly grease the gear (not the pawls) i put some grease on my fingers and then lightly smear the gears. some video on you tube will show you
Maurice

 

[ghostlymoron]

Although you don't actually have to take the winches off the boat to do it

dt4134, Certain parts of my Gibb 25STs are only servicable with the winches dismounted. I wanted to completely dismantle and clean before lubricating.

 

[VicMallows]

Certain parts of my Gibb 25STs are only servicable with the winches dismounted.

I was amazed when I first encountered winches like that on a friends SO35. I couldn't even see any particular reason why it might have 'simplified' manufacture. I had previously assumed that all winches could be fully serviced without removing the base.

 

[Plevier]

That SO35 probably has Harken winches like my 2003 SO32. Despite Harken's reputation they are rubbish compared with Lewmar and they cannot be fully serviced without removing from the deck. How many people will do that every year? Disturbing headlinings, needing to reseal ....
Awful design.

 

[ghostlymoron]

That SO35 probably has Harken winches like my 2003 SO32. Despite Harken's reputation they are rubbish compared with Lewmar and they cannot be fully serviced without removing from the deck. How many people will do that every year? Disturbing headlinings, needing to reseal ....
Awful design.

I could at least remove mine without taking down the headlinings as they were sheet winches and could be accessed through the 'cubby holes' in the coamings. The halyard winches mounted on the coach roof were, thankfully, single speed Gibbs which could be serviced without removing them.

 

[dt4134]

dt4134, Certain parts of my Gibb 25STs are only servicable with the winches dismounted. I wanted to completely dismantle and clean before lubricating.

That sounds like bad design for something you'd want to do reasonably regularly.

Anyway, I stand (sit) corrected.