Oil or grease for winch pawls?

[Avocet]

I'm pushing the boat out (if you'll excuse the pun) and thought I might service Avocet's winches (well, it has been at least 20 years since we've had the boat, and I'm not sure any of the previous owners were as enthusiastic as us when it came to winch maintenance....)!

They are Barlow 16 winches, made in Australia. On taking the first one apart (perhaps unsurprisingly) I found some congealed green "yuk" that was presumably grease at some point in it's life. Having removed that, I put some waterproof grease on everything that moves, but the little springs behind the pawls are having to work quite hard to overcome the grease.

Being a bloke, only then did I think to look at the correct procedure and found a variety of material on this forum and on t'internet in general, which seemed to be roughly split down the middle between people saying you should use minimal mounts of grease and people saying you should just oil the pawls (but grease the bearings). A PDF for a similar winch that I found online suggested SAE 30 oil for the pawls, but I'm sure they'd happily cope with something thicker than that!

Any suggestions? I have some very thick "steam oil" (for steam engines). Would that be a reasonable bet?

 

[[2574]]

Oil only otherwise the pawls stick. We use three in one oil and have no problems. Lightly grease the bearings, emphasis lightly, don't gorm them up with copious quantities of grease which turns in to yuk.....

 

[skip50]

Yes, definitely oil for the pawls. I do use the 'proper' Lewmar stuff, which IIRC, is pretty thin. Last done a year ago so my memory is not totally clear on the thickness. but definitely oil not grease.

HTH

 

[michael_w]

Clean all the kuck off with diesel. Then if you must a light oil, though I find the diesel does a fine job of lubrication. Never use grease, unless you enjoy digging out congealed 5hite.

The diesel trick was taught to me by a South African BN who looked after the winch farm on an IOR maxi. He had 20 odd winches to service.

 

[Poignard]

Waterproof grease is bad stuff to use because it hardens into a sort of soap. I'd rather leave the pawls unlubricated than use it.

A light oil is fine.

 

[duncan99210]

Three in one oil for the pawls, waterproof grease for the rest but not much of it at all, just a thin smear. Grease on the pawls and springs will guarantee a two way winch before too long....

 

[Sandy]

3 in 1.

Just a hint of grease.

 

[jac]

3 in 1.

Just a hint of grease.

+1

Lewmar winch grease.

Have a look at one of the lewmar servicing videos on you tube to see how little grease lewmar put on. They touch a paintbrush to the grease and then dab it on.

I was putting far too much. On until I saw the video a few years ago.

 

[VicS]

I have some very thick "steam oil" (for steam engines). Would that be a reasonable bet?

No I guess that is SAE 250 oil or probably even heavier .. Probably be worse than a light grade of grease!

 

[prv]

Grease on the pawls and springs will guarantee a two way winch before too long....

+1

I had a sheet winch turn back on me just the other week. Fortunately I was only making off a tiller lashing, but it could have been much nastier. I hadn't yet serviced those winches since we bought the boat last year; I'd planned to do it at some point this winter, but that incident shot it up the priority list.

Pete

 

[Slowtack]

Sewing machine oil!

 

[Sneaky Pete]

You may wish to re-consider your service interval.

 

[johnalison]

It's a yearly job for me and I don't think even light use should make one put this job off more than an extra year. I prefer to clean with paraffin and rinse this off with white spirit before drying and greasing/oiling.

 

[Avocet]

You may wish to re-consider your service interval.

Aye, in the light of this thread, I think I might halve it at least! To be honest, the poor old tub's been in the garden this last 8 years, so the winches haven't been doing much work. Hoping this wil lbe the year that changes everythign though!

 

[Avocet]

Thanks all - it's looking like oil for the pawls then!

 

[Aquarella]

This article and video answers a lot of questions about taking the winches apart, lubricating and assembling them again. After seeing this I think I dare have a go at it.
http://www.distantshores.ca/boatblog.php

 

[geem]

Waterproof grease is bad stuff to use because it hardens into a sort of soap. I'd rather leave the pawls unlubricated than use it.

A light oil is fine.

Hardly surprising it ends up like soap since grease is oil and soap! The oil evaporates and leaves the soap behind.

I only use grease as I think it provides better lubrication and therefore longer pawl life. I do clean the old grease off if there are any signs of hardening before re-greasing. The trick is to do it regularly.

 

[Stork_III]

Hardly surprising it ends up like soap since grease is oil and soap! The oil evaporates and leaves the soap behind.

I only use grease as I think it provides better lubrication and therefore longer pawl life. I do clean the old grease off if there are any signs of hardening before re-greasing. The trick is to do it regularly.

Glad to hear you know better than the winch designer/manufacturer. :encouragement:

 

[Avocet]

Glad to hear you know better than the winch designer/manufacturer. :encouragement:

He might, of course! The original designer / manufacturer would have specified a service regime based on the greases and oils available at the time AND the need to balance frequency of servicing with reasonable life and functionality worldwide. If geem is prepared to strip and re-grease his winches (say) twice a season instead of once, and if he sails in latitudes where it's unlikely to get cold enough for the grease to get thick enough to overcome the pawl springs then maybe grease IS the better option for him? My car's air filter is supposed to be changed every (say) 20,000 miles. I do it less often because I work for the car manufacturer concerned and I know it was specified to take into account the levels of dust it would be likely to encounter in Southern Mediterranean markets.

 

[lpdsn]

They are Barlow 16 winches, made in Australia. On taking the first one apart (perhaps unsurprisingly) I found some congealed green "yuk" that was presumably grease at some point in it's life. Having removed that, I put some waterproof grease on everything that moves, but the little springs behind the pawls are having to work quite hard to overcome the grease.

Tip for making the "yuk" easier to remove. Rather than cleaning, lubricate it all with 3-in-1 and put the winch back together. Then go sailing. Strip again afterwards and the "yuk" should be at least a bit softer and easier to get off.