What to lubricate rubber impeller with?

[NickC]

Can anyone advise what is best to lubricate a new rubber impeller with:

• Vasaline
• Copperslip
• Grease

I seem to recall that grease is not good and rots rubber whereas vasaline is ok, unless this is not normal rubber and perhaps is ok with grease. How about copperslip is that ok for the rubber impeller?

Also what about some sort of sealant between the wearplate and the housing. No gasket here and no sealant by the looks of it, just a metal to metal join. Is this ok or would I be better smearing a small amount of silicon gasket around here. What does everyone else do?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[prv]

Vaseline certainly does rot rubber - I once made a life-size model shoulder joint out of wood, with strips of bike inner tube as ligaments, and decided to grease the ball with vaseline. Within a few days, the rubber strips all fell apart. When I cleaned the vaseline off and fitted new ones, they lasted fine, as they did on the second model that wasn't greased. Of course, there are many different kinds of "rubber" and not all will be affected.

Impellers usually come with a little sachet of lubricant, I think it's glycerin based.

Pete

 

[davidej]

Glycerin is right - if you can find some!

 

[ghostlymoron]

I don't recall every getting lubricant with my impellors. I used washing up liquid to put it in with. I think it disappeared fairly quickly once the pump started spinning. I imagine that any lubricant isn't going to stay on it long.

 

[blackbeard]

AFAIK Yanmar say nothing about lubricant. Washing up liquid handy for getting impeller into place, as noted. Boat progress is, for a short while, marked by a trail of bubbles.

 

[Dave_Seager]

I use liquid soap. The liquid soap is quite mild and will wash away easily once the water starts flowing. Once the system is running the pump is lubricated by water.

 

[NickC]

Further reading suggests silicone grease might be a suitable lubricant, any thoughts?

 

[nigelmercier]

Further reading suggests silicone grease might be a suitable lubricant, any thoughts?

I'm pretty sure that my impeller came with Silicone grease.

 

[prv]

Further reading suggests silicone grease might be a suitable lubricant, any thoughts?

It's used for lubricating rubber stuff in diving gear, so yep, probably ok.

Pete

 

[sailorman]

It's used for lubricating rubber stuff in diving gear, so yep, probably ok.

Pete

I have heard KY jelly is a good water based lubricant

 

[Jabamusic]

Silicone grease yes........washing-up liquid or liquid soap equally so, IMHO

 

[emandvee44]

Impeller Lubricant

See Pics.
The Volvo one comes with a little tube of glycerine lubricant. The spare which I bought a few days ago (19 euros!) did not have lubricant.
View attachment 29405View attachment 29406

The instructions with the Volvo spare give a warning 'do not use any petroleum based products to lubricate the inside of the pump. Only use glycerin. Other products can damage the impeller, which will damage the pump and lead to engine failure.Do not run the impeller without water or lubricant, this can cause engine failure or a fire'
But you have bought genuine spares so you will know this

Michael.

 

[awol]

KY Jelly is as good as anything and the caring skipper usually has a tube available Silicon grease is pretty safe. I find a dod of grease on the plate guarantees suction on restart.

 

[Jabamusic]

KY Jelly is as good as anything and the caring skipper usually has a tube available Silicon grease is pretty safe. I find a dod of grease on the plate guarantees suction on restart.

This would be eye-watering in "other" fora.....!!

 

[VicS]

Glycerin is right - if you can find some!

Glycerine:
Cooking ingredients section of supermarket

Silicone grease:
Halfords etc

KY:
FP section of Supermarket pharmacy

 

[sailorman]

Glycerine:
Cooking ingredients section of supermarket

Silicone grease:
Halfords etc

KY:
FP section of Supermarket pharmacy

Something for the w/e Sir, yes Im going sailing, I`ll take some KY please my good fellow, in a plain brown wrapper

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Glycerine is the stuff to use.
And fitting is made a lot easier by wrapping the impellor in a tie-wrap with all the fins laying the correct way. Simply push on to the hub and it slides out of the tie-wrap.

 

[davidej]

Glycerine is the stuff to use.
And fitting is made a lot easier by wrapping the impellor in a tie-wrap with all the fins laying the correct way. Simply push on to the hub and it slides out of the tie-wrap.

Good tip !

 

[ghostlymoron]

I don't normally have a problem with inserting the impellor. Just a smear with Fairy and a slight clockwise twist to get it in.

 

[macd]

I don't normally have a problem with inserting the impellor. Just a smear with Fairy and a slight clockwise twist to get it in.

As the actress said...