sutton sailor
Well-Known Member
Can the forum advise? I have a variety of automotive greases. Do I need to use anything special for my Winch which is single speed Antal , I also have a tub of stern tube grease.
Winch Grease
- Thread starter sutton sailor
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AMOREST
Well-Known Member
Winch grease is pretty light weight but waterproof.
I do use Lewmar Winch Grease. But the trick is to use Very Little.
Might sound daft but I use a make up brush 1/2 inch - and keep this only for the winches. Clean off any previous lubricant and muck - then Only use a light smear.
Don’t forget light oil for the pawls. Don’t use grease on them.
I do use Lewmar Winch Grease. But the trick is to use Very Little.
Might sound daft but I use a make up brush 1/2 inch - and keep this only for the winches. Clean off any previous lubricant and muck - then Only use a light smear.
Don’t forget light oil for the pawls. Don’t use grease on them.
stuartwineberg
Well-Known Member
I would use a grease rated for high pressure use, lewmar is the obvious but there are others. As previous post says, use very little.
Rum Run
Well-Known Member
I first read the thread title as Witch Grease. Then I wondered what she used to use all those years ago............
Misterbreeze
Well-Known Member
I was told to use Blakes seacock grease. Seems to do the job which is handy as I've got an expensive tub of the stuff and I've replaced them all with Trudesign.
OCuea
N/A
It has all been said above. Lightly oiling and never greasing the pawls is the most important part. I have used Blake’s seacock grease lightly in past because I had alot of it. Some good YouTube videos around.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
Just to back up all the advice above, I inherited winches that had been "lubricated" with some sort of grease (looked like ordinary automotive grease, yellow and translucent), in large amounts. The stuff had set like varnish and was almost impossible to remove, especially in inaccessible areas like roller bearings.. I ended up having to replace the roller bearings - fortunately, not too expensive! Use the right grease, and use VERY VERY little!
thinwater
Well-Known Member
Honestly, what is most important is to get it done every few years. The nightmares are from 10-20 years of neglect. I'm pretty sure any good grease would do very, very well for a year.
OCuea
N/A
Yes. As post 8 says and I forgot, really regular servicing solves alot of problems. And winches are easy to work on.
Really surprised that some solvent immersion for a few days could not release even rock hard grease from bearings. I’d have liked to see some photos or video of those winches.
Really surprised that some solvent immersion for a few days could not release even rock hard grease from bearings. I’d have liked to see some photos or video of those winches.
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AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
It might have - but it might have dissolved the rollers, too as the cage is some sort of plastic.
The most effective was a degreasing setup that used a caustic solution under pressure. But even that didn't get it all out.
OCuea
N/A
Oh I didn’t know bearings used plastic cages , my mistake. Sounds like you really did exhaust every avenue before replacing bearings, sodium hydroxide etc really is caustic and nasty (potentially) and if you added pressure you really went to alot of effort.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I take no credit - it was my brother who tried the degreasing setup!
PabloPicasso
Well-Known Member
I bought a tube of I think Harken winch grease when I bought the boat 17 years ago.
One uses so little, I'm still using the same tube.
Harken won't retire on the amount of winch grease used.
Winches are such important items. Get and use the propriety grease. Not a great expense in sailing.
Great reminder to me, I must service my winches
One uses so little, I'm still using the same tube.
Harken won't retire on the amount of winch grease used.
Winches are such important items. Get and use the propriety grease. Not a great expense in sailing.
Great reminder to me, I must service my winches
ducked
Well-Known Member
Brake fluid can be quite an effective solvent for this sort of thing, makeing quite a good carb cleaner, for example. Its water miscible so a follow-up boiling would be possible. I havn't tried it on stuck winches and dont of course know how it would treat the plastics, but its compatible with the rubber parts on brakes.
thinwater
Well-Known Member
In fact, Antal is the one manufacturer that recomends grease on the palls. Look it up, any model. Antal grease, BTW, is thinner than most.
"LUBRICATION (Fig. 7) When greasing a winch, apply using a brush on all moving parts including pawls, gears, spindles, shaft bearing washers, etc. Regular cleaning of the winch will improve it's performance and longevity."
Yes, weird.
thinwater
Well-Known Member
Brake fluid is a glycol ether (there are several formulations) and can be rough on some paints and adhesives, but I think phenolic is pretty safe. But I would NOT heat it, since it does not get an A compatibility rating. It is not compatible with all elastomers (rubber), just those used in brakes.
Chemical compatibility charts are easy to find on-line.
justanothersailboat
Well-Known Member
I shifted huge lumps of congealed, crusted grease from my winch interiors with a long soak in paraffin followed by a lot of scraping followed by more paraffin. Messy process. Plastic bearing cages survived ok. But I do not think they were as far gone as AntarcticPilot's.
The thing I found odd was that someone had clearly looked at them in the past and thought "these don't need a clean, they don't have too much on already, what they need is more grease". ugh.
The thing I found odd was that someone had clearly looked at them in the past and thought "these don't need a clean, they don't have too much on already, what they need is more grease". ugh.
Halo
Well-Known Member
I suspect cleaning off the old grease is very important. I use the method on the Lewmar video - an old metal tray with paraffin in it ,a paint brush and marigolds - brushing a few times seems to work.
I would also recommend having a few pawl springs handy- the little devils get lost easily.
I would also recommend having a few pawl springs handy- the little devils get lost easily.
mrming
Well-Known Member
I’ve serviced a lot of winches due to racing for 25 years. Almost all the ones I’ve taken apart on a new to us boat have been over-greased and caked with trapped dirt and grime. As said above, use very little grease, and only light oil on the pawls. As soon as they start to feel a bit graunchy, do it again. I use a small amount of diesel for cleaning the parts, as paraffin isn’t easy to get hold of at short notice.
Dockhead
Well-Known Member
I agree! A tube of Lewmar grease doesn't cost that much, and lasts years. Why risk it?
I do my 10x winches every other year, and this year it's time again. I have a kind of tradition to do them whilst motoring the Kiel Canal when I have a good number of people on board.
I degrease them first with white spirits and clean cotton cloth, then grease sparingly and oil the pawls. Lewmar winches are works of mechanical beauty, and fun and easy to take apart. Like working on a gun. I enjoy this job.
