Alternative grease for prop shaft and cable???

[tlandauer]

So what is the ep additive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_pressure_additive

I have to clarify why I perceive to have seen a difference in my setup: This was on my first build, and i think the stuffing tube was not bend 100% ideally , there might have been a very slight kink ( almost unnoticeable) in the bend, and without the liner, the .187 cable goes in easily but does have a "contact point" somewhere along the line. There is some pressure when it is wound up and the EP additive is a good reassurance for me, at the time when I tested it for the same duration, the temp was lower than just with the blue grease. I lube my cable with the grease but do dab a few drops of this heavy gear oil, it's worked for my no liner set ups well.
Just my PERSONAL findings and thoughts, not trying to convince anybody that this is the way to go....

[Raceprep79]

I do not have as much experience as an RC boater as many of you, but as an engineer I can appreciate the pros and cons mentioned throughout this thread and many threads like it discussing this topic. The grease method seems a reliable and trouble free solution where the oil or snake oil slurrys attempt to reduce friction, but maintain lubrication. If you look at any bushing or bearing setup on your car, industrial machines etc they are all pressure fed to run on a "cushion" of oil with no metal to metal contact. This would probably be the best solution, but is not very practical.

My happy medium method was to make a small oil cup and continuously feed the cable and strut bushing with oil. I fill the small reservoir before each run and after experimenting with orifice sizes in the fittings and oil viscosity I ended up using a 10w40 synthetic oil. The orifice size was only .013" which is pretty small and not easily done in your garage. This system continually drips at a very slow rate that lasts 5-6 minutes. It has been serving me well so far in my mean machine running 62mph on 5S with Neu 1515 1y, 1/4 brass tube with .1875 cable. I hardly ever remove the cable any more and just keep adding oil. Maintenance is almost nothing.

I do get an oil mist from the oil that flings out of the shaft log bearing, but is not too messy.

Oiler.jpg

[rearwheelin]

Cool thread

[Meniscus]

I see that this thread has been brought back up a few times. Gear oil does seem to work well in certain applications. If you don't mind a little extra money, I personally run Nano-Grease. I also use the oil on motor bearings. After running in flex cables and wire drives both with and without teflon, it has held up extremely well. I've found it especially useful for higher RPM setups. It doesn't seem to become sticky or breakdown, even after multiple runs. The guy who runs Nano-Oil originally came from the diving industry and has a lot of varied background. As a testament to the oil products, I logged 214 runs on a European motor before the windings finally gave out due to the high RPM setups and high current loads it sustained during the last half of its life. I used the oil product from day 1 when it was new. At the time of death, the bearings only showed very minor wear and there was no play.