Question,
Do the electric motors need lubrication since most of them have ball bearings which might get heated up as well specially when you have the props rotating at about 1000Kv for 3S or 4S packs?

In general, how to take care of the motos?


Pankaj

Thumbrules which i follow for my motors are:
1) Clean motor windings from time to time with Electrosolve spray(available at electrical and hardware stores)
2) lubricate the motor bearing with any low viscosity oil to reduce bearing wear and enhance motor life.
3) Vaccum clean the motor after every flying session since i fly mostly near the beach(keeps the winding free of minute sand particles)

http://www.rcindia.org/electric-power/motor-esc-motor-mount-heating-up/msg26870/#msg26870

flying_g
can you upload the pictures of the spray that you use? also any particular oil to grease the bearings?

Anwar,
the thread did not have much except some info of adding 1/2 a drop of oil (or did I miss anything?)

Isn't that what matters ?

sorry pankaj, no pics as of now,will try to click sum or send u a link to this spray!:-)
as for the oil, even normal coconut hair oil will do as its not very viscous..cheers!

Coconut Oil for a Motor Bearing.... 

Hey buddy it's not that much simple, coconut oil can cause lots of problem in your motor, it can get heated with motor and can seep into your motor winding and cause malfunction of you motor and in worst case, can also cause fire.

And this a well known fact, how coconut oil can cause problems in cold weather.

These tiny motors are fitted with sealed bearings, which are almost maintenance free, and in case you want to lubricate them use good quality of Silicon based grease, or oil.

Akshay,u dnt really have to pour oil over them but just fine rub sum oil as far as the big motor bearings go...ive tried it without any problems so far,and even in cold weather, a tinge of coco oil will not really pose a problem...About the tiny motors with sealed bearings,yes ! ur right,they dnt need any greasing :-)....another option to cocnut oil is synthetic oil, but then the cost goes up considering u only have to use a small bit.!!

I would agree with Akshay. It would be naive to use coconut oil with these High RPM motors. Coconut oil might just work with clunky lock/Door Hinge, even the neighboring electrician won't even use them on low RPM Ceiling Fan or Water pump; our motors run at much higher rpm.

Occasional cleaning the winding with Electrosolve  as suggested by flying_g and cleaning the shaft with WD-40 spray and may be some 'Machine' oil , if you can't get Tri'flow oil, would be more appropriate. Using graphite based lube would be required if the motor needs heavy overhaul as they are made for high RPM motor.

I wonder if any one has ever tried using Pencil Lead as a lubricant. All locksmiths use this stuff, we can get it in a small plastic bottle and it squirts it on the required point of application like a talcum powder.
I usually use a 6B or 4B pencil lead scraped off a pencil with a fine blade and sprinkle it on a key and insert it in the lock and it works wonders.


My concern and inquiry is; do we spray it inside on magnets or on the bearings???
Does it work on them or does it short circuit the motor.... ??
Brushed starter motors have bushes and carbon deposits on them don't really affect them, so will this pencil lead a softer form of that stuff will do good or harm??

On the topic of talcum powder, in our flooring trade, if you have a laminate floor that squeaks when walked upon, floor fitters advise spraying of talcum at the squeaking joints and wiping off excess helps get rid of this problem. 

DO NOT use graphite based lube on the motors. It's conductive and you don't want that inside or near a motor. I'd suggest simple 3 in 1 oil and motor spray( which is a de-greaser). We run our cars in a variety of harsh and dusty environments and that is the method we use to clean all our bearings and motors. You can use some light grease instead of oil at the bearings. They won't spin as fast but will keep dust away for longer. Don't overpack the bearing with grease as it will do more harm than good.

for lube in the bearings what  i normally use is vasline ( petroleum jelly). just a small  quantity.

if you  are  looking for cleaning u get a pressured spray  "ZORIC" mostly used by local electricians, mechanics, engineers. it is low viscous and as it is a pressurized spray can (like deodorant)even amout of dust/gum can be removed.. available at  85-90 per can