I wanted to discuss the types of greases commonly used for Helis and their applications .
Being a newbie to Helis, i have come across :
- Thrust bearing Grease - To be used on thrust bearings ONLY ( ? )
- Plastic Grease - To be used where ?
- One way grease - To be used within the Clutch Housing ?
- Vaseline ?

Do you also lubricate/grease the main shaft , ie since the swashplate moves on it , or the tail shaft as the pitch control lever slides on it ?

Thanks for your replies.
-GA

Here is what I have been doing.

Grease for parts like thrust and other bearings :  Used the red/orange colored grease that came in the Align Trex 600 kits first.  When  ran out of that, I started using white-lithium grease (ordered online).  I used the same when I used to replace servo gears also. Use only small quantities during the initial build, or when you rebuild.  For routine lubrication (after every 5 to 15 flights), what is mentioned below should suffice.

For the main shaft, tail shaft etc, I have been using the TriFlow lubricant (http://www.triflowlubricants.com), although I have seen people using Singer machine oil frequently.  The trick on those is to take out the dust/gum from the shaft with a piece of tissue paper which has been dipped in isopropyl alchohol; then apply what ever lube you are using.  Do NOT use grease on these parts (unless it is a more liquid version of it).

Would you also apply grease to the plastic main / tail gear, that attach to :
a. Electric motor on mini Titan / other electric helis
b. Engine on Raptor 50 / other nitro helis

If you mean the one way bearing inside the main/tail gear, yes (initially, after that it is just regular liquid lubes).

If you mean where the main gear touches the motor pinion (or the tail gear touching the belt drive gear), then no.

Anwar, I had ordered a small 4 gram tube of the TRIFLOW Synthetic grease from Helidirect when I got the screwdrivers. But I was advised by Adarsh not to use it on the main rotor gear or the gears which are exposed as it attracts dust and wears of the gear faster.

So where else do you think can I use this grease?

Right. As I mentioned earlier, any hard grease should not be put on such exposed areas.  Plus, the liquid lubes tend to get into the small gap as the swash or the tail slider moves on the corresponding shafts.

Triflow has many types of lubes/greases. 

You can use this grease on places like the thrust bearings (if any) or when you replace servo gears (or any non-exposed bearings in general).

I have had around 125+ flights on my mini Titan, and wanted to check if i should be lubricating the main shaft/tail shaft ?
Any other places where i should be lubricating ?

Also from where can I get the Triflow oil ? Helidirect does not seem to stock it ?
Thanks !

Yes, periodic lubrication is almost a must.  The best way to check for it is

1) Remove one side of the 3 linkages that connect the swash to the swash servos and see if the swash plates moves freely up and down.  Clean out any dirt on the shaft and apply lubricant (easiest to find is Singer machine oil; or something like Triflow).

2) Disconnect the tail linkage rod from the tail servo, and move the rod. It should also move freely.  If not, clean the tail slider shaft, and the linkage rod itself if it is passing through any tail guides on the boom, and apply lubricant.

Since you are disconnecting and reconnecting linkages, do it once every 75 to 100 flights. In other words, don't do it too often either. 

You can clean and lubricate every 25 flights or so without removing the linkages if you want.  Remember that dust hangs on to any left our lubricant, so give it some time after you apply lubricant for any excess to drip out.

Also, if you spin the main blade with your hands, they should spin on their own for a while.  Not having is another trigger for lubrication.

If you want Triflow itself, http://www.readyheli.com has it.

main shaft Bearings?

Motor Bearings?

Same lubes should work.  Just do them after a flying session, not right before a flying session.

thanks

Vinay, which motor bearings did you refer to ?
The main shaft bearing would be 2 in number, right ? Also, arent these bearings sealed ? How do you lubricate them ?

Sealed? WHat the heck I never noticed that.

I did a quick run up on the heli and all the motors(airplane as well) I had and all had sealed bearings. Sorry my bad, I asked that question.


BTW what is this for?

http://www.readyheli.com/Scorpion_Motor_Bearing_Lubrication_Kit_p/oilkit.htm

Also Anwar bhai, I have this Grease: http://www.helidirect.com/triflow-clear-synthetic-grease-p-7320.hdx

Can I use this instead of the machine oil for the heli as you mentioned? It looks and feels like the one found inside the HXT 900 Servos.

Scorpion guys insist that the motor bearings be oiled after every 4 or 5 flights. They also say even if you do this, you will need to replace bearings every once in a while.

I believe the main one way bearing needs periodic lubrication. Also the thrust bearings when you initially put them in, and check them when you have to remove them (bent feather shaft).

If you use grease instead of oil in exposed areas, they attract dust/dirt.  They are for use in concealed places, like the thrust bearings and when you replace servo gears.

Quote from: anwar on March 19, 2010, 08:32:11 AM
Scorpion guys insist that the motor bearings be oiled after every 4 or 5 flights.

I was just wondering if oil can go inside sealed bearings? AFAIK sealed bearings(Non RC - used in big Motors for water pumps etc) does not need grease in their lifetime. 

Yesterday after discussing here, i oiled the tail shaft and main shaft of my mini Titan. The swash and tail slider moves much more smoothly. Did 2 flights today and all seemed good. no major difference as such in flight performance.

Now, regarding putting grease in one way bearing, i have a question. If you put a lot of grease on this bearing, wouldnt it start  slipping ? I mean the motor is turning the main gear, but the shaft "slips" ? I think this one way bearing is mostly used for auto rotations, so most likely wouldnt be used much for beginners and not need as much care/attention ? ( I may be wrong, so please correct me ) .

I don't use grease on the one-way bearing, I just lubricated it with Triflow (and Singer machine oil prior to that).

Whether the one way action comes into play or not, it is good to get the bearing always lubricated, right ? Plus, I believe that the one way action does come into play at very low rpms.

Quote from: vinay on March 19, 2010, 08:48:43 AM
I was just wondering if oil can go inside sealed bearings? AFAIK sealed bearings(Non RC - used in big Motors for water pumps etc) does not need grease in their lifetime. 

I did not try opening up the Scorpion motor to see what kind bearings they are, but as long as the manufacturer *heavily* recommends it, that settles it

Here is their recommendation of the same :

http://www.scorpionsystem.com/catalog/accessories/motor_accessories/Lubrication_Kit/

Just pulled apart the tail gear drive and the main gear drive of the 450 V2 plastic, noted that there was no lubrication in the autorotation(one way) bearing. My earlier HK 450 MT had lots of lubrications there. Should I add triflo(i already have) clear grease there?

You can see in the pic, the black gear has no grease what so ever on the shaft and the white gear(450 MT) has some oil. Will there be a problem if I use a little grease as I dont have oil?

If only Oil, where do I buy singer oil?


EDIT:

Also just thought about it, the bearing comes into play only when the motor is switched off, or when one has a non flat(linear) throttle curve.
I found singer oil on ebay, but shipping eats half the money.

I have seen people use both, but be careful with the quantity of grease.  Personally, I always used oil, and I can just put couple of drops (especially with the needle tip), without having to un-assemble stuff (where the risk of over-tighening the nuts into plastic is another consideration).

Singer machine oil should be available at any place where singer sewing machines are sold.

vinay,
You will get stinger machine oil at any department store in india. Its for only rs 15 or so

Cool, I will check it out.

Quote from: gauravag on March 18, 2010, 10:37:30 PM
Vinay, which motor bearings did you refer to ?
The main shaft bearing would be 2 in number, right ? Also, arent these bearings sealed ? How do you lubricate them ?

I got some thin sewing machine oil from my native place (10 rs per pack.). I dont know how the quality is, but I can say when I added them over the sealed bearings, the oil did went inside as it was thin oil. The motor is looking a little happy after this and is more freely rotating. Due to the cheap oil quality I dont know how it affects the performance/life. When I added this on the main shaft bearings and rotated the shaft by hand. I saw some rust like thing coming out. Probably dust as I was flying is dusty area?

talking about lubricants, i do not want to debate but just sharing my experience-

i have used singer oil, silicon oil, wd40, grease and a few more. i have found nothing better than TRIFLOW. 2 months ago i managed to assemble my raptor 70 (which came in a kit form). All was well till it lifted off the ground. There was this intense wobble visible in the rotor assembly (complete metal). I landed it after a tank and it was back home on the bench. I checked for the pitch and it was on the spot with a reading taken from 4 sides. So i decided to re lube this time with silicon oil (first time i had used a 3 in one oil). Next time at the field and the same story repeats - intense wobble at the head. So the next step was to check the main shaft, flybar and the spindle. I decieded not to waste more weekends, so i ordered a new shaft, flybar and a spindle. Following weekend with my fingers crossed it was ready to lift off, and the same wobble ! What a waste of money this hobby can be. On a positive note - it helps building your inventory  
So back home and searched all forums possible but nothing that could solve my problem. With so many weeks of despair behind and no solution in hand, i decieded to give a shot in the dark - i ordered a bottle of TRIFLOW lube. Appied it to the tail slider and the main shaft. Was at the field the following weekend and presto ! it worked !  i was amazed, shocked and happy. A lubricant would make all the difference. Eversince i have stuck with it and ordered another bottle.
So guys, sometimes a problem maybe lying else where ! GOOD LUBRICANTS  

Quote from: second_chance on April 28, 2010, 08:34:50 PM
talking about lubricants, i do not want to debate but just sharing my experience-

i have used singer oil, silicon oil, wd40, grease and a few more. i have found nothing better than TRIFLOW.

I have been using Triflow pretty much since the beginning of my heli days (which is also the beginning of all of RC for me).  The online forums are pretty much unanimous about this thing.  And I have also experienced this first hand on many helis that I have troubleshooted for others so far. 

Any tail problems, one of the first things I do is to disconnect the linkage rod end at the tali servo, and see if the whole tail slider moves freely by pulling and pushing on the linkage rod (just like how a servo would try to move it). If it is tight, then all related parts are lubricated with Triflow (and sometimes the slider needs to be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol from exhaust residue etc). That whole assembly has to slide pretty much like on butter for good tail performance.