Submitted by paul.jacobs on
I've been getting my boat ready for the season, during this lovely spring weather we've been having down south, and thought I ought to lube the gate valve, as it is really quite stiff. I gave it a fairly generous squirt of good old WD40, which has done wonders to ease it up, but wondered if there was anything else that others had used or whether, maybe, WD40 should not have been used? I suppose a silicone lubricant or even a dedicated 'Rubber Lube' would do the trick?
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Paul
[Ex 'Crackerjack' - 26M]
6 Comments
Re: Lubrication of the gate valve
Submitted by simon.lill on
I always use silcon spray or silicon grease for anything that comes in contact with water often, i use wd40 more for things that don't get wet and for helping pesky rusty nuts and bolts to move, not sure if this is right or wrong. :?
Re: Lubrication of the gate valve
Submitted by paul.jacobs on
I've noticed that, whilst WD40 is supposed to be allright with rubber, it doesn't last long, it seems to evaporate after a couple of weeks. Am I right in thinking that the 'secret' base for WD40 is fish oil or was that something that someone once surmised?
Paul
[Ex 'Crackerjack' - 26M]
Re: Lubrication of the gate valve
Submitted by rick.jones on
I'm not sure what the exact ingredients of WD40 are, but it's essentially a grease in a solvent. The solvent carries it into fine spaces and then slowly evaporates leaving a residual grease film. The grease works well on metal, but probably not on rubber and plastic, so it's probably the solvent giving the lubricating effect in the latter case. Hence the effect soon goes as it evaporates.
Silicone lubricants are very good on non-metal surfaces. I always have a tube of silicone grease in my toolkit, which is best if you can get it where you want it. It's impervious to water and is long-lasting. For more tricky spots you can get a spray silicone rubber lubricant from Halfords which is very effective. Among other things I use this on the mainsail slugs - it's amazing how much more easily the sail goes up, and you need a lot less heaving to get a good luff tension!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Re: Lubrication of the gate valve
Submitted by paul.jacobs on
Ah ha, and talking of mainsail luffs, I haven't yet got slugs on my main, so still have to feed the bolt rope into the groove. Will it damage the sail if I lubricate it as it goes into the groove, and would a spray on silicone lube be the best for this, or is it better to use something less damaging like a rubbed on candle?
Paul
[Ex 'Crackerjack' - 26M]
Re: Lubrication of the gate valve
Submitted by rick.jones on
I wouldn't have thought silicone spray would do any damage, it's pretty benign stuff. But I'm not sure if it would be very effective, as it would tend to be absorbed by the rope, leaving little on the surface to actually lubricate.
Candle wax sounds like a good idea, but I'm not an expert on luff rope. I suggest searching the web for recommendations unless someone else here can be more authoritative.
Cheers
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
I think Rick is correct that
Submitted by mike.clarke on
I think Rick is correct that candle way might help - not used it on our Mac but have used it on dinghy sails in the past. Don't use oil based lubes on your sails as it will damage them. One tip is to run a cloth wet with ACF50 up the track the next time you have the mast down. ACF 50 last up to a year as a thin film on metals and is far superior to WD40 or similar lubricants as its not volatile and actually bonds to the metal surface - I use it on our ballast gate valve as well and it lasts the season. The main problem I have with the bolt rope is keeping it straight into the mast track but it does make for a slightly more efficient sail than a sail on runners.
I've replaced the old WD40 on board with ACF50 as its a much newer and much better product (developed for the aerospace industry). It also works well at keeping aluminum and stainless clean for months an is better as a release agent than WD40 which is just mineral oil in a solvent. ACF50 is also excellent on your outboard electrics and for keeping the water proof plug on the mast lights in good condition. (you can't use ACF50 as a cold starter fluid like you could WD 40 though!)
PS I don't work for the producer!
Mike