oil for felt seal

dian · Apr 3, 2018

what oil do i use for a rotary felt seal? i have 32 and 68 hydraulik oil. but maybe way oil would be better?

Pathogen · Apr 3, 2018

Sperm whale oil, use sparingly

atomarc · Apr 3, 2018

I could wrong but wouldn't the prime concern be selecting the proper oil for the item being lubricated rather than on the type seal or wiper material.

Stuart

JRIowa · Apr 3, 2018

Just what Stuart said. If I don't know the application, don't know what to tell you.
JR

karl · Apr 3, 2018

Just use the oil you're trying to retain.

dian · Apr 3, 2018

its a dry shaft, the seal protects an open bearing. ancient technology. you soak the felt ring in oil and put it in its groove. the bearing is behind the seal on the shaft, so the finish is as it would be for a bearing.

JRIowa · Apr 3, 2018

I'd use what the bearing calls for. The ISO-68 if it's low speed, below 1,000 RPM. The ISO-32 if it's faster than that.
JR

dian · Apr 3, 2018

bearings will get isoflex. you make a good point. i was thinking the thicker the better so it stays in the felt. its a 40 mm shaft at 3000 rpm.

atomarc · Apr 3, 2018

I find it interesting that a 40mm shaft running at 3000 RPM and requiring expensive Kluber grease is associated with a felt seal or wiper..it seems like strange engineering to me.

Stuart

dian · Apr 3, 2018

thats how it was done (apparently) 50 years ago. interestingly i was told there is no contemporary replacement, a hydraulic cylinder seal being axial only. or is there? (a radial seal going in a groove.) i was also surprised, they had the two exact sizes i need on the shelf.

so no more thoughts on the oil? some of you guys must have been working with felt seals before.

atomarc · Apr 3, 2018

More thoughts! I initially thought a much thicker lube..like a 90wt or even a 140wt gear lube to saturate the felt seal and not run off or out as quickly. Early inner wheel seals on old cars were typically felt and the oil that would migrate out of the wheel bearing grease would saturate them and provide all the lube that was needed.

I think I'd be tempted to try some STP or some thick 'motor honey' on the felt seals, as long as it didn't compromise the bearing lube.

Without knowing how this bearing and seal function together in the machine it's all just WAG's.

Stuart

dian · Apr 4, 2018

well, they dont function together at all. they are just on the same shaft 1/2" appart and the seal prevents dirt/dust entering the spindle housing.
today you would put a radial shaft seal in a pocket and these are in a groove. thats all.

JRIowa · Apr 4, 2018

Think about it, if you don't want anything but Kluber grease in the bearing, put Kluber on the bearing side of the felt. It won't take much, just a light coat.
JR

SVE Performance · Apr 4, 2018

The old Jeeps used a felt seal on the output shafts of the transfer case they were similar diameter and ran up to 4000 rpm. Those seals were lubricated with 90wt gear oil. Bill

adama · Apr 4, 2018

HT silicone grease (thats for high tack not high temp), never met anything that resists water wash off so well and helps seal, its kinda like a lightly softer silicone sealant, just always remains like a grease. Resists long term wash off even in hot water, commonly available at most plumbing supply places, great for use in shower valves and similar too.

Just don't ever try and use it to lubricate metal components. No silicone oils or greases are suitable for metal lubrication just works like sand, but it works awesome on seals or polymer parts.

dian · Apr 4, 2018

thanks for the input. the felt only portrudes by 0.35 mm from the groove. sae 90 is probably over 200 iso (out of memory), so pretty thick. hm.., im beginning to think that it really doesnt matter and will just use my 32 hydraulic/way oil. i can come back after a year and check if it has dried out or not.

and yes this is for metal lubrication (=shaft).

adama · Apr 5, 2018

^ Silicone seams to work fine on that, its only when both parts are metal it turns to shit, don't realy get it, just know it works awesome on rubber components running on other parts. It will never migrate - disperse like that light a weight hydraulic oil will. That said, it sounds like this is not so much needed as a seal more just a guard and there’s a big difference there.

Limy Sami · Apr 5, 2018

The old school way was to warm and melt some Vaseline, and let the felt soak up as much as possible, then install.

dian · Apr 6, 2018

it took me almost an hour to get those two felt devils to seat:

atomarc · Apr 6, 2018

It appears you conquered the beast..well done. That bearing cap is 'Euro' green, what machine are you working on, planer, moulder, some woodworking machine?

Stuart

oil for felt seal

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