What oil for general lubrication?

[Jasper]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too big.

It works fine for me, and it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too pretty, so I'll keep using it.

If you don't mind, that is.

 

[tac foley]

It works fine for me, and it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too pretty, so I'll keep using it.

If you don't mind, that is.

I could care less. Overoil in good health.

 

[Jasper]

Overoil in good health.

So what point am I missing here... it's important to dose the tiniest drops I can?

 

[tac foley]

So what point am I missing here... it's important to dose the tiniest drops I can?

That's why many of us use a syringe, or the LaBelle fine oil dispenser.

 

[Jasper]

What's the drawback of over-oiling?

 

[dunnyrail]

What's the drawback of over-oiling?

Oil getting into bits it should not possibly damaging motor and covering the loco with oil that will make your delicate pinkies mucky.

 

[tac foley]

What's the drawback of over-oiling?

Where to start?

Basically, over-oiling attracts dirt and grit particles to the working parts of your locomotive, making a very effective grinding paste that will make round holes into oval holes. If oval holes were what were needed, then they would have been made that way in the first place.

This is my Accucraft NGG16 Beyer-Garratt, bought in 2007 and a very fine and powerful performer. In spite of oiling as carefully and sparingly as I can, it recently cost me over £700 to have all new bearings and bushes replaced.



Instructions for ANY mechanism that requires an added lubricant will ALWAYS have a warning, something to the effect - 'DO NOT OVER-OIL! OVER-OILING CAN BE AS DAMAGING AS NONE AT ALL! USE A SPARING APPLICATION OF LIGHT MACHINE OIL!' Or similar.

Do you actually OWN a steam locomotive yet? If not, then the instructions that come with it will advise the same thing.

However, all we can do is advise you - what YOU do with your loco in entirely up to you.

 

[tac foley]

Oil getting into bits it should not possibly damaging motor and covering the loco with oil that will make your delicate pinkies mucky.

Well, that's for an electric model.

 

[Jasper]

Thanks. I'll oil very sparingly from now on.

And use a syringe.

 

[tac foley]

Thanks. I'll oil very sparingly from now on.

And use a syringe.

Prima! What locomotive do you have?

 

[PhilP]

Always good to wipe-off oil and crud, at the end of a run, and oil sparingly for storage..

Then, the next time you fire, oil round whilst waiting a head of steam..

PhilP.

 

[Jasper]

What locomotive do you have?

I have a Regner Emma, and an "Ellie the steam tram" that someone made for me.

 

[dunnyrail]

Noting my confusion over the fact this was a live steam puffer, at the 16mm society Ridgmont group when I used to regularly attend (pre 2012) we used to reckon 20/50 car engine oil for the external moving parts ie wheels, bearings and valve gear. Proper ‘steam oil’ in the loco oil reservoir for the steam line.