On 10/23/2014 8:59 AM, Gene Heskett wrote: >> If you want the fan to not fail again, use a drop of silicone oil on >> its bearings. Silicone brake fluid is ideal for the job. It's >> essentially silicone oil with a touch of purple dye and possibly some >> corrosion inhibitors. >> >> It has much better heat resistance and will not dry out due to >> evaporation of VOCs. > > That is not something I would recommend Greg, although its not anything I > have tried either. > > The reason I wouldn't try it is, particularly in a sintered bushing > bearing, silicone has essentially zero surface tension, and will allow > metal to metal contact, accelerating shaft wear considerably. Only if > well flooded, and spinning fast enough that those teeny bearings could > float on the hydrodynamic oil film, could I see where it might be a good > idea. OTOH, when such a dot4 fluid is analyzed, how much of it is > actually silicon based. Good question. > > Anecdote about cheap dot3/4 stuff.
Silicone brake fluid is DOT5. I've had no problems using it to lube sleeve and ball bearing computer fans. In some cases after several times of having oils like 3-in-1 dry up and the fan seize up, a couple of drops of DOT5 fixed it permanently. Got one on the PC I'm using currently with a dual core AMD Phenom II 555. The brand new fan didn't last very long before it got noisy. It's now been in use far longer than that with DOT5 for lube. Those fan bearings, while fast spinning, are very lightly loaded. Silicone brake fluid does not absorb water, unlike the garden variety DOT3. That's why it's so often used in vehicles that don't get driven much. However, the silicone fluid is somewhat compressible so your brakes may feel a bit soft or squishy, you won't get the same really firm pedal or hand lever feel as you do with DOT3. You do not want to put DOT5 into a brake system that is not completely flushed of DOT3 or other fluid. Ideally, all rubber parts of the brake system should be replaced with new parts before switching to DOT5. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
