--- On Sat, 8/22/09, Horace Heffner <hheff...@mtaonline.net> wrote:
> I would recommend holding off on the graphite until you get > a chance to take some measurements first. The graphite > messed up my motor to some degree as far as measurements are > concerned. Alright, will hold off on that then. In any case, the thing does run bloody good as is. > I am stunned that your motor runs with grease in the > bearings. Perhaps the grease has graphite in it? Or > maybe just carbon? I'm just amazed it can run at > all. Okay, out of curiosity (mine and yours) I took the motor apart (purposely built it easy to disassemble) and pulled the grease seal off of one bearing. The grease definitely does not contain graphite. It is a translucent green grease, which seems to be identical to the standard wheel bearing grease we use at work for old VW bearings. Globs of this stuff are translucent, almost transparent green. Nothing opaque in it. Also, checked the ball bearings themselves and the inner cage for signs of damage. None found. Bearings are still as tight as before (no slack), and run very smoothly. No noticeable rough spots. Maybe you want to try a couple bearings identical to mine? Here is what is printed on the grease seals: RBI 99502H I don't remember what kind of pump they were intended for, but they were sold at Lowe's Hardware as "XXXXXX pump bearings." I guess they were about $7 apiece. > difficult. I don't think it can't hurt much to attempt > some voltage drop (across the motor) measurements before > adding the graphite, given all your bearings have been > through so far. Will test that. My wife was amused by this device when I showed her the AC version running earlier. Gotta love weird stuff. --Kyle
