Anyone ever use an alternative lubricant on your wheel axles? I read some references and they said castor bean, olive and palm oils were commonly used. Other common vegetable oils were not good choices because they usually either A. tend to gum or B. dry out.
The short answer to your question is NO. Somebody might disagree, but here’s the thing: they polymerize. I'll lay out both sides of the argument so you can see my point. Though vegetable oils can and have been used as lubricants in their natural forms, and some might see advantages, there are relevant and compelling disadvantages when considered for machinery lubrication. On the positive side, vegetable oils can have excellent lubricity, far superior than that of mineral oil, for instance. Vegetable oils are biodegradable, and generally speaking, lubricants and greases made of soybean oil are less toxic. BUT, On the negative side, they polymerize (like the linseed oil in oil paint does when it dries). This is because vegetable oils in their natural form lack sufficient oxidative stability for lubricant use. That means that untreated vegetable oil will oxidize quickly during use, becoming thick and polymerizing to a plastic-like consistency. Chemical modification of vegetable oils and/or the use of antioxidants can address this problem, but I doubt you’d want to go through all that to lubricate the bearing or crank on your wheel. If you want to use a vegetable based lubricant, try 0zer0. It comes in an 8-oz pump spray bottle, you can get it at an auto parts store like NAPA or Car Quest. You can order it online, but it costs around $4. why pay postage for an 8 oz package to mail something you can pick up the next time you go out? A little goes a long way, and in use lasts a lot longer, doesn't gum up your machine like untreated oil does. Personally, I have a tiin of light machine oil that I bought 40 years ago for my sewing machines. I’m still working on using that up. new_spinner: Anyone ever use an alternative lubricant on your wheel axles? I read some references and they said castor bean, olive and palm oils were commonly used. Other common vegetable oils were not good choices because they usually either A. tend to gum or B. dry out. new_spinner: Anyone ever use an alternative lubricant on your wheel axles? I read some references and they said castor bean, olive and palm oils were commonly used. Other common vegetable oils were not good choices because they usually either A. tend to gum or B. dry out.
The short answer to your question is NO. Somebody might disagree, but here’s the thing: they polymerize. I'll lay out both sides of the argument so you can see my point.
Though vegetable oils can and have been used as lubricants in their natural forms, and some might see advantages, there are relevant and compelling disadvantages when considered for machinery lubrication.
On the positive side, vegetable oils can have excellent lubricity, far superior than that of mineral oil, for instance. Vegetable oils are biodegradable, and generally speaking, lubricants and greases made of soybean oil are less toxic. BUT, On the negative side, they polymerize (like the linseed oil in oil paint does when it dries). This is because vegetable oils in their natural form lack sufficient oxidative stability for lubricant use. That means that untreated vegetable oil will oxidize quickly during use, becoming thick and polymerizing to a plastic-like consistency. Chemical modification of vegetable oils and/or the use of antioxidants can address this problem, but I doubt you’d want to go through all that to lubricate the bearing or crank on your wheel.
new_spinner: Anyone ever use an alternative lubricant on your wheel axles? I read some references and they said castor bean, olive and palm oils were commonly used. Other common vegetable oils were not good choices because they usually either A. tend to gum or B. dry out.
Everything dries out/ needs to be renewed periodically. 0zero and natural oil products like that last longer between applications and you use less.
I tried searching for 0zero on the NAPA and car quest sites but couldn't find it. Is it spelled 0zero like the number zero or the letter O? How do you pronounce that? What vegetable oil is that based on?
I have never used this product, so no testimonials here, but a quick Google search turned it up as being a Lubegard product and it's listed as an all-purpose, household lubricant. Here's the website on it - http://www.lubegard.com/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=169&title=Zer0+All+Purpose+Lubricant# It doesn't seem to list just what exactly it's made of, but if you go to the product FAQ, you can ask them. As for how to pronounce it, I think just "zero"--that's what they call it in spite of the initial "0". HTH.
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