Oil for Hand Pump

[DCollins]

After years of use, I noticed that the hand pump (Bravo 6 by Scoprega)
I use to pump up my float tube had instructions that recommend oiling
the moving parts periodically. The parts are made from some species
of plastic. The directions do not specify what kind of oil to use.

A search on Scoprega's website, and the web generally, produced no
results giving me information about the kind of oil to use.

Can anyone help me?

[JT]

"DCollins" wrote in message
news:3bb02488-cf2c-4a95...@l5g2000pbo.googlegroups.com...

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Probably more info that you need, however I googled the following. If it
were me, I would just use some lithium grease like you have for packing
bearings or greasing bearing buddies on a trailer. If you don't have that,
go with the Petroleum Jelly.

The Good
Ones you should use

1. Barium - Harder to find, mostly available from industrial supply. I don't
have any personal experience using it myself, but it is used for high-wear
applications and in pneumatic control equipment like air cylinders.

2. Lithium - Typically used for bearings this comes as a grease/paste in a
variety of specific application options. However any multipurpose lithium
grease will work fine so long as it's not one of the varieties with a much
thicker blend. Some spray can options are available, if slightly harder to
find.

3. Dry Teflon pastes - Somewhat expensive but very effective.

The Maybe
Use with caution

1. Silicone - Available in many varieties and applications, and you must
select the type that is intended for your use. Certain mixes contain
purposed additives or viscosity ratings.
Comes in spray cans or paste form. I would personally recommend the
electrical grade cans because it's a bit thicker than most cans that are
just labeled as "food grade". Therefore it builds up a film layer that will
last for much longer. Food grade will also work.

2. Petroleum Jelly - Pure Petroleum Jelly is compatible with plastics and
synthetic rubber, but not advisable for natural rubbers. Avoid any relevant
products that include additives for moisturizing (such as chapstick) and be
sure that the parts it will be interacting with are chemically compatible.

3. Molybdenum Grease - While it is plastic safe, it is not intended for this
type of application. Intended use is for machinery.

4. Graphite powder/paste/spray - While it is plastic safe, it is not
intended for this type of application. Intended use is for machinery. Also
extremely messy.

The Bad
Ones you should not be using

1. WD-40 - This stuff was NOT DEVELOPED as a lubricant. It primarily is used
for water-displacement (where the WD acronym comes from), de-greasing, and
rust removal. It will UTTERLY DESTROY O-rings in a fairly short period of
time, and will eventually destroy plastics.

2. Vegetable Oil - This is a food product and will eventually start to
decompose. You will end up with a bacteria farm.

3. Mineral Oil - Will penetrate o-rings and cause them to soften and swell.
Does the same to any natural or synthetic rubber products.

4. Glycerin based (KY jelly or otherwise) - Also a food product (a sugar)
which dries up very quickly and will eventually farm bacteria and make
sticky surfaces.

HTH,
JT

[riverman]

Oh yeah. thats a common pump. It has a little plastic skirt inside that makes the seal; you actually can get by with just using a touch of any oil at all. We used to lube ours with vegetable oil, but spraying WD40 is good, too. The plastic skirt is nonreactive with the oil, so it doesn't matter. In fact, I think most folks never oil it at all, and just put a few tablespoons of water in it if it starts to squeak.

[E.B.]

Barring any guidance from the mfr, I would recommend you use silicone grease. It's cheap, readily available, and effective. Most importantly, it's safe for o-rings and is sometimes sold as "o-ring grease" in small tubes. Use the paste/tube rather than the aerosol spray. This, of course, requires some disassembly of your pump to access the working end of the piston.

I suggest you avoid all petroleum lubricants, including lithium grease, for your application. They tend to degrade most o-ring materials. They can also cause the weakened o-ring to swell and quickly wear against the wall of the air chamber, necessitating early replacement.