A cautionary tale on cleaning bearings...
Brian Daniels
I'm new to blading. After a day of skating on an old dusty tennis
court, I had unpleasant grinding noises coming from some of my
bearings. Seemed like a good time to learn how to clean them...
The bearings were Killer Bees ABEC-3's. I got the FAQ on bearing
cleaning and bought some bearing lube. To work...
Got the C-rings off. The shields were a royal pain, but got them off
too. For cleaner, I used Orange Peelz, a citrus degreaser. Let the
bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
(as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
them on a paper towel to dry.
The FAQ neglects to mention one thing - DRY THEM IMMEDIATELY!
I took a break for about 15 min, and then returned with a hair drier,
planning to dry, oil, and re-assemble.
Much to my shock/horror the bearings, seal plates, balls, c-rings, etc
all now had a coating of -RUST-!
#@$%!!
Any thoughts on this one? I guess you could drop the bearings in a
bowl of alcohol or something until you can dry them.
This definitely makes me question the FAQ method #2 of cleaning the
bearings (not taking the shields off). How would you get all of the
water out?
Hope this saves someone from having the same unpleasant experience,
Brian
Brian Daniels | Gremlins squashed, bit-buckets emptied,
bdan...@mercury.interpath.com | webs woven&patched, cables untangled,
My opinions, not Interpath's | users placated (extra fee), demons summoned
//www.interpath.net/~bdaniels/ | & dispelled, hacks while you wait!
Richard Nett
>Any thoughts on this one? I guess you could drop the bearings in a
>bowl of alcohol or something until you can dry them.
I know in the carpet cleaning business we use an acid solution to get rust
marks out of the carpet so I'm sure an acid solution would clean that rust out
of there in no time (a can of coke) but I don't know what it would do to the
metal surfaces (possible pitting, if their not allready). I also know things
cannot rust without an adequite supply of oxygen, in my carpet cleaning truck
which the floor has been wet for 8 years straight any area exposed to oxygen
has rusted and anywhere covered (but still wet) by the factory bubber mat has
not, so maybe if the covers are left on and not being exposed to oxygen it is
possible they won't rust, dosen't rust also have something to do with light?
Rich
WILLIAM T. JONES
Brian,
Forget the alcohol.
The water content of even 100 proof Stoli is enough to
cause surface pitting ----rust
on the CHROME steel surfaces of your bearings.
The FAQ writers are probably ecologically minded folks who
don't want to contribute to our poisoned enviornment by suggesting
more traditional noxious solvents.
The real culprit is heat.
When you heat water (H2O),
the heat breaks the bond of the oxygen and hydrogen.
The pure Oxygen is very unstable stuff and has to combine with
something almost immediately.
The iron of your bearings + the Oxygen freed from water= iron oxide=RUST!
I use naptha to clean my bearings; It drys in about a half hour &
has no water content (that I'm aware of).
BUT BEWARE, I'VE NOTICED SOME VERY STRANGE CRAMPING
IN MY HANDS IF THE STUFF GETS ON MY SKIN FOR A WHILE
AND ALTHOUGH THE ODOR ISN'T ANY WORSE THAN KEROSINE,
I'VE NOTICED A PRONOUNCED SHORTNESS OF BREATH WHEN
I ONCE FOOLISHLY USED IT INDOORS.
USE THE STUFF OUTSIDE & USE STRONG RUBBER GLOVES!
Benzine was more efficient, but I believe it was outlawed as
a pretty miserable CARCINOGEN.
Kerosine and gasoline leave a little petro residue which
you don't want to have remain when you lube later with synthetic grease or
oil.
Freon TF was perfect-almost totally residue free & dries immediately
(used for cleaning VCR heads & PC boards),
but the propellants help waste the ozone layer.
The government has required manufacturers to use
more expensive Ozone-friendly propellants.
When last I checked, one store here was charging >$25 for a small can.
Chemtronics company sells the stuff bulk in non-pressurized cans,
but it evaporates too quickly to store very long.
So there you have it!
We continue to poison the earth, not because we hate our children,
but because we like our toys.---Risk verses benefit/cost.
I'll continue to use naptha & synthetic oil on my swiss bearings,
and the Gods will probably get me for it.
Choose wisely & happy sk8ing.
Bill
Brian Daniels <bdan...@mercury.interpath.com> wrote in article
<33660f59...@news-server.interpath.net>...
> I'm new to blading. After a day of skating on an old dusty tennis
> court, I had unpleasant grinding noises coming from some of my
> bearings. Seemed like a good time to learn how to clean them...
>
> The bearings were Killer Bees ABEC-3's. I got the FAQ on bearing
> cleaning and bought some bearing lube. To work...
>
> Got the C-rings off. The shields were a royal pain, but got them off
> too. For cleaner, I used Orange Peelz, a citrus degreaser. Let the
> bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
> (as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
> them on a paper towel to dry.
>
> The FAQ neglects to mention one thing - DRY THEM IMMEDIATELY!
>
> I took a break for about 15 min, and then returned with a hair drier,
> planning to dry, oil, and re-assemble.
>
> Much to my shock/horror the bearings, seal plates, balls, c-rings, etc
> all now had a coating of -RUST-!
>
> #@$%!!
>
> Any thoughts on this one? I guess you could drop the bearings in a
> bowl of alcohol or something until you can dry them.
>
> This definitely makes me question the FAQ method #2 of cleaning the
> bearings (not taking the shields off). How would you get all of the
> water out?
>
Mark Farnsworth
On 30 Apr 1997 00:57:59 GMT, "WILLIAM T. JONES"
<WTJ<sendnospam>@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>I'll continue to use naptha & synthetic oil on my swiss bearings,
>and the Gods will probably get me for it.
>
You are right that nasty non-eco cleaners are better but I expect that
the difference in speed between 100% great bearings and my super
pitted, and rusted bearings is about .0003% speed difference.
On the other hand exposing your lungs to harsh chemicals can do damage
that equates to years of hard training. The speed difference in
having nice clean lungs is much larger then the speed difference in
having the perfect set of bearings.
...Mark
Steve Steele
In article <01bc5503$a165d6c0$d62e...@worldnet.worldnet.att.net>, "WILLIAM
T. JONES" <WTJ<sendnospam>@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Brian,
>
> Forget the alcohol.
> The water content of even 100 proof Stoli is enough to
> cause surface pitting ----rust
> on the CHROME steel surfaces of your bearings.
>
>
> The real culprit is heat.
>
> When you heat water (H2O),
> the heat breaks the bond of the oxygen and hydrogen.
I don't think that's going on. Just heating water won't break that bond,
it takes something like electrolysis. What it does is release dissolved
oxygen, a whole different story. But that doesn't matter, the end effect
is the same.
Bottom line here is that water is corrosive to clean metal. Ever see a
perfectly shiny railroad track after a rain? Most bearings aren't as
"stainless" as we are led to beleive. When you completely strip them of
any oil, use a citrus based solvent (which can also cause rust), and put
them in water, (?) they will rust.
My solution for you at this time is to swear off the water and the
alchohol. As for your bearings now, put in a good grease (at least this
time) and skate in them. The movement should polish off most of the rust
and the grease will prevent more. They probably aren't pitted, I suspect
its just a "surface dusting" which is easy to cure.
When I clean bearings, I use pure acetone. Its very strong and doesn't
leave a residue. Another alternative is tuner cleaner. This stuff comes
in a spray can with a little tube like spray lubricants. It will blast out
your bearings and is non-corrosive. It will dry well enough for you to
lube the bearings.
I once took some rusted bearings from a friend and put silver polish in
them and spun them a while. They were like new for spin and I was able to
use the tuner cleaner to blast out the polish.
Steve
Jay Cai
On Wed, 30 Apr 1997, King Lear wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 15:26:25 GMT, bdan...@mercury.interpath.com
> (Brian Daniels) wrote:
> >
> >Got the C-rings off. The shields were a royal pain, but got them off
> >too. For cleaner, I used Orange Peelz, a citrus degreaser. Let the
> >bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
> >(as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
> >them on a paper towel to dry.
> >
>
> Bearings and water do not mix. That's why you shouldn't skate through
> water and you shouldn't wash them in water.
> From I've read, all you do is soak the bearings in the cleaner and use
> a brush to clean things out. Then, take them out and air-dry them.
> Just leave them on a paper towel or something. When they're dry, put
> a bit of lube in them and close them up.
While cleaning bearings, rust corrosion does not occur in the brief time
that you soak bearings in water. As long as you don't leave them in for
hours, and if you air dry them as soon as all the degreaser is rinsed off,
you should be fine. If you do not rinse the bearings in water, some of the
degreaser will be left on the bearings and putting grease/oil on them will
be a wasted effort because the degreaser will decompose the new
lubricants.
Skating in water is definitely a no-no because you're soaking the bearings
in water for an extended time. Water washes away lubricants AND degreaser.
The bottom line is: to prevent corrosion, minimize the amount of time
metal is in contact with water.
\\\\\///
/ ^ _ \
( (o) (o) )
*=oOOO=====(_)=====OOOo==*=============================================*
| / /|\ / /~~ /| / | Email: caix...@tc.umn.edu |
| |_/ /"| / /__ /"| / | WWW: www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g017/caix0014/ |
*=============Oooo.======*=============================================*
.oooO ( |
( ) ) /
\ ( (_/
\_)
King Lear
On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 15:26:25 GMT, bdan...@mercury.interpath.com
(Brian Daniels) wrote:
>
>Got the C-rings off. The shields were a royal pain, but got them off
>too. For cleaner, I used Orange Peelz, a citrus degreaser. Let the
>bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
>(as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
>them on a paper towel to dry.
>
Bearings and water do not mix. That's why you shouldn't skate through
water and you shouldn't wash them in water.
From I've read, all you do is soak the bearings in the cleaner and use
a brush to clean things out. Then, take them out and air-dry them.
Just leave them on a paper towel or something. When they're dry, put
a bit of lube in them and close them up.
Steve Steele
In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.970430...@gold.tc.umn.edu>, Jay
Cai <caix...@gold.tc.umn.edu> wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Apr 1997, King Lear wrote:
>
>
> While cleaning bearings, rust corrosion does not occur in the brief time
> that you soak bearings in water.
Seems like it did for this poor chap!
> As long as you don't leave them in for
> hours, and if you air dry them as soon as all the degreaser is rinsed off,
> you should be fine. If you do not rinse the bearings in water, some of the
> degreaser will be left on the bearings and putting grease/oil on them will
> be a wasted effort because the degreaser will decompose the new
> lubricants.
I don't think its wasted if you get most of it out. I like to wick them
with a towel. The little that is left is inconsequential. Water is not a
good idea.
Steve
Brian Daniels
chi...@netcom.ca (King Lear) wrote:
>On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 15:26:25 GMT, bdan...@mercury.interpath.com
>(Brian Daniels) wrote:
>>
>>bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
>>(as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
>>them on a paper towel to dry.
>>
>
>Bearings and water do not mix. That's why you shouldn't skate through
>water and you shouldn't wash them in water.
Hmm...in that case the bearing maintenance FAQ at
http://www.skatefaq.com/skate.4.html#Bearings
needs some changes:
"4.Now rinse out your bearings with hot, soapy water to make sure you
clear out all the solvent. You now have some clean bearings. If
they're truly clean they ought to spin real fast. "
"But I was just following orders!"
--Brian
WILLIAM T. JONES
Mark,
The past few months are my most recent & intensive trip to the health
wagon.
(I can smell a cigarette almost a block away now),
Please note that your "speed difference" thought has occurred to me,
(which is why I clean outside, but it smells outside also)
I wish I had a spirometry machine (lung capacity) at home,
to see if the added insult to the lungs is measurable.
Common sense dictates it is,
and since I'm getting too old to fall off the wagon anymore,
perhaps I'll consider another method or investigate respirators.
Bill
Mark Farnsworth <fc-...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<336724b0...@news.mindspring.com>...
> On 30 Apr 1997 00:57:59 GMT, "WILLIAM T. JONES"
Richard Nett
>On the other hand exposing your lungs to harsh chemicals can do damage
>that equates to years of hard training. The speed difference in
>having nice clean lungs is much larger then the speed difference in
>having the perfect set of bearings.
I like this Idea, that's why I went to soapy water to clean my bearings, no
more breathing carb cleaner, paint thinner, citrus cleaner. I drop them into
one of those plastic jars with the strainers in especialy for skate bearings
with a pinch of tide (I use hot water and desolve the tide (which is low
residue) first which takes about 30 seconds) I drop the bearings in and shake
vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds and open the cover dump out the soapy water
re-fill quickly with the faucet shake again for 5 to 10 seconds. I dump and
refill probably 3 times to rinse fully, I just rinse till I see no more
bubbles after shaking. I then dump the bearings on a paper towel (I'm not
sure if it leaves a residue but they sure are shiny at this point) and
instantly start blowing each one out with compressed air (150 psi) which takes
another minute or two then instantly put two drops of boss oil in the first
one and spin it then go to the next and lube and spin till all 20 are done.
Through this whole process from droping them into the soapy water to relubing
them with a film of oil is about 4 minutes, I feel pretty sure I'm not going
to have trouble with rust and the small resudue if there is one at all is
worth saving my lungs.
Rich
WILLIAM T. JONES
Steve,
I believe you're right re: electrolysis;
Pardon all, it's been many years since intro chem,
but I also seem to remember heat being able to speed up that electrolytic
reaction,
which I suspect is why that "dusting" rapidly becomes pitting depending
upon
the number of minutes one waits to clean their bearings after getting
caught
in a rain.
I'm glad you mentioned the acetone.
I was considering it because it dries so incredibly fast,
but I was a bit worried about the red nylon retainer on my Boss swiss.
Any thoughts?
Chemtronics Tuner cleaner is pretty much Freon TF with some residue.
It usually lists something like "TTF" or "trichloroflouroethane" and
"low residue" or "98 (or some similar number) ppm (parts per million)"
It pays to look at the contents for this,
because there is a tuner cleaner still being sold,
that has a very greasy (petro?) residue.
It's from the days of mechanical tuners that needed gears and a lubricant.
There's some great stuff I've used for cleaning slide pots called "blue
magic",
It foams the dirt loose, (kinda smells like silver polish)
but you have to use the tuner cleaner type stuff
to clean out the bluish-colored foam.
Now, all this stuff can be fairly costly,
(if you're inclined to use oil & need to clean pretty often)
except for acetone,
which is pretty cheap.
(I got a 16 oz screw top can, under the HUMCO label, at Duane Reade for
$3.49.
It's C.P. grade & I use it to clean my glasses' lenses.
It cleans them great & doesn't bother the plastic lenses,
but the Cutex stuff leaves a smear -too much added crap.
I have seen acetone DESTROY some plastics,
& that's why I'll wait for an re: concerning the red nylon shields.)
HOWEVER, Mark Farnsworth's post really has me thinking.
I also seem to remember acetone being a pretty awful carcinogen also.
Steve Steele <s...@randomc.com> wrote in article
<ss-ya02408000R3...@47.156.160.76>...
> In article <01bc5503$a165d6c0$d62e...@worldnet.worldnet.att.net>,
"WILLIAM
> T. JONES" <WTJ<sendnospam>@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
SNIP
> > The real culprit is heat.
> >
> > When you heat water (H2O),
> > the heat breaks the bond of the oxygen and hydrogen.
>
> I don't think that's going on. Just heating water won't break that bond,
> it takes something like electrolysis.
SNIP
> When I clean bearings, I use pure acetone. Its very strong and doesn't
> leave a residue. Another alternative is tuner cleaner.
SNIP
Mark Farnsworth
On 30 Apr 1997 23:20:44 GMT, "WILLIAM T. JONES"
<WTJ<sendnospam>@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
This past weekend I was at the Eddy Matzger Workshop, the workshop was
great but it rained every day. On the third day we had downhill
coasting races in a parking lot. Because I was staying at a campsite
I had not cleaned or lubed bearings all weekend. My wifes bearings
were squeaking alot and some of the wheels were stiff but non the less
she won the downhill coasting contest dispite being one of the lighter
skaters. I think the point is that arrowdynamics, wheels, and body
position play much much larger rolls in skate speed then the bearings.
My training bearings get cleaned only rarely, I lube them with 1 or 2
drops of pure slick50 every time I rotate my wheels. The excess slick
50 spins out and hopfully cleans the bearings as it does. I have
heard of people who never clean bearings and just put enough lube in
that some will spin out with the dirt. From now on I am planing on
doing this. I removed and discarded the shields on the inside of the
bearings so it is very quick and easy to put a few drops of slick50 in
the bearings every time I mess with the wheels. I also wipe the sides
of the bearings to remove the dirt and excess slick50. When I skate
indoors I use make sure that they bearings have already been skated on
for a few hundred miles because if I dont lube will spin out and coat
my nice indoor wheels but outdoors lube on the wheels does not seem to
cause you to slip like it does indoors.
Dispite all this I do race only on a special racing set of abec 5s
because when you are racing it is best to cover all your bets. For
training a bearing with extra risistance is not bad and as long as
there is enough lube in to keep them from squeaking I realy dont care
how clean they are.
....Mark
Zac7472
hey you seem to know alot about bearings so i have a question
when ever i buy new bearing abec 3s usually they seem very slow until
theyve been skated on for about 10 miles is this common? thanks
WILLIAM T. JONES
Zac7472,
Don't know who the "you" is because
worldnet dropped my threads, & I wouldn't claim "alot",
but this is easy & I'm awake....
Yes & it has nothing to do with the ABEC rating.
Bill
Zac7472 <zac...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19970501032...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
Hans
I'm willing to be corrected by whoever on this, but my understanding
of this is taht they come packed in grease/lube and quite a bit of it.
So much that it slows the things down. So, what I do is clean them as
I would normally and then apply some synthetic lube which is fairly
light (skate shops have it--it's made for skate bearings) and just put
a couple of drops in there.
Minimally, you are going to want to towel them off before you ride on
them fresh out of the box. The packing grease that they come with is
excessive and attracts dirt. Cleaning and relubing them with a smaller
amount of lube seems to result in less iimmediate dirt/grime
attraction on the bearings themselves--at least that's been my
personal experience..
Hans
Hans
j.delgrosso
In article <33660f59...@news-server.interpath.net>,
bdan...@mercury.interpath.com wrote:\
\
crap about water rusting things aside, if they rusted *that* fast, then
they couldn't have been that good. Extreme bearing care is overrated
anyway, as these things are on teh ground, collecting dust and moisture
and gunk and god knows what else, yet you have to clean them precisely and
carefully? I think not. Rinse them in soapy water and put them in
alcohol since the alcohol dries faster and easier.. you canjust sit and
spin them and they'll dry fast. I can take my skates apart, clean,
regrease and reassemble within 45 minutes. Takes practice, adn a good
routine :)
jn
*I'm new to blading. After a day of skating on an old dusty tennis
*court, I had unpleasant grinding noises coming from some of my
*bearings. Seemed like a good time to learn how to clean them...
*
*The bearings were Killer Bees ABEC-3's. I got the FAQ on bearing
*cleaning and bought some bearing lube. To work...
*
*Got the C-rings off. The shields were a royal pain, but got them off
*too. For cleaner, I used Orange Peelz, a citrus degreaser. Let the
*bearings and parts soak for 45 min. Rinsed them in hot soapy water
*(as per FAQ), and then rinsed them clean. Shook them off and then put
*them on a paper towel to dry.
*
*The FAQ neglects to mention one thing - DRY THEM IMMEDIATELY!
*
*I took a break for about 15 min, and then returned with a hair drier,
*planning to dry, oil, and re-assemble.
*
*Much to my shock/horror the bearings, seal plates, balls, c-rings, etc
*all now had a coating of -RUST-!
*
*#@$%!!
*
*Any thoughts on this one? I guess you could drop the bearings in a
*bowl of alcohol or something until you can dry them.
*
*This definitely makes me question the FAQ method #2 of cleaning the
*bearings (not taking the shields off). How would you get all of the
*water out?
*
*Hope this saves someone from having the same unpleasant experience,
*Brian
*
*
*
*Brian Daniels | Gremlins squashed, bit-buckets emptied,
*bdan...@mercury.interpath.com | webs woven&patched, cables untangled,
*My opinions, not Interpath's | users placated (extra fee), demons summoned
*//www.interpath.net/~bdaniels/ | & dispelled, hacks while you wait!
--
"That's the remarkable thing about life... It's never so bad that things can't get worse"
--calvin
*********************************************************************
j.delgrosso
jed...@rit.edu *REMOVE FUNNY CHARACTERS TO REPLY VIA EMAIL*
*********************************************************************
WingBlade
Steve Steele wrote:
> When I clean bearings, I use pure acetone. Its very strong and
> It will blast out your bearings and is non-corrosive. It will dry
> well enough for you to lube the bearings.
Heh, I used paint thinner and a gas mask. No water, no hassle.
This technique has allowed me to take a completely wasted set of
bearings (got caught out in the rain, and had to skate miles slipping
and sliding like bambi on the ice pond) and get them working as good
as "almost" new. :)
Paint thinner has something in it that disolves just about anything
you don't want sticking to your wheels, and it dries in seconds
after removal.
----Erin
--
_________________________________________________________________
/ Oddly brilliant eerie years.. -=|=- Kill the Spammers Slowly \
| Email Ad Collection Recepticle <time...@sirius.com> |
| Cheesy Homepage --- www dat armory dat com /~timeline/ |
| -------------------------------- |
| people who use bulk emailers and newsgroup spammers are |
\ generating ridiculously bad karma... /
Woolbert Lab
The same thing happened to me. I put my Bones in a jar of Orange Peel
solvent -- lo and behold a few hours later they were covered with rust.
I now use acetone, which is bad for your health, and EXPLOSIVE if a heat
source/spark is nearby. I ONLY clean outside. It dissolves fast, and
leaves no residue, and claen the plastic parts with soap and water.
-- Andrew Gooding