Home Spindle Lube Test


In anticipation of an phono preamp switch I gave my 30+ year old Dual 1219 turntable a lube job. It's rim drive so the platter spins freely with the drive disengaged. The test involved only common household lubricants that have other uses.

Procedure: clean the mating surfaces with 99% isopropyl alcohol; lightly lube all sufaces using Q-tip; spin platter by hand at high speed for a few minutes.

The test (taken at 58F degrees room temperature): Engage drive at 33 1/3 then disengage it, noting how long it takes the platter to come to complete rest. I repeated each test once to verify the result. The results in the order tested:

Light machine oil - Gunk Household oil: 105 seconds
Bicycle bearing grease - Castrol Synthetic: 65 seconds
Automotive motor oil - Mobil 1 grade 0W40: 160 seconds

Note: when mounting the platter on the spindle, with Gunk the platter seemed catch as it slid down. On dissasembly, the Castrol had coated the surfaces reassuringly. I left the Mobil 1 undisturbed!
rockvirgo
Just goes to show that not all lubricants are created equal. Thanks for sharing the results. Sean
>
Rockvirgo, how did you ensure that all of the previous oil was completely removed before trying the next oil? Iso-propyl alcohol is not a good solvent for lubricating oils.

Bob P.
Bob, I used lots of Q-tips (dry, wet, then dry) and visually inspected. Before running the first test the alcohol seemed to dissolve some varnish so I kept it in the mix. The surfaces looked clean enough for government work. Presumably, wiping without the alky would have done as good a job for what I wanted to know. If you like, consider the isopropyl scrub a bonus. It is possible some residual lube escaped the soft dry cotton in the final step but that's life. Did I say scientific? :^)
Thanks Rock. You also have the knowledge that your turntable will work in temperatures as low as -55C! That Mobil 1 0W40 has a pour point of lower than -55C!

Salut, Bob P.
Rock, Nice experiment. If your up to it try one more test....straight 30W Mobile One. (Don't know if its availiable) The first call out on oil is its weight or viscosity (W=winter) at the freezing point. The second its weight at operating temp. I hope not many of us listen to our systems at 32F or below. That would be uncomfortable. I might try this my self on my Michell Gryo SE. It has a hydro-dynamic bearing system that may benefit from Mobil One.
Regards