Turntable Oil

[marcmorin]

I wonder how the original Shell 20W would compare to todays? Motor oils have changed drastically in the past 20 years. Thankfully they have much fewer additives, and therefore less drop out. Of course that shouldn't be an issue with a turntable

the change in additives usually comes in the form of the EP additives. Then is was usually zinc salts, now it's molybdenum salts.
the main and arm well bearing in a XA/XB is Babbitt bearing. Same as in your car. The spindle is 304 stainless steel. There is not now, then, or tomorrow a motor oil that is going to negatively affect the parts. Too heavy of an oil in the main well will increase the amount of rumble. And one more time with this, Viscosity refers to how sticky something is. It has nothing to do with lubricity. Higher viscosity has lower lubricity.

* EP refers to Extreme Pressure.

 

[ehoove]

3 in 1 MOTOR Oil SAE 20. Unlike the general purpose oil, the motor oil does not have additives. I used it for my Thorens platter bearing and it works great.

Correct! 3 in 1 Electric Motor Oil is fine, I use it in all my Thorens tables. Just make sure what ever you use has no paraffin in it.
Regards,
Jim

 

[T68]

I´m thinking about trying out snake-oil in my TT:s.

 

[marcmorin]

I´m thinking about trying out snake-oil in my TT:s.

Plenty of that for sale..........

 

[p.robustini]

I have been using this in my Thorens TD160's platter bearing since the beginning:

 

[cafe latte]

I have been using this in my Thorens TD160's platter bearing since the beginning:

Too light, it is a machine oil, but sewing machine oil is normally 5w not 20w like recommended for many turntables.
Chris

 

[p.robustini]

Too light, it is a machine oil, but sewing machine oil is normally 5w not 20w like recommended for many turntables.
Chris

I figure I will have to steal some from my car's refill... ;-)

 

[cafe latte]

I figure I will have to steal some from my car's refill... ;-)

car oil is no good as it has detergents in it and something that attracts water which is fine in a closed system but not good in an open bearing. You need machine oil, compressor oil which dont have these additives. A liter bottle of compressor oil in synthetic will last you forever
Chris

 

[marcmorin]

car oil is no good as it has detergents in it and something that attracts water which is fine in a closed system but not good in an open bearing. You need machine oil, compressor oil which dont have these additives. A liter bottle of compressor oil in synthetic will last you forever
Chris

this is a myth. the additives are not abrasive, they are not caustic, they are not acidic, they don't 'attract" water.

 

[GChief]

this is a myth. the additives are not abrasive, they are not caustic, they are not acidic, they don't 'attract" water.

+1

 

[likebike23]

It was my impression that some of the additives in detergent oils were bad for sintered brass bushings (bearings) as the additives can get into the brass and muck up the bearing. True or false?

 

[marcmorin]

It was my impression that some of the additives in detergent oils were bad for sintered brass bushings (bearings) as the additives can get into the brass and muck up the bearing. True or false?

false.........if it can get into brass and "muck it up" it would get into the engine babbitt bearings and "muck it up".
the "detergents" are there to keep some things in suspension, neutralize other things ( gases from creating acids in the oil). none of what happens in an engine for the additives to do anything will happen in a turntable.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Any fine 10w machine oil, is what AR recommended for lubrication. Sewing machine oil is fine, and the oil used for Technics DD turntables likewise.

 

[Ken Boyd]

This thread just alerted me to the fact I needed to lube my tables. I went to the owners manual and it said to only use the oil provided with the table, no others. It is a Technics SP10 MkII. I used a machine oil ten drops in the hole where it says to put he oil. I am unsure of what weight it is but I bought it off the web for turntables.

 

[likebike23]

My AR-TX must have sat unused for years. The wells were gummed up with dried out lube and they needed to be polished before anything would spin. Would modern synthetic oils prevent this? IDK .

For me, a guy who enjoys maintaining these machines, extending the service interval isn't that important. Non detergent, mineral oil formulations work just fine. If I were in the business of fixing these machines for others I think my requirements might be different. I might value longer lasting products that would stay put during shipping.

In the end, I'm not sure anything could have saved my AR from neglect. As Ken pointed out, we need to do a little maintenance from time to time.

 

[cafe latte]

this is a myth. the additives are not abrasive, they are not caustic, they are not acidic, they don't 'attract" water.

No the additives are not abrasive but they do cause problems. In a car engine with a filter in the circuit you want solids in suspension so you can filter then out. In older car engines with no filter detergent free was preferred so solids and contaminants did not stay suspended in the oil as this can cause wear, it is far better for solids when no filter is present to sink to bottom of sump. Same applies in turntable bearing, no filter so detergent free, same reason machine oils and compressor oils are detergent free.
Now then there are the emulsifying agents in car oil, I have a turntable spindle that was ruined because of car oil. Again car oil is a closed circuit so oil absorbing oil is a good thing, then engine gets hot and it boils off. Turntable bearings are open, especially in humid environments when oil absords water due to bearing being open really not good for bearing at all. Mine which I got replaced it seriously pitted and oil was white mayo (car oil).
This is fact no myths here.
CHris

 

[cafe latte]

My AR-TX must have sat unused for years. The wells were gummed up with dried out lube and they needed to be polished before anything would spin. Would modern synthetic oils prevent this? IDK .

For me, a guy who enjoys maintaining these machines, extending the service interval isn't that important. Non detergent, mineral oil formulations work just fine. If I were in the business of fixing these machines for others I think my requirements might be different. I might value longer lasting products that would stay put during shipping.

In the end, I'm not sure anything could have saved my AR from neglect. As Ken pointed out, we need to do a little maintenance from time to time.

Nothing wrong with non detergent and emulsifying agent free, but mineral oils do gum up and synthetic dont so my advice is go synthetic.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

false.........if it can get into brass and "muck it up" it would get into the engine babbitt bearings and "muck it up".
the "detergents" are there to keep some things in suspension, neutralize other things ( gases from creating acids in the oil). none of what happens in an engine for the additives to do anything will happen in a turntable.

Read my other post, you have a hole in your understanding, you dont want detergents or emulsifying agents in a turntable for reasons I stated, happy to post a picture of why of my spindle that was ruined with car oil.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

This thread just alerted me to the fact I needed to lube my tables. I went to the owners manual and it said to only use the oil provided with the table, no others. It is a Technics SP10 MkII. I used a machine oil ten drops in the hole where it says to put he oil. I am unsure of what weight it is but I bought it off the web for turntables.

The original Technics oil was Anderol 465 which is a synthetic detergent free emulsifying agent free turbine oil weight is iso 68 which is around sae 20w.
Chris

 

[marcmorin]

Read my other post, you have a hole in your understanding, you dont want detergents or emulsifying agents in a turntable for reasons I stated, happy to post a picture of why of my spindle that was ruined with car oil.
Chris

Chris, I'm a retired Mechanical Engineer. I spent 40+ years in the automotive field, and have quite an extensive knowledge about motor oils and lubrication.
If you had a steel spindle that was dissolved somehow by a motor oil, I'm sure there is some engineering firm that would pay you a great amount of money for that piece of steel. Or send it to ESI and associates, a metallurgical firm west of Chicago. They would love to have evidence of steel eating oil.
That would put snake oil to shame.