Rendered bear fat?
I used Chrisco to grease bearings with good results.
- Thread starter Carlostrece
- Start date
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
I've used parafin wax to lubricate window frames so they'd slide easier. Wax is used to lubricate skis and sleds too.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
I'm pretty sure the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Baylonians, etc used either lard or wax or both to lubricate wagon axles and chariot axles. That's a lot higher pressure and higher heat than my headtube bearings. I know for a fact that in Western USA pioneers used lard to grease waxon axles, and maybe sometimes bees wax. In the Eastern USA, in coastal areas at least, they used whale oil/grease to lubricate things. I mean prior to using petroleum products.
Those old time axles were adequately lubricated and those wagon axles didn't have ball bearings to reduce the friction. So it makes sense to me that Chrisco is able to adequately lubricate mobility scooter headtube bearings because that's a lot less demanding than a wagon axle or flour mill or steam engine.
I drive it on many 2-4 miles round trips around town every week during 4-5 warmest months. I put miles on it! It's been working great for 3 years with no signs of wear yet. The original headtube bearings ground into dust/pieces/fragments in 3 years.
So the Chrisco is clearly doing a better job on the replacement bearings than whatever grease the Chinese factory used on original bearings. That might just be because my cousin applied enough Chrisco. He packed the bearings real good. The Chinese factory assemby person did not apply enough grease.
Those old time axles were adequately lubricated and those wagon axles didn't have ball bearings to reduce the friction. So it makes sense to me that Chrisco is able to adequately lubricate mobility scooter headtube bearings because that's a lot less demanding than a wagon axle or flour mill or steam engine.
I drive it on many 2-4 miles round trips around town every week during 4-5 warmest months. I put miles on it! It's been working great for 3 years with no signs of wear yet. The original headtube bearings ground into dust/pieces/fragments in 3 years.
So the Chrisco is clearly doing a better job on the replacement bearings than whatever grease the Chinese factory used on original bearings. That might just be because my cousin applied enough Chrisco. He packed the bearings real good. The Chinese factory assemby person did not apply enough grease.
Last edited:
Is there a reason you keep writing Chrisco rather than Crisco?
Is it some other product?
You live in modern times, and your head tube bearings are miles ahead in technology than Roman Chariot shaft bearings. Proper grease is readily available and will serve you well. Crisco is lard, and will rot and become rancid, while bringing minimal lubrication benefits to the table. I would imagine you are fairly reliant on these scooters and urge you to work from the playbook. You are playing your own game here, against yourself, and most likely losing.
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,912
A mixture of animal tallow and tar was commonly used as axle grease, at least from the late 1700s going forward. Back in early Greek and Roman days, pure animal tallow was used, although sometimes boiled and reduced olive oil was called into service. But generally, throughout most f the world, it was animal tallow that did the job.
The wagons used to cross the country during the great westward migration might need to have their wheels and axles lubricated once a day.
When I was working on a small ranch in Chinook, MT back in the late '60s, one of my responsbilities was to lubricate the axles of the ranch owners antique hay wagon. He had a special jack that was about 100 years old at the time. His was all cast iron but some from the era were made of wood and had iron channels and gears.
The Crisco used by the OP is vegetable oil based (see olive oil reference above) and so, in a sense, has a long history of being used as a lubricant. Speaking of the history of lubricants, there's a very nice article available online for those who might be interested:
https://www.crown.co.za/images/magazines/mechchem-africa/2024/A_brief_history_of_lubrication.pdf
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,912
Sorry, Tom, Crisco is vegetable oil based, and was, if I recall correctly, invented in the early 19-teens, and used mostly, if not exclusively, cottonseed oil at that time. Lard is pig fat, and was never used in Crisco.
That said, I'd certainly agree that a modern lubricant be used in the OP's case, although it seems thatCrisco is doing acceptably well in what I imagine is a low stress situation.
Last edited:
I’m not sure where some people get these ideas.
Okay. So are you claiming there is nothing better today?
Has Project Farm tested Crisco on bearings yet?
Well NOW you've done it. You're going to get this thread shut down.
Back in the 80's I worked with a lady who's husband repacked one of the front wheel bearings on her old Toyota with Crisco. They were moving from Vegas to Phoenix and he wanted her to take the car there. He ran out of grease doing one side and it was too late at night to go get any more so he grabbed the Crisco and packed the other side with it. She made it about 100 miles before the bearing started smoking and burned up. She eventually divorced the idiot...
Back in the 80's I worked with a lady who's husband repacked one of the front wheel bearings on her old Toyota with Crisco. They were moving from Vegas to Phoenix and he wanted her to take the car there. He ran out of grease doing one side and it was too late at night to go get any more so he grabbed the Crisco and packed the other side with it. She made it about 100 miles before the bearing started smoking and burned up. She eventually divorced the idiot...
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
Holy cow. Look at that ingredients list. It's lethal to human cardiovascular health, but it's a better lubricant for my headtube bearings than I imagined. It's vegetable oil/grease with antioxidents.
Also, it's been working great for 3 years. The headtube still feels tight (not loose or sloppy) and still turns easily. It's hard to argue with success.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
The reasons I'm not going to redo it with proper grease until it shows signs of wearing out are:
1) The Chinese scooter manufacturer makes a good scooter, except for some inexplicable reason they assemble the headtube with so little grease that its bearings are almost dry. My cousin (retired auto mechanic) observed that and commented on it. A mobility scooter mechanic I later met confirmed this. So my cousin and I concluded that since almost dry bearings lasted 2 years before starting to show sign of wear (slightly loose headtube) and were fully worn out at 3 years (very loose head tube), we'd get 3+ years use with Chrisco.
Now it's 3 years later and there are no signs of wear. The headtube is still tight and turns easily.
2) Past experience with 3 mobility scooters has shown me that when headtube bearings fail, that failure happens gradually indicated by gradually increasing looseness in headtube. That looseness begins to slightly show and gradually increases over months. At the first sign of looseness, I will replace the bearings with new bearings and automotive wheel bearing grease.
It's been 3 years and I'm still waiting for some looseness, but it hasn't happened yet.
3) A set of ball bearings cost $10. Cups $10. My cousin's time costs me $50 hr (friends & family rate). A scooter mechanic would cost me $175 flat fee. The bearings are cheap, but labor is expensive. Both my cousin and the scooter mechanic laughed about the Crisco and said it's better than it was stock (dry) and told me to keep using it until it gets loose again. When it eventually needs it, one of them will replace bearings again and next time use auto wheel bearing grease.
4) As a matter of curiosity, I want to see how long the headtube bearings last using Chrisco. I'll consider them wornout when the headtube get loose.
5) So far I'm quite happy (pleasantly surprised) with the results I'm getting with the Chrisco. If it aint broke, don't fix it.
1) The Chinese scooter manufacturer makes a good scooter, except for some inexplicable reason they assemble the headtube with so little grease that its bearings are almost dry. My cousin (retired auto mechanic) observed that and commented on it. A mobility scooter mechanic I later met confirmed this. So my cousin and I concluded that since almost dry bearings lasted 2 years before starting to show sign of wear (slightly loose headtube) and were fully worn out at 3 years (very loose head tube), we'd get 3+ years use with Chrisco.
Now it's 3 years later and there are no signs of wear. The headtube is still tight and turns easily.
2) Past experience with 3 mobility scooters has shown me that when headtube bearings fail, that failure happens gradually indicated by gradually increasing looseness in headtube. That looseness begins to slightly show and gradually increases over months. At the first sign of looseness, I will replace the bearings with new bearings and automotive wheel bearing grease.
It's been 3 years and I'm still waiting for some looseness, but it hasn't happened yet.
3) A set of ball bearings cost $10. Cups $10. My cousin's time costs me $50 hr (friends & family rate). A scooter mechanic would cost me $175 flat fee. The bearings are cheap, but labor is expensive. Both my cousin and the scooter mechanic laughed about the Crisco and said it's better than it was stock (dry) and told me to keep using it until it gets loose again. When it eventually needs it, one of them will replace bearings again and next time use auto wheel bearing grease.
4) As a matter of curiosity, I want to see how long the headtube bearings last using Chrisco. I'll consider them wornout when the headtube get loose.
5) So far I'm quite happy (pleasantly surprised) with the results I'm getting with the Chrisco. If it aint broke, don't fix it.
Last edited:
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,912
Good for you. Satisfying one's curiosity, and in the process learning something, is reason enough to try this experiment.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
It started out as a necessity. It had to be fixed that day and Chrisco was the only grease available. Since then it has become a fun experiment.Good for you. Satisfying one's curiosity, and in the process learning something, is reason enough to try this experiment.
3 things I've learned so far.
1) Never eat anything with Chrisco in it. That stuff will shorten your life!
2) Chrisco is a better lubricant than I ever imagined.
3) Chisco is a better lube than it is a food ingredient.
Last edited:
The OP is just shooting at anything that moves here, along with a side of promoting some health agenda.
And just maybe he's screwing with people that worry about such things .
Similar threads
