wheelchair bearing grease - what to use?

[john1944]

I am trying to decide what grease to use on my daughter's wheelchair - front caster wheel bearings (608 type skateboard bearings), caster fork, etc. These bearings can be taken apart and manually greased. There is NO need for high speed like in a skateboard. What IS needed is a grease that will stand up to vibration and pounding and snow and water - we live in Minnesota. What I see so far are Amsoil GPTR1, Green Grease, Redline CV2 and Royal Purple Ultra Performance grease.
Any ideas?

 

[Johnny]

The Red Line CV2 is an excellent grease with red moly. I believe that would work well on your application.

 

[scurvy]

Red Line CV2 is indeed an excellent grease for where moly would be liked, especially the tripod joints of CV joints. If you're looking for excellent water resistance consider a calcium sulfonate thickener, typically any marine-grade grease.

I have used Green Grease in strut bearings where it appeared the previous one seized due to water ingress, and it has outlasted the one it replaced (still going strong). It does not have any moly, and it appears to do very well against water washout & salt... and a complete PITA to clean up after! That's some tenacious stuff.

I plan on greasing my trailer bearings with it when I get to that part of assembly and will have a better feel for its longevity once on the road.

 

[Audi Junkie]

I use motorcycle chain lube for general lube.

 

[Bob Woods]

There is a grease made for boat trailer bearings that resists being washed away by water, its called marine grease.

 

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: Bob Woods
There is a grease made for boat trailer bearings that resists being washed away by water, its called marine grease.


That's good advise Bob. Most Walmart stores carry Pennzoil Marine Grease which would also be an excellent grease for this application.

 

[doitmyself]

Going to get shot down in flames, but here goes. Probably the closest application to a wheel chair would be a bicycle, yes?

So, a bicycle specific grease such as Phil's, Park, Shimano, Finish Line, Pedro's, etc. should get the job done.

Yes, you are paying dearly for a small amount of some grease you could by much cheaper in a cartridge (if you can figure out what company makes it). But, that small tube for $6-$9 is still going to last many years. It should be the correct grade/viscosity and should be very water resistant.

If you google and study bicycle grease, the guys that frown on over paying for bike specific grease often end up recommending a marine grade grease as mentioned above.

Parks is a polyurea grease. Phil's is rumored to be a lithium marine grease (Drydene 4000).

 

[Johnny]

And Drydene 4000 is a Castrol Commercial Marine Grease.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Going to get shot down in flames, but here goes. Probably the closest application to a wheel chair would be a bicycle, yes?


I wouldn't shot you down.

It's what I used to use on my sister's wheelchair, back when it was maintained.

 

[Dupree]

Phil Wood Tenacious grease. It is a bike grease for packing wheel bearings, not the fastest. But its marvelous stuff and will stand up to water snow dirt, it is as the name implies extremely tenacious high quality grease.

 

[john1944]

Originally Posted By: Dupree
Phil Wood Tenacious grease. It is a bike grease for packing wheel bearings, not the fastest. But its marvelous stuff and will stand up to water snow dirt, it is as the name implies extremely tenacious high quality grease.


Looked at Phil Wood site. They make a Phil Wood Tenacious oil and a Phil Wood waterproof grease, but no Tenacious Grease.

 

[unDummy]

How often do you plan on greasing those bearings? How much grease do you need?

You can use ANY NGLI#2 grease that you want. And, since you may not want it to wash out, stick with a waterproof, or low washout grease since this will reduce your maintenance effort. Any of the marine greases are an easy choice. If you have any bearing/auto grease in your garage or toolbox, it'll work fine.

What's available locally?

 

[john1944]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
The Red Line CV2 is an excellent grease with red moly. I believe that would work well on your application.


Thanks to all that have written in. I am going to use Johnny from Wausau's suggestion of Redline CV2. I have a dealer in St.Paul, so no shipping charge. The specs on this grease are unbelievable: operating temps from -100°F to 500°F (have the snowmobilers heard about this grease?), Drop Point 900°F+, etc. Probably way overkill for the wheelchair, but then I do get 14 oz., which is way more than in the bicycle grease tubes.

 

[Dupree]

Originally Posted By: john1944
Originally Posted By: Dupree
Phil Wood Tenacious grease. It is a bike grease for packing wheel bearings, not the fastest. But its marvelous stuff and will stand up to water snow dirt, it is as the name implies extremely tenacious high quality grease.


Looked at Phil Wood site. They make a Phil Wood Tenacious oil and a Phil Wood waterproof grease, but no Tenacious Grease.


bought a tube last night its the same stuff just a name change. Honestly that is the stuff id wholeheartedly recommend. Its bar none the best grease I have used.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
Red Line CV2 is indeed an excellent grease for where moly would be liked, especially the tripod joints of CV joints. If you're looking for excellent water resistance consider a calcium sulfonate thickener, typically any marine-grade grease.


RL CV-2 uses a calcium sulfonate thickener.

 

[occity79]

Give Lubriplate 3000-W a try, this has moly-graphite and is very waterproof, and good for low temps. It is a black color if that matters to you.
http://www.lubriplate.com/products/greases/no-3000-3000w.html