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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

Showing 1 response by semi

semi
649 posts
 
Tbabb,

Scout, like many modern TT, has inverted bearing which requires grease instead of oil for proper lubrication. Are you sure engine oil can support the load without being drained out by gravity? I have a Clearaudio which has an inverted bearing as well. Top of the bearing shaft is flat, similar to Scout if I remember correctly (used to own one), and will not hold much oil at all. When I talked with Musical Surroundings and VPI, they both recommended grease instead of oil for longevity. I chose Super Lube Teflon based grease, I found it best among all grease and better than OEM grease and white lithium grease.

With inverted bearing, it's near impossible to conduct an experiment like Rockvirgo did since platter will come to stop after a few turns.

Any input on inverted bearing TT is welcome.
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