rega rb300 tonearm lift not working - fixable

I had this problem a few years ago and cleaned the lift. Bad move! Afterwards, it dropped like a rock. Even the thickest grease did not slow the descent rate. I wrote to Rega, and they responded that they use Roccol Kilopoise damping grease. Unfortunately, there are many different types of damping grease, and too expensive to try different types to see which works best.

I highly doubt if silicone will work. Since silicone is not a damping grease, I believe the lift will drop like a rock. Even if it did work, the bottom of the rega lift is open, and the silicone will drip out.

My advice is to go ahead and clean it to the extent of removing any pieces of foreign material visible, but don't remove the damping compound. If that doesn't work, I think replacing the lift is the best option.

Hi Msiebers,
you say:
>>> ***Since silicone is not a damping grease, I believe the lift will drop like a rock***. Even if it did work, the bottom of the rega lift is open, and the silicone **will drip out.** <<<

I think you ARE misinformed about silicon, maybe you want to read that link.

Incidentally SME uses that stuff in a lot of places and NOTHING is dripping anywhere.
Take note, silicone 'fluid' come in MANY viscosities and the one for the tonearm lift is lots thicker than honey in winter (and stays that way in summer).
A.

Axel, I checked the link you provided and it only mentions the silicone for use for replacement in lifts originally using silicone: "If the cartridge drops too quickly when you lower the cueing lever, then the original silicone fluid has leaked out." So, the link doesn't address dropping too slow. More importantly, the rega lift does not use silicone. There is no mention of suitability for the rega.

Axel, you are right that the 300,000 cst will not drip. It has the consistency of peanut butter. I am not a materials expert, but my understanding is that silicone is a lubricant, no matter how viscous its form. I tried a really thick silicone grease on my lift and it did not prevent it from dropping too fast.

Rocol kilopoise is a damping grease, also called tacky grease, which is more than just lubrication. Check the link at http://www.nyelubricants.com/damping/ for more information. I have not found this type of tacky grease to be easily or economically available.

In conclusion, if you have direct experience and can vouch for the effectiveness of the silicone on the rega lift, I truly thank you for the information. But, without direct experience or explicit recommendation from the vendor, I will stand by my previous post.

Thanks for the advice. It seemed unlikely that I could find the needed damping grease at low cost, so went ahead and ordered a new lift, about $36.

Hi Msiebers,
the stuff (the very thick silicon) does not leak as such --- it 'creeps' but only very little.
In fact all silicon does creep, that's why it is 'poison' in anything with open/unprotected contacts.

The bottom of the lift is open, because it would not work when air be trapped in the piston sleeve. It only needs 1/2 of a pin-head to be applied on the piston and it works again for some year(s). Initially often too good rather i.e. going down too slow.

But since Lloydc bought a new lift, problem is fixed --- until this one starts plying up after some time. Everything need to serviced after a while :-)

Greetings,
Axel
PS: I'm not so sure about that damping grease (link). I tried some (another item) and it did not work at all, the lift with arm just dropped.