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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 3 responses by quincy

quincy
322 posts
 
Rock, Nice experiment. If your up to it try one more test....straight 30W Mobile One. (Don't know if its availiable) The first call out on oil is its weight or viscosity (W=winter) at the freezing point. The second its weight at operating temp. I hope not many of us listen to our systems at 32F or below. That would be uncomfortable. I might try this my self on my Michell Gryo SE. It has a hydro-dynamic bearing system that may benefit from Mobil One.
Regards
quincy
322 posts
 
Rock,
I finally had some time to stop off at the local auto supply store. The 'thinest' Mobil One availiable is 5W30, so I purchased a quart. Last night I installed the Mobil One in my Michell Gryo SE's hydro-dynamic platter bearing. I removed and cleaned all the 'old oil' off all maiting parts including the 'well'. After refilling the bearing well and re-installing the platter, I gave her a spin. The platter rotated very smoothly, and for a very long time. I gave up waiting for it to stop by friction/gravity and re-installed the belt. (a real pleasure on a Michell) I hit the DC drive motor 'on' button and the platter came up to speed very quickly. Have not listened to any vinyl yet, but I do not suspect any change. All in all, I believe that this synthetic will prolong the bearing life, at a minimum.
Regards,
quincy
322 posts
 
Well, I finally got some personel time to listen to my system. The Mobil 1 as a spindle lube has not improved nor diminished the quality of my vinyl recordings. The bearing functions properly, so my conclusion is that Mobil 1 can be used as an equal to or better than replacement oil in a Michell Gyro SE.
Regards,
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