Grease Brands

Meanwhile · August 26, 2010, 07:31:39 PM

Alan, have you tried the Corrosion Block brand of grease? I'm wondering if it would be good for everything other than drags.

http://www.seattlemarine.net/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=2536&idcategory=1050

alantani · August 26, 2010, 08:18:26 PM

you know, i haven't. anyone else here ever use the stuff?

franky · August 26, 2010, 11:25:47 PM

Yeah I did.

I just put a very thin coat on the internal metal parts (gears, pinion, bridge plate, dog, screws, etc.). I do not apply it to the drag washers.

I tried to find the blue Yamaha Marine Grease that Alan uses, but it seems hard to find locally here in Hawaii. In Hawaii, the two known greases for reels are the corrosion block or the blue penn reel grease. They both run approximately the same price approx $16.00- $18.00 for a 1 pound tub.

In terms of cost, it is not the cheapest. The Yamaha Blue Grease is cheaper. No Bail, depending on how many reels you plan to service. If you're only doing your own reels, just one of those 3 ounce tubes are sufficient. If you plan to service reels for others, I would highly recommend the 1 pound tub, more cost effective.

Bryan Young · August 27, 2010, 03:56:11 PM

Hey Franky, doesn't Windward Marine in Kailua (if you are not on Oahu) have Yamaha Grease? I think they are an authorized dealer and service center. They should have Yamaha supplies.

akfish · August 27, 2010, 05:29:26 PM

Let's face it: For people doing their own reels, the cost of grease is a non-issue. For Alan and those of us making a living fixing reels, it may matter a bit, but only a bit compared to other costs. I use Penn X-1R grease for everything other than drag washers and Cal's Grease for drag washers. The new Penn grease -- not the old amber colored stuff -- is great stuff, good at fending off corrosion and with a viscosity I like for painting internal metals and gears.

franky · August 27, 2010, 07:06:08 PM

Quote from: akfish on August 27, 2010, 05:29:26 PM
Let's face it: For people doing their own reels, the cost of grease is a non-issue. For Alan and those of us making a living fixing reels, it may matter a bit, but only a bit compared to other costs.

Exactly...I totally agree... In this economy, we are all trying to save a lil bit here and there.

That is why I have been trying very hard to get my hands on some of that Yamaha blue grease; awesome stuff.

Quote from: BryanYoung on August 27, 2010, 03:56:11 PM
Hey Franky, doesn't Windward Marine in Kailua (if you are not on Oahu) have Yamaha Grease? I think they are an authorized dealer and service center. They should have Yamaha supplies.

Thanks for the info I'll give them a call. Windward Marine is on the other side of the island from where I live. When I'm out that side, I will definately get a tub of that stuff.

Bucktail · August 28, 2010, 02:56:03 AM

Other than price, what's the difference between Penn Blue Grease and the Yamaha?

alantani · August 30, 2010, 06:04:14 AM

i wish i knew! the yamaha marine grease was recommended by the local yamaha dealer as being salt water resistent. penn's product would most certainly have similar features. the problem is trying to measure something subjective like corrosion and try to figure out how frequently it DOESN'T happen!!!!!!! even with drag grease, the only objective measure of cal's drag grease and the shimano product is that cal's grease melts at 500 deg F and shimano's grease melts at 300 deg F. you will know if you get to 212 deg F, so unless your reel is steaming, you're nowhere near.

my 2 cents for the evening, and that's about all it's worth!

BurningHeart · January 03, 2011, 07:20:43 PM

I used Sta-Lube Marine grease on my Penn and haven't had any problems.

Whit · January 03, 2011, 08:24:59 PM

I have been using marine "Lubrimatic" wheel bearing grease from Wal Mart. It's designed for dunking weel bearings into salt water and seems to work well. Now that I have been reading this site, when I finish up that tub (its almost done) I plan to get some of that Yamaha blue grease...

ReelSpeed · January 29, 2011, 07:58:54 PM

Alan, I have been getting ready to restock my grease supply and looking at different possibilities as well.. One measure I have found that might be useful, since many of the "features" in these greases are the same, is the water washout percent. Most every grease has a data sheet that will list this number. For the CRC blue grease I use and the Yamaha grease, it is 5%. I have seen some marine greases go as high as 15%. So using this data, one of the best greases in this category is actually a Pennzoil Marine Premium grease: http://www.pennzoil.com/#/greases-and-lubricants/pennzoil-marine-premium-plus-multi-purpose-grease , it has a washout % of 2.7 and seems to be very affordable. I am going to try and find some and check the consistency of it...unless someone here has tried it. Anyway, just my $.02 as something to maybe gauge these similar greases by.

alantani · January 29, 2011, 11:33:15 PM

aaron, is this a measure of the amount of water a certain grease will soak up?

ReelSpeed · January 29, 2011, 11:57:02 PM

Hey Alan, I actually think this is a measure of how well the grease will resist being washed off the part by water. And the test is performed at 175*.. There are many specs on greases, but this seems like one that could be pretty useful in the area of reel repair. It stands to reason that this is a measure of water resistance.

For example, I was testing a marine grease called LPS "Aqua" grease. It has a higher density than the yamaha grease and I noticed that when I ran water over it on a aluminum plate, it sheared the water off better than the yamaha grease.. Water tended to not stick to it as much.. Kinda interesting...

alantani · January 30, 2011, 12:07:19 AM

hey, so here's something to consider. i have seen bearings that had been fully packed with grease and yet were still rusted. i had noted that the grease was now a much ligher color. this is where i reach back to my pharmacy training. it is possible to incorporate water into an oil. a cream is simply a "water in oil" emulsion. to obtain such a product, you simply start with petrolatum (vaseline), stir vigorously and add water slowly. a bearing in motion would be a great way to mix the two as well. perhaps this is where "salt water resistance" becomes a factor.

ReelSpeed · January 30, 2011, 06:54:54 AM

I smell a standardized test coming in the near future.. It would great to settle something like this pretty definitively. I think the bearing is the best test subject as it is most prone to failure due to corrosion. Let me know if you have any ideas for a test and I will think about some possibilities... maybe spinning a bearing at a reasonable speed, for a certain amount of time, under salt water and then letting it sit in a fairly controlled temperature for a some amount of time.. Need to think about this.