You must Sign-in or Register to post messages in the Hobby Squawk community
Registration is FREE and only takes a few moments

Register now

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Anyone else oil their tanks?

Collapse
X
Collapse
First Prev Next Last
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Anyone else oil their tanks?

    Sounds wierd on the surface, but hear me out. These things have steel gear transmissions, right? And from the factory there isn't even so much as a hint of a whiff of anything remotely in the same zip code as lubricant on those steel gears. Dry as a popcorn fart. I've taken to putting a few drops of SAE30w motor oil on each gear face as well as a drop on each end of the axles they spin on right where they're spinning. In doing so I've found my HL steel gearboxes get a LOT quieter and tend to run smoother. 'Course there's no 'floor' to the gearboxes so I can't fill a few mL in there for a more constant lube supply and any excess just pools in the hull floor somewhere near the battery tray, but even still I feel like it's doing them some favors.

    Maybe one of these days I'll design and print some 'floors' for these gaerboxes that can old a little oil, some walls, roof caps, not fully sealed but good enough to keep the bulk of the oil in the gearbox.

    Anyone else doin' something similar?

  • #2
    I use a Teflon lube. About 3/4 of my HL tanks did come with greased gears.

    Comment


    • #3
      SAW30w is what I have on hand in a convenient-to-apply manner. So far I've opened up a KV-1E, PzIV F2, M4A3 75, and all three of them were completely bone dry. Noisier than seven hells running along, too. After oiling, still loud on the kitchen floor from the track links slamming down on it, but nowhere near as much shrill gear whine.

      Comment


      • #4
        What I've found best in these small gear boxes is Permatex "Ultra Slick" engine assembly lube This lubricant clings to the gear teeth and doesn't make a mess inside the gear case or into the tank chassis. And really quiets down the gear mesh without putting an extra load on the motors. Also excellent for those other small bearing surfaces throughout your tank. A little bit goes a long way.

        Comment


        • #5
          Please, do not put any liquid oil or lubricant to your RTR tank. only grease can be used in certain way. Oil vapor will make a bigt mess of your tank internal. Worse yet, it is corrosive to electrical contact and some electronic components. (I know because I worked in aerospace industry for many years and retired as a technical fellow.)
          A good gearbox should be mostly enclosed. I use the Heng Xin gearbox here. The very thick wall construction and sealed ball bearing make it very stable and extra quiet. Some heavy grease was applied to the gears. The ball bearings are sealed bearing that does not need lubricating.
          Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_5004.jpg Views:	0 Size:	127.2 KB ID:	365018Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_5005.jpg Views:	0 Size:	188.6 KB ID:	365021Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_5007.jpg Views:	0 Size:	181.0 KB ID:	365020Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_5010.jpg Views:	0 Size:	173.9 KB ID:	365017
          The Heng Xin gearbox uses a separate mounting plate. It adds to the steadiness of the gearbox, but makes installation of the gearbox a two directional movement, thus more difficult. You do not need special tool or skill, but do need a lot more patience to maneuvers the gearbox in place.
          Heng Long knows better not to use oil. They use cheaper open frame gearbox without bearing to save cost. But they never apply light machine oil to their gears.
          There are several options for enclosed gearbox. I chose Heng Xin for its tight tolerances and cheap price. I like its approach and result a lot.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by keilau View Post
            Please, do not put any liquid oil or lubricant to your RTR tank. only grease can be used in certain way. Oil vapor will make a bigt mess of your tank internal. Worse yet, it is corrosive to electrical contact and some electronic components. (I know because I worked in aerospace industry for many years and retired as a technical fellow.)
            A good gearbox should be mostly enclosed. I use the Heng Xin gearbox here. The very thick wall construction and sealed ball bearing make it very stable and extra quiet. Some heavy grease was applied to the gears. The ball bearings are sealed bearing that does not need lubricating.
            Click image for larger version Name:	IMG_5004.jpg Views:	0 Size:	127.2 KB ID:	365018Click image for larger version Name:	IMG_5005.jpg Views:	0 Size:	188.6 KB ID:	365021Click image for larger version Name:	IMG_5007.jpg Views:	0 Size:	181.0 KB ID:	365020Click image for larger version Name:	IMG_5010.jpg Views:	0 Size:	173.9 KB ID:	365017
            The Heng Xin gearbox uses a separate mounting plate. It adds to the steadiness of the gearbox, but makes installation of the gearbox more difficult. You do not need special tool or skill, but do need a lot more patience to maneuvers the gearbox in place.
            Heng Long knows better not to use oil. They use cheaper open frame gearbox without bearing to save cost. But they never apply light machine oil to their gears.
            There are several options for enclosed gearbox. I chose Heng Xin for its tight tolerances and cheap price. I like its approach and result a lot.
            I would respectfully disagree with your assessment of open gearboxes and have photo proof below proving so. The HL basic “open” “steel” gearboxes or other such as the Taigen blk, HL red and most of the several different types of Tamiya gearboxes are rather forgiving of dust and dirt and will run extremely well even with a light oiling.

            Picture below are typical representations of all my gearboxes and also many of those with whom I run tanks with. The below gearboxes have been in service for more then two years without clearing or re-greasing. Like all my tanks they are run in rather dusty desert like settings of the SouthWest US. In more then a decade I have never had even one of my many open “steel” gearboxes have issues caused by dust and dirt like that shown below.

            Sealed gearboxes might keep your “engine bay” looking nice and quite the gear noise a tad, but they really do little more then that. HL only started adding the plastic covers to their gearboxes to reduce the noise of the newer “silver” steel gears (a major complaint early on) being used and NOT to protect them from dirt. I know because I was involved in the process and was the one that brought the noise issue of the new “silver” gears to their attention.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	5D166817-C786-43B9-8258-E811D3E266C3.jpg Views:	0 Size:	92.0 KB ID:	365039Click image for larger version  Name:	E06F571E-0046-4197-BE18-500E9373BCB2.jpg Views:	0 Size:	88.0 KB ID:	365040

            Comment


            • #7
              Rubicon9-9, I agree with your assessment that HL and other open frame gearbox are fairly tolerant of dry dust as long as you do not mix it with oil. I run my tank mostly in the backyard. It pulls grass and other debris into the chassis very easily. That's one reason that I also prefer sealed ball bearing over sleeve bearing. I do not see that we have any disagreement.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by keilau View Post
                Please, do not put any liquid oil or lubricant to your RTR tank. only grease can be used in certain way. Oil vapor will make a bigt mess of your tank internal.
                I'm not at all concerned about a slight mess inside my tank. I'd rather my transmission be well lubricated and the inner hull be messy than the inner hull be clean and my transmissions have wear/noise issues.

                Worse yet, it is corrosive to electrical contact and some electronic components.
                SAE30w motor oil is pretty good at PREVENTING corrosion on things it's touching and it's not going to be getting anywhere near the MFCU anyway.

                A good gearbox should be mostly enclosed. I use the Heng Xin gearbox here. The very thick wall construction and sealed ball bearing make it very stable and extra quiet. Some heavy grease was applied to the gears. The ball bearings are sealed bearing that does not need lubricating.
                1: Heng Long gearboxes are open to all and sundry.

                2: All moving parts require lubrication of some sort. Running them dry like I've found in all of my Heng Long tanks so far is not doing them any favors.

                3: A heavy grease applies more load to the motors and ESC than a lighter oil does. With how heavy these tanks are those motors need every bit of help they can get. Prolly part of why the transmissions are shipped dry. Truthfully even the 30w motor oil is a bit heavier than I'd like, but it does cling to the gears pretty good and doesn't act like glue when it's cold.


                Heng Long knows better not to use oil. They use cheaper open frame gearbox without bearing to save cost. But they never apply light machine oil to their gears.
                They don't oil them because that costs money to do.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I don't oil mine either here in sunny, dusty California, but it seems you've made up your mind. Luck.
                  Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by SoCalBobS View Post
                    I don't oil mine either here in sunny, dusty California, but it seems you've made up your mind. Luck.
                    I recommend NOT to oil the RC tank gear mostly for the protection of electronics and electrical devices. Oil vapor is a nasty agent for arching. It is important because most of us use the 380/390 series brushed motors.

                    The rotating gears have every little friction. The most friction is in the axel sleeve bearings. The best solution is to switch to upgraded gearbox with sealed ball bearings.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Oil vapor is not an issue in an rc model.
                      All mechanical moving parts need to be lubed or they wear against each other.
                      RC tank parts and accessories I make
                      www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        We, myself included, are all making trivial matter into big issue. My 5 metalized HL tanks ranges from 7-9 pounds which is very light weight for the 380 motor and HL gearbox. Even plastic gear and sleeve brass bearing can last for years with minimal wear without lubricant. My 2 oldest HL are 17 years old and still in good shape. All my HL have heavy duty gearbox and metal tracks due to personal preference, not wear considerations. I did not convert my older HL from plastic until 5 years ago.

                        Oil is messy, but in practice, unlikely to causes electrical problems in RC tanks as it would in real avionic equipment.

                        If you run the HL tank outdoor like many of us do, you will know it is a dust and sand trap. It is easier to vacuum out a dry tank, but an oily, messy tank will keep running well too. It is straightly a personal matter that I do not like messy internal.

                        I over engineering my earlier answers and apology for them.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I have blown many henglong and early taigen transmissions that had metal gears with brass bushings on the shafts. The bushings wore very fast and the shaft holes oblonged quickly despite my best attempts to keep them lubed. I drove my tanks alot and wore out the tranys. When I got my first henglong sherman it came with plastic gears and 280 motors.
                          The ball bearing gear box transmissions are a must for me with how much and how hard I drive my tanks.
                          I bought a set of henglong tranys for my Tamiya leopard 1 I converted from a clutch drive unit. The HL tranys are the current issue standard metal bushing type. Ive blown them out already. Ive kept the bushings oiled but they have worn terribly. Im running heavy metal track with rubber pads on a heavy tank. I finally got some of the good ultimate tranys for it, the red ones with ball bearings. Sadly though, I think these are discontinued as they have been slowly drying up on ebay.
                          RC tank parts and accessories I make
                          www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by RichJohnson View Post
                            I have blown many henglong and early taigen transmissions that had metal gears with brass bushings on the shafts. The bushings wore very fast and the shaft holes oblonged quickly despite my best attempts to keep them lubed. I drove my tanks a lot and wore out the tranys. When I got my first henglong sherman it came with plastic gears and 280 motors.
                            The ball bearing gear box transmissions are a must for me with how much and how hard I drive my tanks.
                            I bought a set of henglong tranys for my Tamiya leopard 1 I converted from a clutch drive unit. The HL tranys are the current issue standard metal bushing type. Ive blown them out already. Ive kept the bushings oiled but they have worn terribly. Im running heavy metal track with rubber pads on a heavy tank. I finally got some of the good ultimate tranys for it, the red ones with ball bearings. Sadly though, I think these are discontinued as they have been slowly drying up on ebay.
                            Thank you for sharing your experience. Your experience confirms that lubrication does nothing for gearbox using brass sleeve bearings. If more people buy the ball bearing gearbox (red frame Ultimate II), Heng Long will make more. And third party like Heng Xin will do it too.

                            Actually, Heng Long makes 5 different gearboxes: plastic, zinc alloy, steel with sleeve bearings, steel with ball bearings and the Ultimate II. I found the "steel with ball bearings" at AliExpress once sometime ago. HL apparently found little market for it and discontinued it.

                            On all my HL tanks except one, I use the Heng Xin gearbox. On the old Pershing, I use "Taigen Tanks Steel Ball Bearing V2 Gearbox" which works very well too.
                            New from Taigen Tanks are our new steel CNC machined ball bearing gearboxes! These gearboxes are a big improvement over previous gearboxes with the addition of ball bearings for each reduction shaft and the final drive shafts. Shims have also been added which reduces lateral play in the gears to almost 0! Taigen Gearbo


                            It is nice to have authority like you to clear the air.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I prefer the taigen trannys as I feel they are stronger and they are geared a bit lower as well at 39:1 ratio on the 3.1 version.
                              on my leopard I wanted it a bit faster so I used the HL 33:1 ratio with taigen 390s. But that Hl trany is wearing out fast as I said so I finally got an ultimate 2 and shafts to convert it to short shaft. The ultimate 2 is going away it appers.
                              RC tank parts and accessories I make
                              www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Doesn't change that I use teflon lube on the gear shafts and a light grease on the gears and use the snap on plastic gear covers.

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by RichJohnson View Post
                                  I have blown many henglong and early taigen transmissions that had metal gears with brass bushings on the shafts. The bushings wore very fast and the shaft holes oblonged quickly despite my best attempts to keep them lubed. I drove my tanks alot and wore out the tranys. When I got my first henglong sherman it came with plastic gears and 280 motors.
                                  The ball bearing gear box transmissions are a must for me with how much and how hard I drive my tanks.

                                  Originally posted by Evan D View Post
                                  Doesn't change that I use teflon lube on the gear shafts and a light grease on the gears and use the snap on plastic gear covers.
                                  I don't drive my Heng Long tank as hard as Rich Johnson does, and few do. I invested $300-400 on each HL. I consider the $50-60 on a ball bearing gearbox the top value. They greatly reduce the vibration and unwanted noise. I also like the bonus of a non-greasy internal which is easier to clean after a few outdoor runs. Each one to his own.

                                  Comment

                                  Working...
                                  X