Scorpion says to oil motor bearings every 5 flights. Do you?

[crashmore]

I have never been a motor bearing oiler. I always thought that they must be sealed bearings so it wouldn't do any good, or that the oil would just dilute the grease and make things worse. Now I see that Scorpion is saying to oil the motor bearings every 5 flights, and they are even selling an oiler kit to do so.

So, do you oil your motor bearings? If so how often and with what? If not, why not?

[ahahn]

If the manufacturer of the motor says to do it, I figure it makes some sense to do it. That being said, I probably oil only every 10 flights or so. I guess that makes me an "irregular" oiler!

[flyfishsick]

That is what a hate about Sscorpion motors! That is why I have a pyro motor in my heli!!! never had to oil that motor!!!

[Harbormaster]

I ordered the little hypodermic oiler that Scorpion makes so I guess I'll start. I still have a feelin that all that oil is just going to fling out and make a mess and never penetrate the bearing race...

[Ace4]

I oil the top bearing in mine every 5-10 flights, but I can't access the lower bearing without removing the motor from my heli, so I just don't oil it.

[Punkin71]

I just noticed some side to side play in the large bearing my scorp 2221 8. This motor had maybe 25 flights and was oiled every 6 flights, glad I caught this before the bearing self destructed and ruined the bearing recess.

I always replace any new motors' bearings with bocas within the first 10 flights but wanted to see how well the stock scorpion bearings would hold up, now I know. Boca stainless bearings are on their way!

[ahahn]

Originally Posted by Punkin71

I just noticed some side to side play in the large bearing my scorp 2221 8. This motor had maybe 25 flights and was oiled every 6 flights, glad I caught this before the bearing self destructed and ruined the bearing recess.

I always replace any new motors' bearing with bocas within the first 10 flights but wanted to see how well the stock scorpion bearings would hold up, now I know. Boca stainless bearings are on their way!

I have certainly flow more than 25 flights on my 2221 with no problems. I am sure most people aren't having problems at that level either, whether they oil or not.

Maybe you were just unlucky here.

Oiling is no tougher than replacing my packs, and I don't see what the big deal is.

[Punkin71]

Never said anything good or bad about oiling motors, I learned long ago to oil all my motor bearings @ regular intervals. But for some reason the stock scorp bearings went south very fast, from my exerience boca bearings work well and my bocas do get oiled on a regular basis.

[ola.c]

Never oil any bearing on My heli. They are metal shielded and permanently greased.

[desertblade400]

I've taken some bearings apart and it didn't appear there was any sort of lube inside. So, I just squeeze in some grease periodically and it's been working so far.

[Agibbs996]

What's the sign that a motor needs lube. The heli's motor I mean.

[Rob43]

I do. My profession is reliability engineering. I couldn't pass the red face test if I didn't lube the bearings. I don't see a big deal about oiling motor bearings. You're kidding yourself if you think that at the bearing temps we see (at least in many cases) that a sealed bearing (as in the case of the Pyro) doesn't need lube replenishment. Anti-friction bearings (ball bearings in this case) must be relubricated periodically. When a manufacturer of a bearing refers to it as "sealed for life", that means the life of the bearing. It is accepted practice to replace the bearings when they reach the end of the life of the grease. The grease oxidizes with use, and for every 10F degrees above 140F the life cycle of the lube is reduced by 50%. I believe I flew three seasons on a Neu with sealed bearings without servicing them, but I wouldn't expect a lot more than that. Of course, synthetic grease can optimize the cycle. Maybe some guys don't keep motors longer than that these days.

[Blade120]

Picked up some new bearings from Boca SMR73C-2OS Ceramic balls , any of you guys know if these need to be lubricated periodically as well?

[Harbormaster]

Originally Posted by Rob43

I do. My profession is reliability engineering. I couldn't pass the red face test if I didn't lube the bearings. I don't see a big deal about oiling motor bearings. You're kidding yourself if you think that at the bearing temps we see (at least in many cases) that a sealed bearing (as in the case of the Pyro) doesn't need lube replenishment. Anti-friction bearings (ball bearings in this case) must be relubricated periodically. When a manufacturer of a bearing refers to it as "sealed for life", that means the life of the bearing. It is accepted practice to replace the bearings when they reach the end of the life of the grease. The grease oxidizes with use, and for every 10F degrees above 140F the life cycle of the lube is reduced by 50%. I believe I flew three seasons on a Neu with sealed bearings without servicing them, but I wouldn't expect a lot more than that. Of course, synthetic grease can optimize the cycle. Maybe some guys don't keep motors longer than that these days.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing your expertise. (And I just oiled my Scorpion bearings.)