Posted by allenb on 11/27/2013 10:43 PM
#5
Quote
firstcrack wrote:
When I was at Diedrich, using food grade oil was recommended on the drum shaft that sticks out the front of the face plate, every day you roast. And on the chain behind the roaster.
The Ambex has a cover over the front drum shaft so??? And the chain appears to be a non-metal, but like a resin formed chain. Anyone know what i am trying to describe? i tried researching but nada.
Brian, I'm interested to know what type of bearings you've got on the Ambex. You mention using oil on the drum shaft of Diedrich roasters. Were these oillite bearings? The reason I ask is that I've not seen oiled bronze bearings on anything manufactured after the 1950's and usually have ball bearings which will almost always be grease lubed. If you're lubing ball bearings on your Ambex then you might try a high temp grease to reduce the tendency for the oil to separate and drop out of the grease. If the front bearing has no zirc then it's a sealed bearing and isn't required to be lubbed but would be good to smear some in there every few months if you can remove the shield. There's a tendency for many to over lube bearings in motors and other bearings thinking they will self destruct if not lubbed often but most bearings do not need frequent lubrication unless they are located in harsh environments with extreme temperatures. The temperature within a front drum bearing of a roaster does not reach extreme high temperatures but could reach a high enough temp that could separate the oil from the parafin in low performing grease lubricants. If you can remove the front cap on your Ambex then definitely rub some in there every 6 months or so but I would not bother going more often.
On the resin chain, I would use a very light application of a generic lithium grease and very infrequently.
Allen