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Steve Laume wrote:OJ, I do remember Bryll cream. When I was really little I used it to stand up the front of my crew cut to help hide my cow lick. The reason I will never forget the vile stuff was an incident in high school when I then had far too much hair to make it of any use. I was staying over at a friend's house and figured I would use some of his tooth paste... A little dab will definitely NOT do ya as tooth paste. I think I would rather brush with Moreys Red, Steve.
Steve and I are about the same age, I think; I'm 52, and remember Bryll Cream very well, which is the reason I quoted from the jingle. I'll spare you all the rest of the text.
OJ, welcome back.
Bob, I love your Transcendentalist sign-off.
Warren, ach Gott, I can remember the Dippity Doo ads on TV in the 1960's.
Thanks Dick -- very good points. I just don't want to breach etiquette! Even though my Cape Dory is a power boat, the wealth of knowledge in this group is still relevant on so many topics. Now that there's a board specific to power Cape Dorys (http://www.capedory28.info), I sometimes post a question there instead, if the question is power-specific. But for things that we all deal with, like seacocks, this is the place...
Anyway: I stopped at Napa yesterday, and they had plenty of Morey's in stock. Strangely, at this particular NAPA the Morey's was NOT with the rest of the grease! It was on a separate end-shelf. If I hadn't asked, I would have missed it -- so if anyone is looking for it, make sure to ask if you don't see it.
For 30 years I've used 3M Molykote which is a very thick, stiff silicone grease that's used as a lubricant and also, I believe, as heat sink compound. The stuff stays put and never dries out. I service my seacocks about every 5 years and have never felt a need to do it more often when using Molykote as the lubricant. The last time I used it, my 30 year old tube was finally used up and I'm not sure where to buy more. But if you can find it, Molykote is the best grease for seacocks.
Just came back from RESPITE (walked up all 52 steps). She will spend this season in the water, but there is still seacock maintenance required. After shutting the cocks, remember to remove the drain screws. For some Spartan cocks, replacement drain screws are nearly impossible to find (see ealier thread). So I just sprayed the screws with WD-40 and will let them "soak" for a few days before attempting to remove them.
As a part of on-the-hard maintenance, remove those drain screws and use a dab of grease (or anti-seize) when reinstalling them.
Mitchell Bober
Sunny Annapolis (where winter is not forecast for this year, but you never know),MD
We got red grease at the local NAPA store; they have it in stock most of the time. For the wrench, I took an extra wrench of the proper size and ground it down on a bench grinder. Works fine and cost very little.
Bob Shulman
CD27 "Impromptu"
Noank, CT
Sigh. It's never easy! All was going great, and I got through the first two without a hitch: Removed them easily, cleaned them up, greased, put back. They move great, admiral is very happy that she can move them now too.
Then there is the third and final seacock. Grrr. Came out easily, cleaned up easily, put back. Moved it around a few times, put on the stop and the first nut, but apparently tightened it too much. Now the darn thing won't move. I removed the nut, but still can't budge the seacock. I'd like to take a rubber mallet to the threaded end and pound it back out, but I don't have any room to swing it. Gave it a good soak with WD40, and I'll go back tomorrow to try again...
Well, since you just assembled it, you know it isn't frozen due to corrosion! I've done the same thing and in tight quarters I first make sure the nut is on the threaded end (not good to pound directly on the threaded end - you'll mess up the threads), THEN, I position a wooden plug against the nut and I tap the end of the wooden plug with the rubber mallet. The wooden plug extends 4-6 inches to where (in my case, anyway) the mallet has a little more swing room. It hasn't taken more than a tap or two to get the seacock apart under those conditions.
I would try tapping the handle with the mallet before pounding on the threaded portion of the barrel with or without the nut. If you can get it to rotate it will probably slide right out. I think you would have a much getter chance of success and less chance of doing damage. A plastic mallet might add a bit more shock than rubber and still not hurt anything, steve.
Well, for whatever reason, the seacock was moving fine this morning. Not sure if it was the WD40, or maybe the cold temperatures this morning, but I'm happy to say it required no additional effort to free it. I removed it and regreased it. Project finished, thanks for your help!
I checked the Molykote site and it seems there are dozens of not a hundred products. Can you recall anything else that would help narrow down the specific product.
Thanks
Boyd
s/v Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Boyd, I wish I could tell you more...I need a new tube of the stuff myself.
Years ago I was a computer service technician and ordered a tube from my company's tools & test equipment catalog. I carried this same tube in my tool box for 30 years. Now I'm faced with the task of trying to find more of it. It's a very thick, stiff synthetic grease that's translucent and almost colorless. As I said in my previous posting, I believe it was intended to be both a lubricant and a heat sink compound. It's the perfect tapered barrel seacock lubricant.
Kurt
I have used this stuff for practically everything on the boat BUT seacocks. Check it out and see if is similar to what you used. Its real heavy semi clear silicone grease. Its used on O rings at the dive shop, which is where I got it.
Boyd,
Now that I think about it...the grease I've been talking about was made by Dow Corning and not 3M as I originally stated. And it's consistency and color are exactly as you describe...semi-clear silicone grease. Where can I buy some? A dive shop?
Kurt
I used to use the Dow Silicon Grease on my seacocks. I no longer do....over time it gets stiff and needs to be replaced. I switched to Morey's and am very happy with it.
Boyd,
I went to the Dow website, searched on translucent colored lubricants and got 6 hits including the one you mentioned (111 Valve Lubricant). I also found the one I've used for 30 years...it's the Molykote G-804 Silcone Compound. I also found distributors in the Detroit area and will attempt to pickup a new tube. I disagree with the previous posting that states the grease will get stiffer. I don't believe that's possible with silicone based lubricants. They don't dry out and they don't harden. It's the perfect seacock lubricant. That's my experience.
Kurt
