Oh dear! I am exasperated, I must say. There's no point in my writing the same stuff, over and over again, every time this subject comes up. So, if you're at all interested in "bearings" and want to make sure that you are doing the
right thing to ensure longevity and safety, then I invite you read both of the threads (completely) that I've linked above in post #3.
Potted version:
- bearings use
either grease
or oil -
never both
- shielded motor bearings are
greased at the factory, so you shouldn't use
oil on them
- shielded bearings are
not designed to be oiled from the outside - very little, if any, oil is able to get inside
- small shielded bearings often have "fixed" shields, i.e. they can't be removed (without destroying them)
- therefore... small shielded bearings that were factory-greased and don't have removable shields cannot be "maintained" other than cleaning dirt off the outside.
- if you want to (minimally)
extend the life of such a bearing that's already done "a lot of work", go ahead and drip some oil on the outside if that makes you feel better
- personally I wouldn't fly with such a bearing 'cos it is already in the process of dying.
- if you want to
shorten the life of a factory-greased non-removable shield bearing, then start "oiling it" from Day One - it shouldn't take more than a couple of goes to wash all the grease out of it then you'll need to oil the damn thing every flight (and you'll be convinced even more that oiling is "the right way")
- if you remove a bearing from a motor and use any impact or other force whatsoever to do so then that bearing is junk. Replace it with a new one.
- new chrome steel bearings are about $2 each or less (when not bought from a premium niche seller like Boca) - replace all your bearings on a very regular schedule - it's a "consumables" cost for safe, trouble-free flying.
I mean... really! How many times can I say this? This is not my "opinion" - this is standard engineering knowledge. So why is Lucien at Innov8tive saying you should oil them, then? Well, Scorpion is selling an oil kit
for helicopter motors that run at 45,000rpm in the middle of a roasting-hot motor and therefore must be oiled every few hours so they don't destroy themselves (but I'd use rubber-shielded bearings in that case). Lucien is an
electrical engineer and actually knows squat about bearings. He, like others, thinks that just because Scorpion sells oil, all bearings should be oiled. Sorry, but he's wrong.
Two notes:
- if you
do use oil on a bearing and it is
not rated for a high-speed, high temperature, harsh environment then it will break down
very quickly - possibly within the space of a single flight.
- if you have a motor that you have already "oiled" then you
must continue to oil it for the rest of its life because you've already washed all the grease out of it.
And one parting thought -
How often do you oil the bearings on your car?
