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Topic: Using an oil additive to prolong life of parts such as duralube or slick 50

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-28-2007 10:30 PM

quote: Bill Enos
I drained our XLs and refilled with Amsoil DexronIII/Mercon all synthetic ATF.

Does it foam up very much? I would also be interested to know if the mechanisms run quieter... without film in them.

One thing I will add is that if you place a magnet in the oil sump and inside the intermittent of a given projector it will drastically increase the life span. These will attract and hold most of the metallic particulate that is generated. This is the main reason why so many DP-70's are still running today and whose gear trains look like new after alost 50 years of use... They had a magnet located inside the movement and in the oil filter located on the pump intake that trapped and held very fine metallic particles. A very fine mesh filter trapped other particles that were not magnetic. Filter and pump magnet are cleaned at the oil change.

Mark

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 05-29-2007 01:35 AM

Mark, with the ATF usage that I did for the two months on that one XL, there was no foaming - just straight fluid run -almost like water-in the back of the unit.

Sounds like a good tip to use though...have to head to a hobby store and get some magnets to put down in those sumps to contain any metal filings from metal to metal contact..

(like on the V-8 that you actually saw a bar magnet mounted in the upper sight glass that was removable from the outside to clean when needed...)

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 05-29-2007 01:50 AM

I was about to ask if Slick 50 is still sold in the US. and ask if someone could get me some , but after reading the threads on it , it appears to be different to what it used to be.

It is no longer available in Australia , I bought some 25 years ago and tipped into my diesel landcruiser , I still have that same landcruiser, it has now done over 800,000 miles with the same engine and has never been touched, it does not leak oil and i put about 1 liter of oil in it over a period of 6,000 miles. I put this amazing mechanical achievement down to Slick 50 , maybe I was wrong ?

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 05-31-2007 10:26 PM

With the synthetic ATF the XLs are definitely quieter and there is no foaming, none would expected since ATF is an extreme pressure gear lube. If any tendency to foam were present an auto trans. would cease to function due to entrained air reduceing hydraulic pressures needed to operate.

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System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004

posted 08-16-2009 02:22 AM

It has been 807 days since the last post.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-16-2009 02:22 AM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
One thing I will add is that if you place a magnet in the oil sump and inside the intermittent of a given projector it will drastically increase the life span. These will attract and hold most of the metallic particulate that is generated. This is the main reason why so many DP-70's are still running today and whose gear trains look like new after alost 50 years of use... They had a magnet located inside the movement and in the oil filter located on the pump intake that trapped and held very fine metallic particles. A very fine mesh filter trapped other particles that were not magnetic. Filter and pump magnet are cleaned at the oil change.

Mark, Couldn't I just sit a magnet in the bottom of an XL in front of the sump and let it hold particulate simply by virtue of its presence? I mean, it wouldn't have to necessarily be designed to be there, would it?

And do you recommend Mobil 1 as a direct substitute for standard Simplex oil? I was always under the impression that the additives they use in motor car oil would be detrimental to projector parts (although I must admit, it was never explained how moving parts in a car would not be damaged by the oil but using the same oil on projector parts would damage them).

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-16-2009 08:38 AM

Yea, just place a magnet near the oil intake. No, Mobil-1 is still too heavy of weight to circulate properly... There are synthetic oils that will work however. I use Mobil-1 as an assembly lube when rebuilding projectors. If the machine sits a while the Mobil-1 doesn't dry up and turn to goo like regular oil does. In sound head gear boxes Mobil-1 Gear oil(like you'd put in a differential) does however work really, really well. I've always felt that even the SAE 40 weight oil is too light to stick very well to the bronze gears as they go around. The gear oil very definately does stick to the gears. It also never turns ransid.

Mark

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 08-16-2009 02:31 PM

Wonder if you could use 0w/30 synthetic, but the real trick is find 10w hydraulic oil - what a some dealers use when selling their own projector oil.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-16-2009 05:04 PM

When I was at CLACO I took some Simplex oil and had it analyzed. It was just pure mineral oil is all, about SAE 9 in weight. There are equivelents from Chevron, Shell, and others.

You can also get synthetic compressor oil and to be honest thats what I'd be using in my Simplex's. Put a magnet inside the movement and one at the bottonm of the sump and do a once a year oil change, perhaps once every two years... at least on those Smiplex's that don't leak much...

Mark

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Eric Robinson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 538
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 08-18-2009 12:34 AM

How is an SEA weight determined by a lab when given an oil sample?

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Robert Minichino
Master Film Handler

Posts: 350
From: Haskell, NJ, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 08-18-2009 08:34 AM

Viscosity varies with temperature, so SAE viscosity is the viscosity at 100degC, and for each SAE grade there's a range of values in centistokes (a measurement of viscosity) that the oil must meet. The W grades are measured at which temperature they begin to flow, a lower number is a lower temperature. The W means Winter, and not weight.

An easy way to measure viscosity is by flowing the fluid through a funnel, as viscosity is closely proportional to the flow rate.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 08-18-2009 12:48 PM

Based on material, temperature and speed, Chevron USA analyzed a Simplex XL intermittent and an SA intermittent for me years ago.

Based on their knowledge, #10 non detergnt was the prime choice. Chevron GST oil, ISO 32.

btw: OLD Simplex oil contained varnish used as a leak preventer. Louis

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 08-18-2009 06:50 PM

For whatever reason, the synthetic atf leaks a lot less than Simplex oil.

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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006

posted 08-28-2009 09:07 AM

One theater owner I know insists that all his projectors
(Centurys) be lubricated by 'painting' STP on all the
gears with a stiff brush once a month.

I don't know for sure if this is a great idea or not,
but he was convinced by an old theater tech that this is
what needs to be done and there's no changing his mind
as long as the projectors keep running, which they do.

The only problem they've had is that once someone got
a little sloppy and some of the STP dripped down onto
the soundhead flywheel shaft and got into the bearings.
(Simplex SH-1000) The thick STP of course caused the
sound drum to 'drag', badly scratching a print before
they got me in to take a look & see what was going on.

I had to pull the flywheel & shaft and then flush the
STP out of the bearings, and then re-assemble and
properly lubricate it.

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