wd40 on cutter blades??

[jaime bray]

Just had to replace 18month old hedge cutter attachment hl135. Bearings were all rusty inside and had broke down. Chat with dealer and he asked what I use for lubricating the blades. Told him wd40 and he said that is likely to have been a significant contributor to the break down of the bearings etc, as wd breaks down grease. He said combined with using in wet weather and the water being dispersed internally into the head gearbox by wd it's caused head to be defunct.

 

Gutted,as had just bought four bottles of gt85, which I guess is similar to wd40.

 

So is lithium white grease the solution? He said stihl do their own, but doubt its reasonably priced. He also said its good to occasionally strip out the head and replace grease, but I guess that's a cost benefit analysis thing.

 

Always been a good boy at machine maintenance and greasing heads of hedge cutters, but apparently wd40 is taboo on blades.

[Stihl123]

thinking the same, what is the best cheap spray for cutter blades????

thanks

[Lazurus]

thinking the same, what is the best cheap spray for cutter blades????

thanks

 

Our local QD does a very cheap spray grease, been using it for years on garden equipment and never had a problem, screw fix also do a Teflon based saw/router cutter lube, also very good.

 

There has been lots of similar publicity about WD40 good for rusty bolts but I am dubious about any other application......

[spudulike]

You need to regularly grease the gearbox on trimmers. They can get pretty hot so you need an HT grease that remains relatively thick at high temperature but the important thing is to pump grease in regularly. I usually pump until I get a slight bit coming out of where the blades exit the gearbox.

 

I am guessing that you hadn't greased properly or at all and it was probably this and an ingress of water that did the bearings in rather than WD40 although it is true that WD40 will wash away grease but wouldn't expect a slight amount entering the gearbox would do this.

 

I do use WD40 to protect during storage but an engine oil or even chain oil will work well as a general lubricant as it is thicker and offers better lubrication than a thinner penetrating oil like WD40.

[jaime bray]

When you say regular spud, do you mean daily weekly fortnightly monthly to splurge grease?

 

Lets base it on two to three hours of use a day, four days a week?

[Old Mill Tree Care]

When you say regular spud, do you mean daily weekly fortnightly monthly to splurge grease?

 

Lets base it on two to three hours of use a day, four days a week?

 

 

I lube hedge cutter blades 1-5 times a day depending upon the build of resin on them. This build up gets thicker and makes it harder for the cutters to travel past each other which puts stress on the clutch.

 

I use WD40 because it's cheap but more importantly, like Spud said, greasing the bearings is most important.

[jaime bray]

Yeah I was spraying with wd that often old mill, and greasing bearings monthly, so was surprised it had gone so quickly, the last set lasted near on seven years, but latest set 18 months. Have sprayed wd more so last six months and have been working in rain more so than in previous years.

 

Need to buy new head, so in relation to ongoing maintenance, will grease weekly till splurges, but spray wise, is gt85 same as wd regards breaking down greases?

[jaime bray]

Bought 4x gt85 from aldi, deal on £1.99 a 400ml can.

[jaime bray]

Or white lithium grease best to be used?

[spudulike]

When you say regular spud, do you mean daily weekly fortnightly monthly to splurge grease?

 

Lets base it on two to three hours of use a day, four days a week?

 

Personally I would give it one pump a week on the grease gun and then once a month until it seeps - there will be service data on each machine which will be very similar for each similar machine for hourly usage but I will always just fill the thing with grease on servicing irrespective of hours and what the owner says as it is better to have too much than very little!

 

You could try filling it fully and then using it for a week and then do the same to see how much grease goes in and that way you will have a definitive answer:thumbup:

 

You can buy a Stihl filler cap with a nipple attachment so a grease gun can be used and most other pro kit has 1-3 nipples for greasing. It is black when it comes out but these trimmer units are £300+ so best keep them well greased.

 

Stihl do do a tube of very expensive grease that you screw in to their typical filler - probably teaching you to suck eggs (Not the eggs on Arbtalk I hasten to add:blushing:) You can get away with pushing a grease gun against the filler hole, it works as well!