Fan bearing lubricant was Re: WD-40 (again)

[Eric Korpela]

On Mon, Apr 18, 2016 at 7:45 PM, drlegendre . <drlegendre at gmail.com> wrote:

> Forgive my ignorance..
>
> What could possibly justify a cost of $25,000 (US) for a liter of this
> Braycote material? Of course, I'm extrapolating - $25/gm, assuming
> 1000gm/l.
>

First, I'm not trying to justify it outside of special circumstances.  I'm
sure Castrol will tell you that it's difficult to manufacture (they spend a
lot of money figuring out how to make it without using CFCs).  It does have
special properties that the less expensive alternatives do not, primarily
it will not dry or gum up unless the building burns down.

>
> Sounds like a government contract rate to me. MoS2 and TFE-rich lubricants
> have been readily available for decades - and while they tend to be on the
> pricier side, I've seen nothing that touches $25-28/gm.
>

I think nothing justifies it until you're using it in a machine that is one
of a kind or worth spending that kind of money.  Other cheaper MoS2 and
TFE-rich lubricants don't necessarily have the chemical inertness, lifetime
or low vapor pressure.  If it still works after 25 years in orbit, it'll
work on your fan

Given that much of the physical damage to my micros and minis is from
incompatibility of the original (i.e. cheap) materials with each other or
degradation with time, if I had the cash to do so I would set a "thou shalt
use no petroleum based lubricants" rule and a "thou shalt use only
fluoropolymer elastomers" rule for replacement of rubber parts.