Do you use branded clipper oil or homemade concoctions?

Branded Clipper Oil or Anything Goes

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Ditchjumper2 said:
I use 3 in 1. Is that bad? Have to say I always have done.
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For the sake of being a facilitator on this thread I will tell you the main arguments for 3in1 being 'bad'. I wont say whether I agree or not but you can find my opinion elsewhere fairly easy if you are interested.

If you use it as a wash and dunk your blades in then its not good for your clippers as it eventually washes grease from the gear down into the armature and field coil. This can clear the bearings of grease or gunk up the commutators of the armature which will eventually cause the motor to burn out.

It is too thin really to be used as a lubricant but as a stop gap dripped onto wherever two moving surfaces meet on the blade/clipper head temporarily it wont do too much harm. It will be better than nothing at all. It is better to get hold of some clipper oil though.

A damp cloth soaked in 3in1 is useful to wrap your blades in once you have finished clipping. In this regard it would be no better or worse than any other oil.
 
Naryafluffy said:
Non-Branded, mix meths and baby oil whilst I'm clipping, stick the clippers in the mixture running, turn off, dry off with a towel and then use 3 in 1 oil before turning back on.
Never had any problems in 15 years except wearing out the motor, but the number of horses the clippers had done in those 3 years it wasn't really surprising.
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That made me chuckle, no problems other than the main thing that makes them work packing up lol

My friend has had her liveryman clippers 20+ possibly 25+ and they have only ever needed servicing regularly and the blades sharpening, they were and are used by her and her daughter to clip numerous horses, so I would say, you get what you pay for, buy the best quality clippers you can afford (not aimed at you just in general). I bought my clippers (Liveryman Arena) because hers have lasted so long.

I have used hers over the years and they are like a hot knife through butter as are mine
 
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I use Lister oil for my clippers which I use to clip my own and other people's horses. I did once turn up to clip a horse and realised I'd forgotten my oil! All they had was some vegetable oil so I used this though was very worried of any effects it might have. The clippers seemed ok though not as free moving as normal, I put lots of normal clipper oil on when I got back home.

Have done some freelancing at a yard where they use WD40, it didn't seem to lubricate the blades at all and all the yard blades were blunt though this may be down to bad management! Wasn't very impressed though and would never use WD40 on my own blades.
 
At the invite of "Mr Shearease" I am going to chuck my ten pence worth into the clipper lube arena.....

First, I will make one thing clear, nameley that I am an Engineer, so therefore my opinion is based on the effect of oil or liquid X on your blades and machine, not whether it makes Neddys coat shine, smell of lavender or easy to groom!

That said, as usual we have the "3 Camps" when it comes to Lube.

1) The branded oil users.

2) The diesel dunkers

3) The WD40 is great brigade.

All have varying opinions on the efficacy of their particular method, based on their perceived experiences. So I will address a few points.

1) Branded oil. Most manufacturers produce and market an oil with their machines, because not only is oil a consumable, so adds to sales, but because your machine needs it. All oils from manufacturers, ar by their nature "fit for purpose", no manufacturer would be stupid enough to sell you something that caused machine failure. So it is pretty safe to say that the oil you get from the manufacturer, if used in the quantity and intervals specified shoud give good results.

However manufacturers will charge probably more for their oil than 3rd party producers, because they have larger overheads and are selling into a very narrow and shrinking market. Wheras an aerosol filling company who decides to produce a "clipper oil" will have the benefit of massive can volumes on other products, so can turn out a cheaper oil, which then joins the ranks of the "generic oils" on the market.

2) The "diesel dunkers", next to the WD40 fans, the "Dunkers" are a good source of repair revenue! In what is now an accumulated 20 years carrying out repairs, nothing fills my heart with dread, more than the morning parcel stinking of diesel. It will normally take twice as long to service, need twice as many parts and involve me getting very messy!

Now I know you diesel fans will say "it works", yes it does, diesel does clean, diesel does cool, diesel does remove grease and debris, but diesel is FUEL OIL, it is not designed to clean and remove grease, it is made to drive cars.

Much of the Diesel is good myth, came from the sheep shearing world, where the Ozzies and Kiwis would be using flexible drive handpieces to shear vast quantities of sheep. The lanolin in the fleece gums up the blades and they would keep a bucket of diesel next to them. Dunking the shear head into it to clean the blades whilst shearing. Whilst still not a proper thing to do, these boys got paid by the fleece so time was money. Also there was no electricity in the handpiece, pureley mechanical drive. On a modern horse clipper, you have 240 volts sat several inches back from your dunking.........safe?........NOT

3) WD40

Well I could write an essay on my sheer hatred of WD40 on clippers, but I will be as brief as possible because I am sure my ramblings have pushed your boredom threshold to the edge!

WD40 Stands for "Water Displacement (formula 40) so I am led to believe. It was developed during WWII to help protect the electrics on jeeps, planes, tanks etc and repel moisture.

It is THIN, that is why when you spray a rusty padlock, it can creep inside by capiliary action and un seize the lock. It evaporates quickly, due to having a high concentration of petroleum distilate in it.

It is not a suitable lubricant, but it is superb for what it was made for. IE: displacing moisture,un seizing rusty bolts, protecting equipment being stored, etc.

My one prime example of how bad WD40 is for clipper blades, was shown to me many years ago. An old engineer friend was berating a customer who always swore by it and my friend said , "ok try this, rub your hands together, like its a winter morning, but first put some branded oil in the cup of your hand" "Now squeeze and rub hard", which the customer did for a couple of minutes, generating some friction, but not as much heat as if done without oil. "Now wash your hands and we will repeat the same, but I will spray WD40 in the cup of your hand" Duly done, customer rubs frantically, hands red hot, sticking together and dried out......salutory lesson learned.

So my final bit of advice:

Use a good oil whilst clipping, that is designed for clippers. If you do need to clean the blades, remove from machine, clean with an alchohol based spirit, even meths will do, then re oil with proper oil, refit and keep clipping. When winter comes, by all means spray the blades with some WD40 and pack them safeley, but clean with spirit and oil before next use.

Keep the tension correct, this is the biggest cause of heat build up, then the oil evaporates and they get hotter still. Better to get a couple less clips and have cool ones, than to hammer the blades down tighter and clip with red hot blades. Also ensure you air filters are clear before each clip, another big cause of heat build up which again will cause problems.


Overall, clip safe, clip clean and you and your horse will be better for it.
 
A "PS" to my previous post



A QUESTION FROM A TECHNICAL PAPER IN THE USA

"I am being asked by others in my company to start using WD40 as a bearing lubricant. I know that this is not best practice, but I need to explain to them why. Any advice?"

To understand how WD40 might work as a lubricant, we need to first understand its chemical composition. To do this, I went to WD40's Web site. While the marketing pitch lists the ingredients as "secret", the MSDS indicates the following: 60 to 70 percent petroleum distillates 15 to 25 percent base oil and 2 to 3 percent carbon dioxide So it would appear that WD40 is simply a combination of petroleum products, mixed with a propellant (CO2).

To understand the efficacy of WD40 as a lubricant for the application you stated, we need to compare how the formulation of WD40 differs from common lubricants designed for use with rolling element bearings. Because you don't mention the exact type of bearing or application, it's hard to be specific; however, a few general comments can be made which pertain to selecting lubricants for rolling elements bearings:

1) The lubricant must have good oxidation resistance to resist sludge and varnish buildup at operating temperatures. While most lubricants are formulated with antioxidant additives to provide this protection, in addition to any natural protection afforded by the use of synthetic base stocks, it appears from the MSDS sheet that WD40 does not contain such additives and would likely degrade and form sludge fairly rapidly if used at even moderate operating temperatures.

2) You will hear it said that "viscosity is the single most important property when selecting a lubricant". This is particularly true for rolling element bearing lubrication. Viscosity selection is based on a number of factors, including bearing type (ball, cylindrical roller, etc.), speed, bearing size, load and operating temperature. It is usually selected by calculating the bearing speed factor dN and the projected operating temperature. dN can be calculated as follows: dN = N(d+D)/2 where N = speed (in rpm) d = bore diameter (in mm) D = bearing OD (in mm). Standard charts are then available to select the viscosity given the dN factor and the temperature. While I do not know categorically what the viscosity of the petroleum distillates or base oil is in WD40, I know from experience (like everyone else, I've used WD40!) that it does not have a particularly high viscosity. So unless this application is particularly high-speed, operating at low to moderate temperatures, it is unlikely that WD40 contains an oil of sufficiently high viscosity to provide adequate lubrication for the rolling element/bearing raceway interface.

One other factor to consider: Depending on bearing design, the roll/cage interface will also likely operate under hydrodynamic conditions. Under these conditions, the typical rule of thumb is for a minimum viscosity of 4 cSt, at operating temperature, to support the load. Again, it is unlikely that WD40 would meet these requirements as a lubricant.

3) Depending on operating environment, the bearing will be prone to corrosion, particularly rusting. Nearly all lubricants contain specific additives, called rust inhibitors to counteract this. Again, the MSDS sheet offers no evidence of such additives in WD40.

4) Depending on bearing design and application, the use of anti-wear additives may be required, particularly where heavy or shock loads are present or where the application dictates possible thrust loading between the end of the rolling element and the raceway flanges. Based on the MSDS sheet, WD40 does not appear to contain such additives, which may result in fatigue and/or adhesive wear. Rereading this response, it is apparent that I'm not particularly enamored with WD40 as a lubricant. My intent was not to be completely negative. WD40 is manufactured and marketed as a household lubricant for those "small jobs" or as a rust remover - heck I have a can in the garage as we speak! For these applications, it does a fine job.

However, WD40 is not sold, nor should it be used as a replacement for the appropriately selected lubricant.
 
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The Engineer - good thing that you don't rely on servicing my clippers - they have not been serviced for the past 10 years or so.

Despite being a Diesel dunker (with engine oil added to the mix) my clippers continue to run fast and sharp and cool, they are currently on their fourth year on the same set of blades (not been re sharpened) despite being used by several different people and clipped around 20 or so horses.

I look at it that if the Household Cavelry use the mix then it must work. The tension screw is never changed and the blades have not been off the clippers in years.

How can it to be wrong when the clippers run so well, the blades stay sharp? They certainly didn't when I used the brand oil. To add to it too the horses are not particularly clean.
 
Evelyn said:
The Engineer - good thing that you don't rely on servicing my clippers - they have not been serviced for the past 10 years or so.

Despite being a Diesel dunker (with engine oil added to the mix) my clippers continue to run fast and sharp and cool, they are currently on their fourth year on the same set of blades (not been re sharpened) despite being used by several different people and clipped around 20 or so horses.

I look at it that if the Household Cavelry use the mix then it must work. The tension screw is never changed and the blades have not been off the clippers in years.

How can it to be wrong when the clippers run so well, the blades stay sharp? They certainly didn't when I used the brand oil. To add to it too the horses are not particularly clean.
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I wish I knew? Perhaps your addition of oil to your mix helps? What clipper do you have? I am interested to know. I also have dealings with the Household Cavalry, as they use our clippers....been up to their Xmas party several times and had the guided tour.
 
oil designed for clippers purely due to the fact that my horse has pink skin and white fur so i dont want her coat staining or an alergic reation although i read you could use sewing machine oil
 
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