Lubricating the slide rail?

Greypuller · Post by **Greypuller** » February 27th, 2010, 7:08 pm

I know the rail needs to be kept clean of any debris but was wondering if there's any benefit or harm to be experienced by lubing the rail with the type of silicone gel used on the treads of treadmills or using the spray can silicone for cleaning?

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » February 27th, 2010, 7:16 pm

Greypuller wrote:I know the rail needs to be kept clean of any debris but was wondering if there's any benefit or harm to be experienced by lubing the rail with the type of silicone gel used on the treads of treadmills or using the spray can silicone for cleaning?

I always used a couple of drops of pure mineral oil on the railing.

It is available at most groceries.

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » February 27th, 2010, 7:34 pm

Greypuller wrote:I know the rail needs to be kept clean of any debris but was wondering if there's any benefit or harm to be experienced by lubing the rail with the type of silicone gel used on the treads of treadmills or using the spray can silicone for cleaning?

Shouldn't need that. Just clean it with windex.

Bob S. · Post by **Bob S.** » February 27th, 2010, 7:58 pm

Citroen wrote:
Greypuller wrote:I know the rail needs to be kept clean of any debris but was wondering if there's any benefit or harm to be experienced by lubing the rail with the type of silicone gel used on the treads of treadmills or using the spray can silicone for cleaning?
Shouldn't need that. Just clean it with windex.

I find that lubing the rail with oil eliminates a squeak that develops after a while. I believe that the squeak is a result of the rims of the wheels rubbing on the sides of the rail. I am probably twisting the seat a bit to cause this. Whenever I oil the chain, I use a paper towel to remove the excess oil (the kind supplied by C2) and then wipe the rail surface and sides with the oily towel. This treatment has always effectively eliminated the squeak for quite a while. If I lubricate the chain as often as I should (once a month?), there is no squeak problem, but I am a very lazy fellow and keep procrastinating on my erg maintenance.

Note: Windex has also worked to eliminate the squeak, but the effect doesn't last as long as using the oil.

Bob S.

slwiser · Post by **slwiser** » February 27th, 2010, 8:17 pm

Citroen wrote:
Greypuller wrote:I know the rail needs to be kept clean of any debris but was wondering if there's any benefit or harm to be experienced by lubing the rail with the type of silicone gel used on the treads of treadmills or using the spray can silicone for cleaning?
Shouldn't need that. Just clean it with windex.

I would not want anything with Chlorine or Ammonia on my stainless steel rails. Both of these cause fatigue cracking in that metal.

Carl Watts · Post by **Carl Watts** » February 27th, 2010, 8:27 pm

I just use an old dish cloth with a bit of water on it. Clean the slide and with the cloth over your finger put it on the rollers and go back and fourth until the black stuff stops coming off. Dry with an old towel.

I run the slide dry and have no problems. If your having alot of noise I would suspect the 4 bearings in the rollers. A month ago I removed the 4 bearings and pulled the sheild off of only one side of them, cleaned them out and regreased them. Reassemble with the remaining sheild on the outside.

Oil on the slide may be just masking a problem with the bearings, causing the rollers to "Skid" on the oil instead of rotate as they are supposed to do. The bearings in the seat rollers are not the greatest quality and I will eventually replace them with some Japanese rubber sealed bearings and never have to look at them again.

jamesg · Post by **jamesg** » February 28th, 2010, 1:13 am

If the rail is stainless steel, it needs to be kept clean to stay stainless. Oiling it will cause rust by forming a barrier to oxygen, impeding the formation of the protective layer of CrO2.

slwiser · Post by **slwiser** » February 28th, 2010, 10:37 am

jamesg wrote:If the rail is stainless steel, it needs to be kept clean to stay stainless. Oiling it will cause rust by forming a barrier to oxygen, impeding the formation of the protective layer of CrO2.

Description on the Model E page: "Aluminum rail capped with a stainless-steel track for smooth movement of the seat."

http://www.concept2.com/us/indoorrowers/e_home.asp

It says the same thing on the Model D page.

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » February 28th, 2010, 2:07 pm

jamesg wrote:If the rail is stainless steel, it needs to be kept clean to stay stainless. Oiling it will cause rust by forming a barrier to oxygen, impeding the formation of the protective layer of CrO2.

Stainless steel does not rust.

I always used a couple of drops of mineral oil on the railing and rowed more than 40 million meters.

The railings on the 3 machines that I owned were always spotless, clean and in top condition.

jliddil · Post by **jliddil** » February 28th, 2010, 2:44 pm

John Rupp wrote:
jamesg wrote:If the rail is stainless steel, it needs to be kept clean to stay stainless. Oiling it will cause rust by forming a barrier to oxygen, impeding the formation of the protective layer of CrO2.
Stainless steel does not rust.

Oh but it does. It develops pit corrosion particularly when exposed to chlorine

http://www.mcnallyinstitute.com/04-html/4-1.html

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » February 28th, 2010, 3:34 pm

Rust = oxidation of iron
Stainless steel = nickel & chromium

Do all of your stainless steel saucepans rust?

I believe that mineral oil does not contain chlorine.

Bob S. · Post by **Bob S.** » February 28th, 2010, 4:02 pm

John Rupp wrote:Rust = oxidation of iron
Stainless steel = nickel & chromium

A little trolling here, John? Tsk, tsk.

Bob S.

peterhowd · Post by **peterhowd** » February 28th, 2010, 4:18 pm

John,

Did you have the same teacher for both physics and chemistry?

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/metalsand ... 71201a.htm

I hope the link above helps you learn and understand. Just one of many, I suspect, that covers this subject.

Peter

Bob S. · Post by **Bob S.** » February 28th, 2010, 4:58 pm

peterhowd wrote:
I hope the link above helps you learn and understand. Just one of many, I suspect, that covers this subject.

Peter

Peter,

I might be wrong, but I strongly suspect a little leg-pulling here on John's part.

Bob S.

peterhowd · Post by **peterhowd** » February 28th, 2010, 5:13 pm

If so, John, accept my apology. The price of my moving to this thread straight from "two types of training." Should have been snarky there instead since it established the mood.

Anyway, stainless steel likes to be in contact with the air. A thin coat of mineral oil may help with squeaky rollers, but it isn't going to contribute to keeping the rail nice and shiny, at least at the metallurgical level. C2 suggests "Wipe monorail with a cloth or non-abrasive scouring pad after use. You can use soap and water or any glass cleaner. Do not use mineral acids, bleach or coarse abrasives" for those out there who've lost the manual.

Peter

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Lubricating the slide rail?

Lubricating the slide rail?

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