Silky smooth taps

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

Not of the thread cutting variety, hence Tea Room. I've finally got round to installing a salvage yard sink in our bathroom. The taps which came with it were a bit croaky so I stripped them down, cleared the crud, and greased up the moving bits with Molyslip HSB, because thats what I have.When I reassembled them they were silky smooth, but then I thought – Duh – Molyslip for potentially potable water? What should I have used?

Rob.

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Silicone grease. Or plumber's grease from the hardware store, which is usually either silicone grease or a vegetable base, such as castor etc.

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Plain Simple Vaseline – non perfumed variety..

[MichaelRParticipant @michaelr]

You can get Food Grade lubricants which will do the job, a search on the internet brings up suitable lubricants.

Mike.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

This product could be of use (if you can obtain it locally). **LINK**

It's Australian of course.

* Danny M *

Edited By Danny M2Z on 15/07/2017 09:28:20

[larry PhelanParticipant @larryphelan54019]

As the man said " VASELINE", the stuff our mothers used to use for everything,from stuffed noses to cut knees and everything in between. Forget about silicone or molyslip and all the rest of it. Stick to good old Vaseline,great for putting on screws as well,they drive in a treat !

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Before I went upmarket with molislip, I used Vaseline as it was readily available, same tub still in the workshop, and like the guys say, it does the job, it probably would dry out before something like molislip would for long-term lubrication. Obviously I'd stay clear of molislip if it's going to come into contact with potable water. 

I believe the old timers favourite was tallow, but where you'd get  that these days?

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 15/07/2017 13:39:13

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Tallow is easy enough to buy, still often used for threading large steel pipes, most decent plumbers merchants will have it, Monument do it and probably other makes too

Edited By JasonB on 15/07/2017 13:42:26

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

As Hopper said the little tin of Silicon grease from the plumbers store is stated to be for potable water.

I would not use vaseline on anything that can rust, it absorbs water, I used to test the stuff which came in 36 gallon drums!

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

Thanks for replies. Not sure why I used molyslip in the first place – stupidity I suppose. But it does work! Further investigation reveals that MoS2 is actually pretty innocuous – rodents feel poorly when fed 500mg/kg body weight daily, so that would be a couple of tablespoons of molyslip or more a day for me, so perhaps not really a problem. It seems excess Mo in the body results in copper deficiency, so maybe a Molyslip/Copaslip blend would be better .

Best to get it right though! Vaseline it'll be – though even that is not without hazard it seems. Intrigued to know what it actually is, I searched and came across a site with a homebrew recipe developed because Vaseline is – shock horror – a petroleum product. Smearing it on chapped lips is like drinking gasoline apparently. Good God! Nowt rummer than folk I suppose, think I'll risk it.

Thanks again for replies, Rob

 

 

Edited By Robin Graham on 15/07/2017 22:59:21

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Our water is very acidic, taps don't last very long. I regularly have to dismantle and clean and polish them. I used copper grease (because I had some ) works very well and no ill effects after 25 yrs. the grease does not come into contact with the water.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Strange; I use Vaseline as an alternative to mineral grease, in many cases. Including water taps (faucets as our North American friends call them), and have yet to feel even slightly poisoned.

For a lot of the time, I use Bacon fat on the other sort of Taps, can't be too far removed from tallow?

Howard

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Have you noticed your knees don't creak and your hip pain has gone and as for the constipation . . . .?

If so stick with the molyslip.

;0)

Martin

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

I was told that Vaseline was first discovered by the old oil drillers in USA. The drill rods sometimes came up covered in a white grease and they used it on burns etc. So assume it is mineral based. Maybe one of our US readers know ?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Beware the warning above – Vaseline will make your taps rust

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Gordon W on 18/07/2017 16:35:55:

I was told that Vaseline was first discovered by the old oil drillers in USA. The drill rods sometimes came up covered in a white grease and they used it on burns etc. So assume it is mineral based. Maybe one of our US readers know ?

It's just one of the heaviest of the petroleum fractions with LPG at the lightest end, than petrol, paraffin, petroleum jelly, than paraffin wax and ultimately ashphalt/tar.

Neil

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

I used to use white petroleum jelly to lubricate the contacts of the drum controllers on travelling cranes, also useful for training people on laying adhesive on body panels by robot application. Just scrape it of the panel and recycle it on the next run, it behaves much like the adhesive or gap filler.

Mike

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