Lubricating Thru Hull Valves

[sailing now]

The boat is on the hard and I'd like to lube the thru hull valves. None have any removable plugs through which to apply grease. Is there a way to do this without having to remove the hoses (which is a major bitch)?

[aboutgone]

ball seacocks no.........conical seacocks.......yes

[gonesail]

you can at least lube half the ball by greasing thru the hole from the outside which should help.

[sailing now]

I've thought about doing that too. Also thinking about trying to try adding oil to the various hoses and draining/pumping to the thru hull and then opening and closing the valve. A bucket on the ground below the various valves would catch the excess oil. Thoughts?

[aboutgone]

that should help too........

[s/v Jedi]

You should remove the hoses. That way you can do it properly, plus you can inspect the hose. I never had trouble with this, but I don't have those nasty sanitation hoses (we use standpipes for those, no valves required).

cheers,
Nick.

[sailorboy1]

If you have ball valves, on a lot of designs you can take the handle off and the valve will turn either way or a full 360. So could lube both sides from the outside. But there this isn't any less trouble than taking he hose off.

[mesquaukee]

Use waterproof grease, it is the green coloured stuff used in trailer wheel bearings and laundry machines. Lasts a lot longer than regular oil (a few weeks) or grease.
The best seacocks to have are the type that have a tapered rotating plug which is easily removed, cleaned and regreased even while the boat is in the water.

[David M]

Tef-Gel for lubing the ball. Pull the hoses and the valves to do this correctly so they too can be inspected.

[s/v Jedi]

I think the price goes to Don Lucas! That is indeed the easiest way to do it. The handle should come off easily, sometimes by it's own ;-)

And I think I agree with David about TefGel although I never used it for that before... but there's no solvents in it so shouldn't hurt the seals. We normally use SuperLube, a synthetic teflon grease, but TefGel should last much longer. I don't like the wheel bearing grease (or any other non-synthetic grease) because it hardens.

cheers,
Nick.

[davidschiff]

i buy usp grade lanolin[ no contaminants] from a beauty supply store that sells materials for cosmetic manufacturing.
Lanolin is truly amazing, a dielectric, water insoluble lubricant, great for use with drilling thru metal, and anything that slides or galls. use between disimilar metals ie ss screws in AL masts. etc.
1lb was about $7.
it does attract grit/ and dirt like any "grease" but its one hell of a friend on a boat.
ds

[windsaloft]

THAT's where I can get lanolin. I agree - the grease in the tub is a wonder. As an experiment, coated the prop and shaft with it at last haulout to see how long it would keep growth down. Lasted much longer than I thought. I also put it on the tips of the thru hull bungs, and the threads, to prohibit growth on nonpainted bottom surfaces, and stop threads from binding. I now use a little lanicote grease on all fittings that I want to be able to take on and off easily --- the cover to the raw water strainer, the top to the big Groco antisiphong on the head that i have to keep clean, etc.

After 5 months, the diver asked what that white goo on my prop was......and no growth.

[Cheechako]

I'm a lanolin fan also, but not sure about for Ball valves. I would not remove the hoses unless you know they come off easy... often they are very hard to get off and you might damage them. I like the "remove the handle" idea, use a little acid brush and brush both sides of the ball..

[Weyalan]

My personal rant:

Stainless steel ball valves - 316 grade. Mild steel handles! gah!

[thinwater]

and reaching through a 1/2 closed valve. Just scrape it off on the edge and cycle the valve a few times. Works when getting to the hose is a bear. Can be done while in the water. Also common practice on reactor dump valves in the chemical industry (inside not accessible).