Canola Oil As Bearing Lube?

[Trillby33]

So, the hookahs at work are pretty crappy (I know, I know, I'm working on it but the boss is not eager to shell out for better ones) and the bearings keep getting stuck. They can of course be unstuck, but one of my co-workers, who apparently is tired of fiddling with them, has gotten the bright idea to lubricate them with canola oil. This seems like a HORRIBLE idea to me as I am envisioning the same oily residue that builds up in kitchens that fry a lot of things building up all over the bearings and the inside of the hose connectors. Does anyone else have experience/thoughts with this?

[Floataround]

If it gets stuck, just take off the purge cap, blow through your hose, and the ball should come right out.

[â€On]

Plastic airsoft pellet instead of metal ball bearing. Fixed.

Alternately, use some high grit sandpaper to polish the ball bearing and remove crud.

Also, you could try making trumpet noises as you purge. This probably wont help, but it will make you enjoy purging a lot more.

[Trillby33]

Haha! I'm totally using the trumpet noises suggestion next time I have to fiddle with them.
They've been cleaned, and replaced, and otherwise improved upon - nothing has worked, largely because we have at least one person working here who doesn't set-up and clean it right. The airsoft idea might work, I'd meant to try that and then forgotten about it. My main issue at the moment is trying to decide how much of a hissy fit I want to throw over the idea of putting canola oil into "my" hookahs....currently, I'm thinking a pretty big one.

[Epoch]

[quote name='aeon' timestamp='1323110488' post='531749']
[u][b]Plastic airsoft pellet instead of metal ball bearing. Fixed.[/b][/u]

Alternately, use some high grit sandpaper to polish the ball bearing and remove crud.

Also, you could try making trumpet noises as you purge. This probably wont help, but it will make you enjoy purging a lot more.
[/quote]

I second this recommendation.

[Kathrynx]

I've done the canola oil thing with previous hookahs of mine where it would get stuck with that crud.

Get the airsoft pellets, cheap and effective, and you'll have plenty of left overs in case they get lost.

[Skoozle]

Are these bearings in purge valves only or on auto-seal hose ports also?

If this is just for purge valves, I wouldnt worry about getting oil in the hose. in auto seal, it could have an effect.

I use air soft pellets in all my purge valves and auto seals. Never had one stick, but I clean and dry my pipes properly.

I have heard it mentioned some where before to put two bearings in the purge valve. the top one might get stuck, but the bottom wont stick to the bottom of the top one.

[Trillby33]

They're on both, though honestly most people here would be satisfied if just the auto-seals worked. Like I said, [i]I [/i]can make them work, it's just a matter of circumventing the [s]idiots[/s] less educated. I think I'm going to acquire some of the air soft pellets and try that. The little bottle of Canola oil that's sitting here shall just conveniently disappear.

[Skoozle]

Heres one thing to keep in mind about the airsoft pellets; they some in various weights.

I got the lightest ones I could find it think .12g. I have seen them in the store up to .25g (twice as heavy) and online up to .90g.

The light ones seem to improve the draw in auto seals because it offers less resistance when opening. Some people have said they dont like them in purge valves because they don't offer enough resistance to opening up.

Being that you will be using them for both, I would suggest getting light ones because I think the benefits in the auto seals would out weigh the possible cons in the purges.