| Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular global steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam. |
| gd9704 |
Green Velvet 4 way split-buy?Would anyone be interested in going in 4 ways on a quart each of Green Velvet's Sapon-a-Max Formula 3 Cylinder (Steam) Oil and the Pin, Bearing and Journal Oil Formula 2?I'd like to get some of this stuff, but I can't justify buying a quart of each. My idea is this: (If you see any math errors or poorly estimated shipping costs, please feel free to offer suggestions) I'm willing to buy a quart of each oil, split it up 4 ways into 8 oz. plastic bottles and ship a bottle of each oil to 3 other forum members. This offer is to buy 8 ozs of both oils, not just one or the other. My math works out like this: The Cylinder oil is $28.94 per quart shipped. Divided by 4 = $7.24 for 8 oz. cost of empty 8oz bottle = $ 1.47 Total for 8 ozs. cylinder oil would be $ 8.71 The PB&J oil is $ 29.39 per quart shipped. Divided by 4 = $7.35 cost of empty 8oz bottle = $ 1.47 Total for 8 ozs. PB&J oil would be $8.81 Both bottles of oil combined would be $17.62 I assume I could stuff 2 8oz bottles of oil in a priority shipping box for $4.95. So, total for both bottles of oil + shipping would be $22.57 (Obviously, if you live outside the US your shipping will higher.) DETAILS OF OFFER If you are interested in this offer, PM ME and I will take the first 3 PMs that commit to the offer. I would prefer that you pay with paypal. It's fast and easy, and I figure most of you Ebay junkies have an account. I'm new here, but I'm trying hard to make a good impression and make new friends. I figure there are other newbies or small time operators who would like to use the stuff that Gil, Rog and other "big guns" use, but just can't justify the quart purchase. My e-bay username is "funrldirectr" and I have 100% feedback, if that is of any comfort. Thanks, and I hope I can make this thing work! Greg |
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| tmuir |
Check with your post office as you may find you aren't allowed to post oil.
You are not meant to in Australia, don't know about the US though. |
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| gd9704 |
I've sent used motor oil through the USPS for lab analysis before. It's not considered a hazardous material, even though some clueless postal workers might believe it is. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/postal-requirements.php |
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| redryder |
Try this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Steam-Cylinde...uart-Bottle_W0QQitemZ270408522218 Much less money and you will never know the difference. Seller is a PM Research dealer and this is their steam oil. For bearings and the like, you will likely not do any better than Mobil One or other first rate full synthetic. Synthetic clock oil also works extremely well. Gil |
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| gd9704 |
Wow....why didn't this turn up when I searched "steam oil" on Ebay?? Perhaps my split offer wasn't the best idea..... 
I was looking for a better alternative than the 1oz bottles of mystery steam oil sold for $5 at most places. Hmmmmm...... |
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| redryder |
A search for steam cylinder oil will bring it up.
Ebay's search engine has gotten wierd ever since they "fixed" it. You might write the seller and ask about a discount on multiples of the 8 oz bottles which he has listed for $7. The quart at 12.00 is certainly very fair. Gil |
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| IndianaRog |
Greg, your offer is a very kind one and for those who love Green Velvet oil products, it's a way to try them reasonably. I myself have over time bought two quarts of GV steam oil and two quarts of their PB&J oil and I absolutely love the stuff...AND the mystique that comes at no extra charge!!
That said, I do keep a needle oiler filled with Mobil One synthetic as suggested by Gil. I use it in lieu of steam oil when running engines on air...it is VERY slippery!!! I once ran a Stuart beam over 30 hours on compressed air for breakin, lubed internally every few hours with only Mobil One...it runs silky smooth now. Even though I could use the Mobil one for non-steam contact lubrication, I just like the Green Velvet PB&J given it's green color...I can see where the stuff is! Unfortunately, I think GV no longer blends the green color in their non-steam PB&J oil, so that advantage may now be gone (not sure on this, but I heard it from someone). Sooooo, maybe a good compromise with available oils would be to buy a quart of GV steam oil and a quart of Mobil One for non-steam lubing. The stuff from the eBay auction is probably fine, I just have a warm spot for GV oils...I also like that the owner (Bill Pettijean) once sent me a quart of steam oil plus shipping at his expense because he was unhappy with settling that occured after a long period of time...stuff was perfectly good if given a shake occasionally, but he contacted me with the offer of a free qt. plus shipping. I took him up on it!! His primary market for oils is the larger, ride on locos etc. where he sells it by the 55 gallon drum...our toy/model steam mkt. is probably not a biggie for him, but he has his devoted fans and I'm one!!! Rog ps...here is the GV website: www.steamenginelube.com |
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| redryder |
Also, for those of you with a huge oil requirement
have a look and scroll down to cylinder oil on this page: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/...ZbkeZ1z133ji?Ns=Availability_Sort|0&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&op=search Gil |
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| IndianaRog |
I bet all the 2 oz., 4 oz., pint and quart bottles of steam oil folks sell on the net, begin life as a 5 gallon container like this! | ||||
| redryder |
I believe you are right. 5 gallons = 640 oz or 80 x 8 oz 160 x 4 oz 320 x 2 oz Lots of little bottles |
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| gd9704 |
Wow....if a 5 gallon pail of Mobil steam cylinder oil costs $102 plus shipping....... Rebottling it into the 1 oz. bottles you commonly see for sale that are sold for $5 each...... 640 1oz bottles x $5 each = $3,200!!!! I'm so in the wrong line of work!!! Anyway, I think Gil has the right idea about the steam oil. My PM mailbox isn't exactly bursting with takers on a split. If I don't get any interest by the end of today I'll just drop it...... |
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| IndianaRog |
Greg, you strike me as a guy who will be buying another engine (or 10) in the future...just go ahead and buy some Green Velvet steam oil in a quart size and you won't have to think about it again for 10 years!!! Then stop by the auto parts store and pick up a quart of Mobil One synthetic (if you don't already have some).
Lastly order a couple of needle oilers off eBay, and use one for steam oil other one for moving parts not exposed to steam. The needle oilers are well worth getting as they precisely control how much oil you put on the part without waste (and splatter). Mine have about 1.5 inch needles on them and can really reach in and apply precise amt. of oil as desired. Here is a guy I bought a couple from recently...get the smaller 1/2 oz size as they have nicer metal screw caps: http://cgi.ebay.com/3-pack-Precis...faultDomain_0?hash=item518cd73b96 cheers, oily Rog |
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| johnreid |
I might also suggest that instead of buying cheap platic oilers that last about 9 months each, one like this will last a lifetime and is far less messy in th long run
http://cgi.ebay.com/Refillable-Pr...pplications_W0QQitemZ270467476631 Metal. has orings that make it seal up both in the pocket and where you fill it. Well worth a few exrta dollars, I use one for Green Velvet and one for 3 in 1 which is useful for some applications. |
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| Nick |
I use this stuff on moving parts not in contact with steam:
http://www.zoomspoutoiler.com/ 
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| IndianaRog |
Good looking item John, I might just order a couple because as you note, the plastic ones last only just so long. Question...how fine is the needle??? Is it like that on the plastic types or somewhat fatter. I ask because that is one of the things I most like about needle oilers is the fineness of the applicator to get minimum size droplet in a tiny spot without it running all over. |
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| johnreid |
It takes some getting used to. there is a rod inside the tip that extends as one pushes the button on top to release the oil. I ordered one just to see how I liked it, did not like it the first day or so but then once I had used it for two days, I was hooked It releases a drop, thats it. I wish I could take a picture of the tip but it is too shiny for any detail to show/ The Green Velvet PB&J is thick enough that it took a while for the oiler to get "primed", but once it was working it worked great. If nothing else, order just one and try it for the 3 in 1 oil, but I bet you end up getting a second ne for the PB&J too. These oilers were designed for Fishing Reels originally. | ||||
| Bugsy |
It's a pity we don't live a little closer to each other.
On account of my dog Bugsy has diabetes we use two of these syringes daily, then they get thrown away. 
This particular one has been used to inject a very thin penetrating oil into hard to reach spots. Being of the old school I don't like throwing them away but what's the alternative? Phil |
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| johnreid |
I have syringes of that size because my Cats human has Diabetes, however the Green Velvet is just too thick to work with an Insulin syringe. I do remove the needle and use the syringe to fill the Oiler and the larger opening works great with the Steam Oil | ||||
| Mark-One |
I have a bottle with a luer blunt needle tip that I use. Bought it an electronics store where it was sold as a "flux bottle".
Anyway... This Mobile-1 stuff.... What weight is it? Can't get it here but we've got castrol and quaker state synthetic (run the 5w30 full synthetic in the truck for winter, since I cannot plug in at work). |
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| IndianaRog |
Mark, I bought a quart of Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30...it worked very well with my Stuart Beam for over 30 hours of breakin on air...just can't expect displacement lubricators to work on air so oil must be squirted into the cylinder and elsewhere. It is VERY oily, I found myself re-oiling every few hours of operation, but there was still a good film on the parts even then. I would expect other full synthetic brands would be fine...Mobil 1 was just the first major brand in the US to go synthetic many years ago and some high performance cars like Corvettes are labeled right on the filler cap "USE MOBIL 1 ONLY". It's good stuff and a quart will last you for years. Rog |
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| Kevin Klein |
So, can the steam oil be used for the other parts or should regular motor oil be used for that? | ||||
| johnreid |
Regular Steam Oil has tallow or some other such substance so it holds up with the Steam. I would prefer to use the Pin Bearing and Journal Oil, or 3 in 1 even for parts that do not come in contact with steam. | ||||
| IndianaRog |
I know when I got my first engine (a Fleishmann 122/3), it came with one bottle of oil...all purpose. My guess is it was steam oil which can also pitch hit for bearing oil.
47 years later I still have that Fleishmann and it still runs fine...though now I'm all grown up, I prefer purpose driven oils: - genuine steam oil for contact with steam - pin, bearing and journal oil/automotive oil/Mobil 1 synthetic for moving parts that don't contact steam At present I have a supply of Green Velvet brand steam oil and PB&J oil, so I will use them til either they or I am gone! However, when breaking in an engine using compressed air...I have had great success using Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30 alone...nothing else, a good tip from Gil. Frankly a lot steamer preference for oils seems to be what one gets comfortable with...nothing wrong with a reassuring constant in our lives!! Rog |