Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

While being less tensacious than a wet grease, I'm planning to try using Dry grease on the following

Chute Collar/Base
Chute Deflector

It's not the salt that I'm concerned about...just the sand...and bearing this area is more exposed
than sealed, I'm thinking Dry is the way to go. I've used Dry Lubes on Chains for years and in the bike world, Dry lube is the leader of where these lubes are at.....

U make a point....the waxlike state might just flake off too much due to ambient temps. I've never ridden when it's cold so I never took account the temps and how the dry properties were until this thread.

I do think maybe silicone spray is a better choice than grease.
Thick or thin coats, it's just the very nature of a wet grease that it's tacky that makes it great, but also attracts grit/grime/dust...

I've never had a need to put ~thought~ onto proper maint. for out outdoor grade applications, but IMO, less tacky lubricants is what I would want for anything that is exposed to the elements.
The more tackier the more tenacious, BUT the drawback is that dust.

Let me swing by Fastenal and a couple of industrial supply houses and see what ~non retailer consumer~ stuff they carry.


If I were to have a HS970 variant, I think I would just prefer the electric bucket BUT a manual chute control....

The chute on my Simplicity does not rest or make contact with a base at the bottom.  It just fits like a collar and drops down over an extension of the ejector tube.  It's held in place by suspension from the directional control mechanism at the top.  Simple, effective and never freezes.     

chefwong wrote:

Unless it's shielded, it will find it's way there.  I find it is more effective to do dilligent PM rather than spend money on expensive or exotic lubricant.  I just apply a light coat of grease and wipe it down as necessary.  I'm sure you do same with your bicycle chain.  Same thing with the augers, take out the shear bolts, spin it and make sure it doesn't bind.  After snowblowing, don't let the bucket sit on the garage floor without proper drainage.  If this snowblower could fly, it would have preflight check list.

pffft......so do I dare put the exotic Honda Moly 60 paste I have on the splines of the Auger I am waiting to be delivered ;-)

btw, I know you mentioned you may replace the auger at some point on yours. Moly Paste is my preferred paste for splines.
Guard Dog also makes good spline paste..

Since the spline will be mated to a pulley, any grease will suffice because the two interface are non-moving.  No shear forces or generated heat to worry about.  The grease serve only as a antiseize, anti corrosion, so any grease will work fine for me since I will do a tear down of the drivetrain every 2 years.  I would have to dig real hard to see why an expensive grease would be beneficial.  I am only mildly OCD.    I would dare you to try conventional grease as an exercise of cost/benefit.

I think I would keep this auger unless it gets a hard hit that would create an unbalanced auger.

No worries. I am slowly learning to be judicial when it comes to lubricants.
Well, not really....

I am sensative enough to feel the different viscosity of ATF fluid and the effect it has on the steering rack.......
I have gone through 5 different Dex 3 forumulations till I found the ~right one~...

But I have stopped doing oil analysis for the last 2 years as I was just throwing money into the wind on that.
While it was great to have metrics, I'm not a tribologist at heart.

My understanding is a dry grease is that it is more liable to wear off from all the water.  Personally I prefer the Synthetic Grease Amsoil makes, they even make a Water Resistive Grease for things like the hubs on boat trailers, but I just go with their all purpose grease.  I have an M-14 rifle that requires mil spec grease, and the amsoil grease worked great.  I managed to download the military specification for the grease they say to use, and sent a copy to Amsoil for evaluation.  They said the mil-spec had a slightly higher water resistance specified, but otherwise the synthetic exceeded all the other requirements.  If I was in a rice paddy trying to keep it ready to fire, that might make a difference but for me, it didn't matter.  I figgure a snow blower's gotta be a slam dunk for that grease. 

One of my standing instructions to all car dealers and shops who work on my vehicles is Never, ever Spray Lithium Gease on anything.  Two weeks later it's a cracked hard substance useless to whatever they aimed at, only it's now got grit, sand, dirt and bugs embedded in it.  Car door Jambs are a real pain to clean of this useless material.  I spray penetrating oil on the door hinges once a month, so it actually gets into the hinge mating surfaces and does some lubricating.  On Hood hinges and trunk hinges I use Synthetic Spray grease that doesn't harden.  I also do something else no repair shop ever does, I wipe off all the overspray with a paper towel immediately so it doesn't attract grit, dirt, and bugs.  With the many excellent products available rto us why do they always manage to choose to use only the cheapest and worst stuff like the lithium spray dirt attractant ?  Want to see if that used car was owned by someone who cared about it, look at the door jambs,  if they're all full of dirt and crud around the hinges, move on.

NewYork -

Seems like we share similar thoughts on lubes.
FWIW, I love the Heavy Duty Amsoil Differential Gear Oils...and ATF.
I've yet to use SSO, etc....I've got other oils I like already.....


Wurth HHS oil is great. It sprays and creeps in like a oil, but when it drys, it drys to a light grease.
I use this along on the door hinges, trunk stops, etc...

I like Superlube as a general purpose grease. Marine/weather resistent and for exposed applications, IME, it doesn't attract much dirt, dust, grime.
My go-to grease gun Grease is generally Redline CV2.
Once I settle in on a product I like, it's pretty easy choosing what I have on the shelf....

Never been a fan of lithium. Tons of better stuff out there.
Can't fault those who use them though. Some just don't know any better or are aware of the different lubes out there.

I'm currently in the midst of 2 R&R older snowblowers and the 1st thing I did was citrius wash, with a commercial grade steam cleaner.
I still needed to use the pick to get out the white lithium on certain other areas....I just hate that white stuff...