high temp thread lubrication?

I have recently acquired a large ceramic outdoor cooker. The top damper threads up and down to open/close. Temps inside can reach 800F, so the thread (3/4-10) needs some unusual lubrication. At the same time, you don't want anything that will drip onto the food, or dry up and flake toxic stuff onto the food.

These cookers have a recurrent problem with stuck top dampers. I am sure that some kind of anti-sieze or hi-temp grease must exist that will work.

Ideas?

GWE

Reply to
Grant
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Graphite.

Reply to
David Billington

Redesign so the damper actuating thread is exterior and does not get so hot. ie, thread - lever - pivot - damper

Graphite. Not toxic, stays put pretty well after initial application and running it up and down a few times.

You might also put some sort of lapping or grinding compound on it and run it up and down a few dozen times, then clean that off, to decrease the fit class of the thread, which should really be quite loose in this application, where there will be scaling and expansion issues.

Reply to
Ecnerwal

Silicone grease. They sell food-grade stuff for meat grinders at restaurant supply places. The steam table pans work great for parkerizing, too,should you get into one.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Phillips Milk of Magnesia, you can buy it at most grocery or drug stores.

We have used it with great results for assembly/disassemble of heat treating fixtures.

Reply to
Tim

You're kidding! Just goop it on there? Isn't that stuff runny?

Grant

Reply to
Grant

No, really. We just dipped the end of the bold, and spun it down. It dries to a chalky powder and provides an excellent dry film lubricant like graphite, but is not only edible, but a lot less mess.

Reply to
Tim

It dries after a bit.

Reply to
John R. Carroll

"Grant" wrote: You're kidding! Just goop it on there? Isn't that stuff runny? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ And what you have left over can be mixed with vodka to make Phillips screwdrivers.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

"Edith! This is the milk of magnesia! I told you to bring me the Kaopectate!"

;-)

Reply to
Rich Grise

GROAN!

Reply to
Steve Ackman

800F? Are you sure?

I use AMSOIL X-Treme Synthetic Food Grade Grease in the coffee roaster, but it's not rated for any 800F.

Reply to
Steve Ackman

Vodka and orange juice is called a Screwdriver.

So, vodka and prune juice must be a Piledriver.

Joe Gwinn

Reply to
Joseph Gwinn

Would talcum power (soap stone) work?

Reply to
Xmilker

I think talc would work. As I remember it takes a higher temperature than 800 degrees F to change talc to steatite.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

wrote( I think talc would work. As I remember it takes a higher temperature than 800 degrees F to change talc to steatite. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If that's the case, then just rub the threads with one of your soapstone markers. (I assume that Xmilker is right that talc is soapstone) )And if it's not, maybe it would still work--it has a slippery feel.)

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Graphite melts at 3675 C according to:

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Wonder if drawing on the threads with a carpenter's pencil would work?

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

Try wrapping them with plumbers teflon tape. I have used it to prevent seizing of stailess steel nuts on stainless steel bolts.

The temperatures weren that high though, but it was in live steem heat exchangers.

Reply to
Grumpy

Not likely. For one, a pencil "lead" isn't pure graphite, for another, graphite oxidizes at much lower temperatures, especially finely pulverized graphite. I used it in a glass kiln, mixed with other stuff to keep glass from sticking to the mold. The graphite portion would be gone after a single use to say, 1200F or so.

Reply to
Steve Ackman

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