Which grease?

Apr 22, 2014 2 Replies

Somehow I posted this message with the wrong subject. So here it is again with the proper subject line.



I have an 1936 vintage Kitchenaid stand mixer. This mixer is a real
> workhorse and gets lots of use. Back in 2000 the grease needed to be
> replaced. Upon opening the gearbox I could see that the old white
> grease had dried out quite a bit. Anyway, I replaced the grease with
> more white grease. Now, 14 years later the white grease I put in has
> lost a lot of the oil and has turned into glue. The stuff won't even
> wash out with solvents that usually work on grease. Anyway, I want to
> grease this mixer just one more time and have it last at least twice
> as long as the last greasing. If it does I'll be so old I won't care
> if the grease dries up because I probably won't be grinding meat and
> making bread. So, which grease is best for this application?
> Eric

It could be that the grease has taken on moisture, rather than dried up; try waterless hand cleaner (non-pumice type) to loosen it. Consider water-pump grease (for moisture tolerance) or maybe silicone grease (plumbers use it for water faucets). Or, just more white grease: fourteen years isn't bad.

Petrolum jelly is food-safe, as are various (commercially available by the barrel) products. It might be useful to consult your local appliance-parts purveyors for a recommendation, too.

The grease has "saponified" - or turned to soap. Grease is an oil/soap mixture. All kinds of different "soaps"

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