Noisy bearing questions?

I’m curious what bearings you’re running and what climate you’re in where they require lube to be quite.

I’ll put my dry DS Platinum bearings against anything else… They are not silent, but they are in no way noisy. Just a nice soft tsssssss… The amount of lube it sounds to me you’re using would just annihilate spin time. But I could be imagining a lot more than what you’re using in reality.

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Thank you so much! I had no idea that could be done! Makes complete sense though!! Now I’m nervous thinking I may have messed up a few of my bearings by putting the thin lube on, event tho it’s only a drop on either side, from what you are saying I may have made the bearing worse. So are you saying it’s better to take the shield off? Or on? Or it doesn’t matter? Thanks again for your response! Very helpful, I appreciate it

Well, actually the bearing varies so much from bearing to bearing even with the same type of bearing, the climate is actually not that humid where I am.
I’ve got a CT bearing stock from purchase that is crazily quiet and another CT bearing from a BST that was screeching.
I’m only putting in a needle drop of lube for shieldless bearings and a bit more if directly onto a shielded one, definitely not overlubing(I think :rofl:). I might killed a bit of spin time unknowingly but definitely not noticeable though.

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What he’s doing is called cleaning the bearing and yes you need to remove the shield to clean it. The part that doesn’t matter is whether you decide to leave it off or put it back on after cleaning, or whether to remove it only for lubing purposes.

You’re very welcome! And you didn’t ruin them… Just made them more difficult to use. A bath in mineral spirits will remove the lube from the bearing.

I remove the shields the first time I clean the bearing, if it even has them to begin with. A lot of bearings are now being sold di-shielded.

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What do you mean by killing the spin time? So even though its thin lube and you use a tiny drop it’ll slow down the spin of the bearing? Like for good? Or temporary until the lube evaporates

I understand that I’m just trying to understand the proper way to take care of the bearings that’s all

I would have never thought to use mineral spirits, I feel like an idiot! Lol that stuff is great!

I have no idea that climate change could have effect on the spin time, this is good stuff!!

I have noticed that, I can see the benefits of shielded bearings, it helps keep dirt and debree out of them, but on the other hand it seems it makes it more difficult to keep them clean because of the shield… Idk maybe I am over thinking all of this haha

You are awesome!!

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Nah, everything achieved with lubing is temporary, you can always redo everything by cleaning the bearing as mentioned above.
Lubing will kill a tiny bit of spintime.
But if you only put in a little, LITTLE bit of lube, the loss in spintime is hardly noticeable, at least for me. The spintime loss is very obvious though if you put in too much lube.

The purpose of lubes to decrease noise and increase longevity, (mostly the previous reason). So for some people, they don’t mind a bit of noise and changing the bearing a bit more frequently and never lube their bearings.
I’m not someone too picky on the noise of bearings but since they vary so much even with the same bearing type some just screech as I receive them and I just had to lube them in that case, I heard the DS bearing (mentioned abouve )is consistently quieter, although I only have one myself.

Last but not least the climate. humid climates make rusting more prone and lubing prevent rusting and helps with longevity of the bearing a lot in those conditions. It still helps with longevity in drier climates too but that’s more of a reducing abrasion issue.

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You guys are awesome!! Thanks for the feedback, this may have been a dumb question but I spend a decent amount of money on my yo-yos and just like anything else you buy or care about, you know you want to take care of them and prolong the life of them

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Good thorough reply, sir.

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See this topic, it really depends if you like a quiet or noisy bearing.

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Does 70% count?

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Ever try the graphite dust?

I’d assume so… I’ve never been in humidity that high consistently (that I know of).

Come to Hong Kong

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Yes, very messy. Turned the string and the inside of the yoyo black as well as my hand. :hushed:

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Ive noticed that some bearings will just remain noisy no matter what you do, and if it bothers you replace it with a new one. Like was already said above, clean and lube them. I myself use 91% isopropyl alcohol, spin it on the end of a pen, and blow out the remaining fluid with canned air. I then get a pin, get my bottle of thin lube and let a drop form at the end of it. I then take my pin and attach a small amount of that drop to the tip (whatever sticks, like 1/4 of a full drop, maybe less), and then apply it directly to the ball bearings. If I have to de-shield, I always let them remain de-shielded (the bearing isnt exposed to the wild like it is with a skate bearing, so it doesnt matter imo).

You can decide to use your bearing without any lube. Bearings spin longer with less resistance, and without lube a fully functioning bearing will spin longer. The oxidation of the metal ball bearings may ruin your bearings over time with this method though, so beware.

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Got some mineral spirits, cleaned a few, put some thin lube on, I can definitely see, feel and hear a difference, it’s not night and day, but much much better! Could also be that there cheap bearing, most of mine are the ones that can with a few of my responsive yo-yos.the ones that allow you to upgrade to a bigger bearing and play unresponsive. Anyway thanks everyone!! I appreciate the feedback! You guys are great!!

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Probably you used too much graphite!
After you put some graphite inside, you have to blow out the extra graphite inside.
What you need is a thin patina inside. Just a patina

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