Anti-sieze

[bluedog225]

I want to put some anti-seize on the little steel bolts that hold my espresso machine brass boiler together.

Watching the folks rebuilding machines on the Internet they say they use food safe anti-sieze to thread locker. I’m not sure that’s necessary since the bolts are outsize the sealing gasket. But fine.

Any reason not to use something easy like Superlube? I’ve got some copper based anti-seize but it says it’s best for stainless.

 

[wssix99]

Super lube makes a food-save anti seize, but it's going to be a different physical product than the general grease you posted a picture of above: https://www.super-lube.com/food-grade-anti-seize-with-syncolon-ptfe

Anti seize usually has things like tiny glass beads that stay in the threads while the carrier material bakes off with heat. (A regular grease would just bake off or wash off and leave you with no anti galling protection.)

 

[Farmall450]

Super lube makes a food-save anti seize, but it's going to be a different physical product than the general grease you posted a picture of above: https://www.super-lube.com/food-grade-anti-seize-with-syncolon-ptfe

Anti seize usually has things like tiny glass beads that stay in the threads while the carrier material bakes off with heat. (A regular grease would just bake off or wash off and leave you with no anti galling protection.)

Quoted for accuracy. I wouldn't use normal grease, but their stuff is food grade.

Also, blue thread locker is almost as good as anti-seize in corrosive environments. Stops the threads from becoming one.

 

[Farmall450]

Tempted to try some of the Super Lube anti-seize...maybe being white it won't make a silver/gold disaster like the stuff I normally use

 

[wssix99]

There have to be compromises with the food safe anti seize. There are also marine-safe compounds out there. I imagine the coper and heavy metals are bad for the marine environment, also.

I would stick to the standard stuff when working on things like exhaust, vehicles, etc. ... I have seen people cook and eat off their exhaust manifolds, but I hope the world doesn't devolve to a point where we all need to be doing that.

 

[RoninB4]

-I've worked for companies that were under the FDA umbrella (Little Debbie, US Tobacco, etc,) and can tell you that there are food safe lubricants for almost every application.

As crazy as it sounds you can also use Milk Of Magnesia when there's nothing else available. It's food safe, somewhat heat resistant, cheap, and widely available. It leaves a film of magnesium that resists galling and corrosion, It was used on the flight line of the US Air Force back in the day, I've used it on barrel heaters in automotive hot-stamping applications.

 

[larry_g]

-I've worked for companies that were under the FDA umbrella (Little Debbie, US Tobacco, etc,) and can tell you that there are food safe lubricants for almost every application.

As crazy as it sounds you can also use Milk Of Magnesia when there's nothing else available. It's food safe, somewhat heat resistant, cheap, and widely available. It leaves a film of magnesium that resists galling and corrosion, It was used on the flight line of the US Air Force back in the day, I've used it on barrel heaters in automotive hot-stamping applications.

Agree on the MoM for lubing hot parts. We used to use a product called WatLube made for cartridge heaters. Found that it also worked well on the fasteners holding the heaters in and surrounding fasteners that were in the hot area.

4 OZ BOTTLE WATLUBE - Hi-Watt Inc.

An Electrically Non-Conductive Lubricant Acting as a Barrier Against High-Temperature Oxidation, Thus Making Heater Removal Easier.

www.hiwattinc.com

lg
no neat sig line

 

[cvairwerks]

MoM gets used on jet engines for certain things.........It's actually called out in the documentation.

 

[unslow1]

-I've worked for companies that were under the FDA umbrella (Little Debbie, US Tobacco, etc,) and can tell you that there are food safe lubricants for almost every application.

As crazy as it sounds you can also use Milk Of Magnesia when there's nothing else available. It's food safe, somewhat heat resistant, cheap, and widely available. It leaves a film of magnesium that resists galling and corrosion, It was used on the flight line of the US Air Force back in the day, I've used it on barrel heaters in automotive hot-stamping applications.

Mylanta works pretty well as an anti-seize so probably the same ingredients.

 

[RoninB4]

Agree on the MoM for lubing hot parts. We used to use a product called WatLube made for cartridge heaters. Found that it also worked well on the fasteners holding the heaters in and surrounding fasteners that were in the hot area.

lg
no neat sig line

-That's what I used it for too, the SHCS that held the barrel heaters in the manifold. A heater would go bad in one of several hot-stampers every couple of weeks so I'd have to swap them out for a new one. After many production runs the heat cycling would attract condensation and the resulting corrosion that would result in twisting off one or more of the 1/4-20 SHCS flush. The company would note my request for anti-seize but it would never arrive. I got fed up with a full night of waiting for the manifold to cool so I could disassemble it, mount in the mill, drill out approaching minor diameter, and then pick out the remaining threads locked in the manifold. I persuaded the night shift foreman to dig a couple of bucks out of petty cash and send someone to the convenience store near Wrigley Field for some MoM. He was sure I was pulling his leg but did it anyway. The result wasn't quite like using real anti-seize but the incidence of twist-offs was greatly reduced. Word and/or evidence got back to my "superiors" and I was grilled about the white residue on SHCS. A bottle of copper anti-seize showed up about a week later. It was probably from a suggestion by the MVP's on day shift.

 

[BillK]

Personally I would just put a drop of oil on it and call it a day. How often do you anticipate having to take it apart ?