Impeller + patroleum jelly = ??

[Jeffe]

Ohhh...I didn't know we were talking about impellers. I don't even know what one of those is.

[Fiveflat]

There's got to be a rubber-safe persistent lubricant in the automotive business for this sort of thing.

Did your impeller not come with some lube? Mine came with glycerin, impeller lubricant.

I'd say it's that simple...

[Tanner]

Dude your fine....

While true it CAN break down the rubber... you'd need alot of it and for a longgggg time to do it. Remember your impeller is essentially a washing machine, and so the vaseline thats on it will eventually wear away.

[urbanstd]

When I was in the Coast Guard we used hand cleaner to lube the impellers. Just the cheap white hand cleaner not the good stuff with pumice in it. The hand cleaner is water soluble and never caused any problems with heat exchangers.

[IDBoating]

When I was in the Coast Guard we used hand cleaner to lube the impellers. Just the cheap white hand cleaner not the good stuff with pumice in it.

Yeah, I don't think you'd want pumice or any other abrasive in there! {grin}

Given your example, perhaps liquid dish soap would work too. Basically anything to lube it up temporarily. And lots of us have dish soap onboard already - to help with board and ski bindings!

[chpthril]

There's got to be a rubber-safe persistent lubricant in the automotive business for this sort of thing.

Silicon grease, sometimes called Dielectric grease. Its used for spark plug boots as well as lubing brake caliper slide pins.

[chpthril]

I would advise against using a petroleum based lube on anything rubber as the negative results will be showing in a few months Seriously, using vaseline for an impeller change is no big deal is the boat is going right back into service. Run is a little and its all washed off, just dont do it when if you install a new one int he fall and let it sit all winter

Dish soap is fine also, just run it after as well. Dish soap is a degreaser and can dry the rubber out of it natural lubricants if it was left.