Liquid Vaseline 5 L

01 · WHAT IT IS FOR

Threads, shafts and catches

It goes on with a brush, a syringe or a sprayer, and being liquid it reaches where grease will not: threads, shafts, O-rings and catches on extractors, settling tanks, pumps, creamers and stands. It cuts wear, stops squeaks and means a part comes apart for cleaning instead of putting up a fight in mid-flow.

Unlike a vegetable oil, it does not go rancid or pick up smells over time — which matters in a workshop where everything ends up smelling of whatever is stored next to it.

Away from machinery it has one classic use: a film on the legs of hive stands leaves the surface slippery and makes life hard for ants.

02 · WHERE NOT TO PUT IT

The rule that protects the honey

It is a mineral oil, and that is where the limit lies: it goes on the mechanical part, not on surfaces the product runs over. Lubricating the thread of a tap, yes; smearing the inside of a tub or a comb, no.

The reason is food safety: mineral oil hydrocarbons are monitored contaminants in food, and honey is a product that gets analysed. Keeping to mechanical part yes, contact surface no settles the question in any particular case.

03 · IT IS NOT FOR COUNTING VARROA

Worth knowing beforehand

For the trays of screened floors the liquid grade is not the right one: it shifts with any tilt of the hive, the mites travel with it and you lose the information about where each one fell. For counts by zone you want petroleum jelly, which stays where you put it.

It also copes better with the swing in temperature: it does not turn into a puddle in August or craze in January.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A workshop consumable in the large format: