I have a number of hopper windows throughout our house and some of the Stegbar winders have become quite stiff to operate. How can I free up the action? Thankyou
Hello valandi,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your window winders.
I suggest opening your window winders to full and spraying the chain mechanism with WD-40 Specialist High Performance Silicone spray. Close the window winders and let it sit for about 30 minutes and then open them up again and spray the chains again. This should provide enough lubrication for your window winders.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Thank you Eric. Most generous of you to reply with a sugestion.
In looking for a solution on my own prior to joining, I treated one stiff winder with WD40 Specialist High Performance containing White Lithium Grease. It had minimal effect. It too had a smart straw. Sorry for the huge picture. I'll get it right as we go..
Cheers
Hello @valandi
I suggest trying the WD-40 275g Multi-Use as it is designed to penetrate and loosens rust and debris. Your goal is to loosen the parts first before you put-on long-term lubrication.
Thank you Eric for your continued interest.
I thought that I will contact Stegbar next week and get their response as well. I will post their answer.
Thank you again. It is most appreciated.
How did you go with Stegbar @valandi?
I'm sure other community members would appreciate you sharing their thoughts.
Thanks,
Jason
No response from them as yet. I promise to post their response.
I'll send a foolow up now to give them a jolt.
Well here is their response. Not very satisfactory!
"Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately i'm not entirely sure what can be to free them up.I would suggest replacing the winders altogether as your existing winders are quite old will only get worse over time"
I am going to take one off completely. Apply some petrol to the chain to clean it and then use something to lubricate it. Not sure what yet. Any suggeestions?
.
I agree with your idea of cleaning the chain and insides of the window winders. I suggest using WD-40 400g Specialist Fast Acting Citrus Degreaser. This should melt and remove any excess buildup that might be on the chain or inside the winding mechanism of the unit.
I'm sure after getting all the old grease out there should be a significant improvement on the wind-up.
Please note that using petrol as a cleaning agent is dangerous if left unremoved. It can serve as an accelerant if any open flame gets near it. Please make sure to wash the petrol off the unit for your safety.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Above is the back of the Stegbar Winder. There is a thin metal backing plate secured in 4 places (two shown. They are posts that have been rolled over after fitting the plate.
So I drilled them out to open the unit.
Above, the internal workings of the unit. The cog to the right is driven by a worm feed. I cleaned everything with kerosine, but the unit remains quite stiff.
I am going to give it a bit of spray with WD40 with Lithium and put it back on the window. I'll have to use the pressure of the attachment to the window to keep thee backing plate in place.
My feeling at this stage is that there is no real way of reducing the residual stiffness. It is better than before but not great.
I'd be trying to work some lithium grease into the worm gear and then using it sparingly on the chain @valandi. You'll get a longer lifespan out of that than from the spray products.
Mitchell
I am in the process of removing and cleaning all my Whitco window winders & have been very successful. I removed the chain, sprayed with WD40 & left for 30 minutes. Used a stiff brush (& occasionally a flat screwdriver !) to remove all caked on grease. After cleaning in hot soapy water (& rinsing well), I manually manipulated every link with a little more WD40 until they moved freely. The cleaned ones now work like new. Clearly my problem was the dirty chains. Only issue was some of the cogs were damaged (limiting how far they open) & I've had black fingernails since 🙄.
Hello @LyndalW
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.
Thank you for sharing your experience in regards to cleaning your Whitco winders. It's good to hear that you've managed to get them working well. To protect the moving parts of the winder, I suggest using Kincrome 500g Multipurpose Grease. This will cover and lubricate the parts plus, protect them from exposure to moisture.
winders have become quite stiff to operate. How can I free up the action? Thankyou
