Metal shielded vs rubber sealed bearings for electric motor

[Matthew123]

Do you have to grease metal shielded bearings more often than rubber sealed bearings

 

[J’sCrawler]

Do you have to grease metal shielded bearings more often than rubber sealed bearings

Not sure, I can never ever get the metal shields off of the bearing to grease them. I just throw away and replace.

 

[bill_delong]

Some metal shielded bearings have c-clips that can be removed, but if you can't figure out how to remove them then I would just toss them after they start get crunchy per J's recommendation.

Some brands of bearings like AVID offer a rubber seal on one side and metal shield on the other (Revolution/Aura) to make it easier for cleaning:
https://www.avidrc.com/product/1/bearings/2929/10x15x4-Revolution-Aura-6700-RSZO-bearings.html

For my open mod cars, I only run double rubber sealed bearings and pry the seals after every 2 hours of run time to inspect the grease. I only flush the grease when it turns black and pack a light coat with fresh white lithium grease, more info here:

• Maintenance Tips

 

[J’sCrawler]

Some metal shielded bearings have c-clips that can be removed, but if you can't figure out how to remove them then I would just toss them after they start get crunchy per J's recommendation.

Some brands of bearings like AVID offer a rubber seal on one side and metal shield on the other (Revolution/Aura) to make it easier for cleaning:
https://www.avidrc.com/product/1/bearings/2929/10x15x4-Revolution-Aura-6700-RSZO-bearings.html

For my open mod cars, I only run double rubber sealed bearings and pry the seals after every 2 hours of run time to inspect the grease. I only flush the grease when it turns black and pack a light coat with fresh white lithium grease, more info here:

• Maintenance Tips

Nice tip @bill_delong, exactly the response someone needs to hear! I forgot about the revolution bearings from avid, good call.
I do that exact practice, toss em when they get gritty and crunchy, and replace with rubber sealed bearings so I can clean and re grease. The extra drag from the rubber is no big deal for me because I don’t race and I will never notice. Guess who I learned all that from. @bill_delong. I appreciate the advice you still give.

 

[Greywolf74]

Do you have to grease metal shielded bearings more often than rubber sealed bearings

Theoretically yes since metal shields do not seal as well as rubber shields, but most metal shielded bearings are not meant to be taken apart, unless as Bill mentioned it has some sort of retaining system like a c-clip.

 

[WickedFog]

You can remove the seal on all bearings. It's just more difficult on metal shielded bearings

 

[Greywolf74]

Didn't say you couldn't. Just said they aren't meant to come apart. Frankly, it's too much of a pain, imo. I'd rather just replace metal shielded bearings rather than trying to service them.

 

[Chubaka]

Didn't say you couldn't. Just said they aren't meant to come apart. Frankly, it's too much of a pain, imo. I'd rather just replace metal shielded bearings rather than trying to service them.

Some of my bearings loose their shining armor before its time to re-lube.