ottawa foodies

My KA stand mixer was used maybe too much and turned the grease into black goo so I opened it and cleaned it but I know have to grease everything before reassembly and I'd like to use a better grease than the KA one. Does anyone know what grease I could use? I don't think it has to be food safe, good grease shouldn't turn into liquid like the stuff they put at the factory..

If you are going to change the grease I suspect that the KA should be disassembled and all the old grease should be removed, and then repack with automotive wheel bearing grease (from any autoparts or hardware store). I know the KA can get pretty hot so bearing grease is likely good to use as it's more heat resistant and thus less likely to "melt". Here's just one helpful site with disassembly and repacking info I had a quick look at: www.ehow.com

Thanks. I'll try the bearing grease. I've fully disassembled and cleaned it already, it was a big mess in there.

I'm no expert, but shouldn't it be food-grade grease?? I don't want auto grease dripping on my food.

The gears are enclosed and should not drip grease anywhere - no need for food grade.

Strictly speaking you are right, tourist (btw I always liked your previous name - curious, mysterious, kinda chilling and somehow very Cabaret-esque). Food grade grease is available on Amazon both from KitchenAid and grease manufacturers at significantly greater expense if mart242 wants it. As zymurgist says the gears are enclosed but I think mart242 knows better than us that they aren't perfectly sealed and grease can get out. I don't know if it is something I'd be concerned about but others might.
Anyone know if food grade grease is available locally? KA repair shop maybe?

mart242 let us know how the KA performs after you've got it back together - some of us with them may feel inspired to follow your lead should we have problems.

I don't want to use food grade grease if it means it will break down like my KA grease did. Granted, I used my mixer attachments to ground quite a bit of meat from costco but still, the mixer did not overheat so it should have been to handle it. The grease turned to liquid and ended up leaking, but not much. Once liquid, it doesn't go back to the grease state. And if it ends up leaking, I'll see it and will simply throw that batch of food in the trash.

I'll try to find some top quality bearing grease and hope I won't have that issue anymore. Maybe I should think about getting a dedicated grinder.. on the other hand, I could simply get a beefier KA mixer.

If you want beefier go with Cuisinart not Kitchen Aid. Check this site for the KA repair thread and contact JR Perry to see if he'll sell you some grease.

Wal-mart brand high pressure high temperature lithium grease. It will not liquefy and leak out.

Thanks. I'll grab the lithium grease tomorrow.

As for going with cuisinart, I've got quite a few KA accessories already so I won't switch (good pasta rollers, useless grater, useless citrus press, useful grinder)