As the title says, Is it better or worst if I remove the previous grease?
It carries more risks than simply applying a small amount of new grease as per the instructions.
I don’t imagine it’d be a good idea unless some specific incident has covered the screw with particles that are physically jamming the device.
For the regular application every few months there’s no need to remove the old grease just follow the instructions Rose posted in that link. I would add that you only need to apply about a pea size amount of grease.
If you want to actually clean the grease off you would need to take the handy apart. If it’s out of warranty and you’re comfortable with that I would say it’s good to do occasionally. If you use a cleaner be sure to keep it off of the circuit board or motor and that it will not damage any of the components. I take mine apart about once per year to do a thorough clean and regrease, in addition to the regular applications through the slot every few months.
Does the yearly thorough clean lead to a noticeable improvement in performance?
In my opinion, yes. I can tell the difference in noise especially and there seems to be a slight improvement in performance but that’s pretty subjective. What I can say is that I’ve had my handy for almost 5 years, doing regular maintenance and thorough cleaning, and have had no problems with the mechanical mechanism.
The plastic posts in the bottom cap of my handy broke early on so I took it apart to repair them. While inside it I cleaned and regreased everything which seemed like it made a big improvement so I decided to make it regular maintenance. What’s noticeable most after doing a complete clean and grease is that the machine stays quieter for substantially longer than in between regular greasing.
Do I recommend everybody do this, absolutely not. While the handy is fairly simple to disassemble and reassemble there is some amount of mechanical ability needed to do it right. If you are not intimidated working on mechanical things then doing this regular maintenance might be worth considering. The handy discord has information and pictures showing how it comes apart if you do a little searching.
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