Grease - is there no better way? Can we talk about this?

[redmt]

If greasing a tractor is an issue then sell the tractor. Owning and maintaining equipment isn't for you. We get our grease in 35 gallon barrels. We use air greasers with 50' hoses. My 71 year old wife can grease a full size tractor with no more than a couple paper towels.

 

[WinterDeere]

My 71 year old wife can grease a full size tractor with no more than a couple paper towels.

No grease gun needed?!? You're a lucky man!

If greasing a tractor is an issue then sell the tractor.

I know plenty of people who don't maintain their cars, equipment, home, etc. But I never thought I had the right to tell any of them they need to sell their stuff.

 

[eKretz]

An electric grease gun doesn't have a huge benefit for most homeowner size machines. But get a BIG machine like an industrial backhoe or giant farm tractor with huge attachments that have a lot of fittings and you'll get to appreciate one pretty quick if you grease it regularly. Not everybody works with small stuff.

 

[RjCorazza]

An electric grease gun doesn't have a huge benefit for most homeowner size machines. But get a BIG machine like an industrial backhoe or giant farm tractor with huge attachments that have a lot of fittings and you'll get to appreciate one pretty quick if you grease it regularly. Not everybody works with small stuff.

Doesn't have to be big... My Kubota ZD mowers have 21 grease points each. The electric grease gun with LockNLube tip really helps.
On edit: I missed 3, they have 24 grease points!

 

[jrsavoie]

Doesn't have to be big... My Kubota ZD mowers have 21 grease points each. The electric grease gun with LockNLube tip really helps.
On edit: I missed 3, they have 24 grease points!

I've had 3 Kubotas
Somebody should have smacked me before I let the wife buy the 3rd.
None have been comfortable and all have had a bunch of lube points

 

[WinterDeere]

Doesn't have to be big... My Kubota ZD mowers have 21 grease points each. The electric grease gun with LockNLube tip really helps.
On edit: I missed 3, they have 24 grease points!

You're right! But at the same time, 24 zerks on a zero turn seems kinda ridiculous. Didn't anyone tell Kubota the rest of the world switched over to sealed bearings for most applications, 40 years ago?

Even the idlers on my 2007 Deere mower deck are all sealed bearings, the only greasible things there are the three main spindles. Everything else that gets greased on that machine is a non-bearing pivot, such as mower deck trailing arms and brake linkage.

Most sealed bearings have a service life that's many times longer than the lifespan of a commercial zero turn mower, so they're an ideal application case.

 

[4570Man]

As I read 11 pages of talk about electric and cordless grease guns, and pistol grip versus traditional two-hander with a hose, all I could think about is how little of the time I spend on the job of greasing anything is actually spent pumping grease. Getting under the equipment and cleaning the grime off the zerks and connecting to them easily takes me more time, than actually squeezing the lever on the grease gun.

So, throw me in the camp of guys who just don't understand the appeal or need for an electric grease gun, although I'll admit I don't have any equipment that needs daily greasing. My mower spindles and front trunion get greased twice per year (50 hours), everything else is once per year (100 hours).

I like to grease my skid steer and excavator bucket pins every 1/2 tank of fuel and the rest of the pins every tank of fuel. I’m not sure what you’re greasing every 100 hours.

 

[WinterDeere]

I’m not sure what you’re greasing every 100 hours.

Recommended service schedule for pedal and brake linkage on tractor and zero turn is 100 hours or annual. Tractor trunion and mower spindles are spec'd for 50 hours or twice annual. FEL pins are also spec'd at 50 hours, which is about 2x per year for me.

 

[4570Man]

Recommended service schedule for pedal and brake linkage on tractor and zero turn is 100 hours or annual. Tractor trunion and mower spindles are spec'd for 50 hours or twice annual. FEL pins are also spec'd at 50 hours, which is about 2x per year for me.

I guess that’s ok if the FEL only sees 5 hours use out of those 50. 50 hours is woefully inadequate for pin grease if you’re actually working the pins for 50 hours.

 

[WinterDeere]

I guess that’s ok if the FEL only sees 5 hours use out of those 50. 50 hours is woefully inadequate for pin grease if you’re actually working the pins for 50 hours.

You're probably right, but I'd guess that by the time I pick up material, take it to where it's going and dump it, a 10% - 20% duty cycle is probably not far from reality. It definitely gets a heavier workout during some chores, but far less with others, to where 10% might be close to the yearly average.