Cleaning around your zerks and grease areas?

[Dingeryote]

Old T-shirt to wipe the mud and gunk off the Zerk, and that's it.

The pressure washer gets the stuff pushed out, before the next greasing anyway.

 

[kubotacres]

Cool. Does the size cap you linked to fit all your zerks, or do you have to use different caps on various equipment?

You're supposed to grease a tractor? Who knew? Don't they come with factory grease, for life?!

Yes they fit all the zerks. They have different colors but I normally use yellow so they are easy to find on some of my equipment. You can find them cheaper probably on eBay or amazon. They do a great job of keeping dirt and water out.

 

[PILOON]

Yes they fit all the zerks. They have different colors but I normally use yellow so they are easy to find on some of my equipment. You can find them cheaper probably on eBay or amazon. They do a great job of keeping dirt and water out.

Judging by the amount of pressure needed to get grease into a zerk I doubt that any water could enter. As to dirt a simple rag cleans that nipple. They do look pretty however.

 

[davesl708]

I wipe mine before and after greasing. If not I will be wearing. Paper towels, rags, shop cloths, what every is handy.
When the build up of squeeze out gets to much on the FEL I power wash it and start over otherwise it will end up on the shop floor.

 

[kubotacres]

Judging by the amount of pressure needed to get grease into a zerk I doubt that any water could enter. As to dirt a simple rag cleans that nipple. They do look pretty however.

Its not just the simple cleaning that pushes dirt inside the zerk that ruins it.Many hours of exposure to water,dirt, mud or whatever may be the case is what ruins them. I never have to wipe away dirt because it's not there, only the grease after the initial greasing. The zerks on my row hippers and disk I pull behind my tractor is still shiny new after being pulled hours upon hours in my garden.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Its not just the simple cleaning that pushes dirt inside the zerk that ruins it.Many hours of exposure to water,dirt, mud or whatever may be the case is what ruins them. I never have to wipe away dirt because it's not there, only the grease after the initial greasing. The zerks on my row hippers and disk I pull behind my tractor is still shiny new after being pulled hours upon hours in my garden.

I work in a dusty environment in the summer, muddy in winter. The zerk fittings are always covered with dust or mud on my tractor, and always need wiping before greasing.

 

[kubotacres]

I work in a dusty environment in the summer, muddy in winter. The zerk fittings are always covered with dust or mud on my tractor, and always need wiping before greasing.

That's the reason I installed the caps... One less thing to fool with.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

If I used the caps, they'd end up covered in mud or dust, and I'd still have to wipe them off before I removed them, and probably again before they went back on. So it's just a matter of what you want to wipe off, I guess. At least this way I don't have to worry about dropping the cap, stepping on it in the dirt or losing it in the grass, and end up just leaving the zerk uncovered after all. :confused2:

 

[Sodo]

Depends on the joint. So many joints are wide open to the elements that a cap on a zerk is absolutely pointless. Whats its purpose and whats the effect? I would consider it if the zerk serviced a precision unit like a sealed roller bearing. Maybe....

More likely I would not consider it. The more I think about it the less likely I am to add that extra step that gains nothing.

One thing I'll agree to is it lets folks know the zerks are taken seriously and the eqpt is probably well-maintained. In my experience the only zerk problems occur when you're not using them often enough (ir not paying attn).

 

[kubotacres]

Depends on the joint. So many joints are wide open to the elements that a cap on a zerk is absolutely pointless. Whats its purpose and whats the effect? I would consider it if the zerk serviced a precision unit like a sealed roller bearing. Maybe....

More likely I would not consider it. The more I think about it the less likely I am to add that extra step that gains nothing.

One thing I'll agree to is it lets folks know the zerks are taken seriously and the eqpt is probably well-maintained. In my experience the only zerk problems occur when you're not using them often enough (ir not paying attn).

I guess I'm just a little more particular with my equipment but they do serve a purpose..I like them so thats all that matters.Hopefully the original poster has received the information he was looking for.