Grease Gun Pains

[sugarmaple]

Bless you one and all for the grease gun tricks. I have always assumed it was something in my karma that caused me such consternation with the grease gun gods. I can now say that my understanding of this matter is 100% improved.

An old(er) timer friend once showed me an intermediate position to lock the rod back half way when trying to bleed the gun the ineffective way. I have never been able to duplicate his trick without his patient, instructing presence. Anyone heard of something like that?

I have taken to wearing mechanic's gloves with the rubbery coating on the palms and fingers, when working with grease just to minimize the handwashing (handwringing) that goes along with my greasing fiascos. Makes the gun much easier to hang on to in the middle of the match, and, if I happen to forget for the umpty-umth time just how sharp that little rim is concealed beneath all that tempting left over grease, I can remove said dollop of grease with impunity.

 

[CurlyDave]

The best way I've found to keep air out when reloading the gun is to get a little grease on me. When I load the gun with a new tube I save the spent tube and finger out the little bit of grease thats left, be careful not to cut your finger. I then fill and mound the new tube (thats in the gun) with this left over grease. After doing this when you screw the head back on it forces out the air without needing to bleed or jack around with the gun. Usually a little grease will need to be wiped from the base of the head. I learned this trick because I'm tight and hated throwing away that little bit of lube in the spent tube. After that first time I found it got rid of the air as well. I've done this for years and it drives me nuts when I see someone load a gun and then fight an air pocket.

I make the mound in the grease gun head, right over the intake port for the high pressure grease pump.

Same effect, but I make sure the extra grease is in exactly the right spot.

 

[Ken Cunningham]

It took reading this post for me to realize what those dohickes on the head of the grease gun i bought a few weeks ago are for. It has a ball check to let are in and a push button to let air out. I didnt even realize when i bought it that it had these features, looked over the ones at the auto supply store and picked more expensive one on the hopes that it was of better quality. When i loaded the first tube in it worked right away.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Used hand pumps for years, got the cheapie Sears air powered, once got the grease started (took a while) i am sold. Works well for me, esp when starting to have so many zerks around now.

Have to thank all of the others who got guns stuck on zerks. I am sure i would have been one of them if had not been reading up on 'tractor ****'.

 

[3RRL]

I had several mechanical grease guns, but like Curly Dave said, I like my Harbor Freight battery powered one. It is one quality item for the 48 bucks I paid. I've been using it for nearly 2 years now and love it. Maybe I like it 10x better than my others. I have 2 tractors and implements to grease.

 

[Pennsylvania Weldor]

Ain't grease guns fun? When I insert a new cartridge and screw the head back on, I don't tighten it completely. I leave about 1/2 turn to go. I release the "T" handle, push it hard to seat it, then tighten the head the last 1/2 turn. This bleeds the air, does not allow grease to come out by the threads, and I usually have grease immediately from the hose. I've never had this method fail, but, I always buy grease guns with the bleeder screw in the head, in case.

Another peeve of mine is with the hand operated lever type. Never fails, under a truck (or whatever), got to reach that hard to get at zerk, must hold the gun hose fitting in place with one hand, and figure out how to pump the grease and hold the cartridge barrel with the other. Finally solved that problem, bought a gun with a one hand pumping operation (squeeze handle). Works great.

 

[6sunset6]

Well hate to admit it but got behind greasing my MF hoe. Some zerks never took grease well even when new. 23 years old now. I got a hydraulic grease fitting rejuvenatior from Grainger. Outer tube with a regular zerk connector on the end. check valve in side fill it up with #10 oil slide the inner barrel in clip it over a stubborn zerk and hit it with a hammer. Really good shot of oil into the zerk and beyond. Works really well. Then I got a cordless 14.4 volt Lincoln and now I can hold the fitting on with one hand and push a button with the other hand. Works great.
My new NH TC34DA I never get behind on.

 

[johnnylight]

I had several mechanical grease guns, but like Curly Dave said, I like my Harbor Freight battery powered one. It is one quality item for the 48 bucks I paid. I've been using it for nearly 2 years now and love it. Maybe I like it 10x better than my others. I have 2 tractors and implements to grease.

3RRL,

Is this one you like:Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[Knight9]

I have two grease guns loaded with different types of grease. About every third or fourth tube load, I have an issue. I get an air bubble, or a problem of some sort. I too wish there was a simple, 100% guaranteed, CLEAN way to load a grease gun. I didn't get cheapy guns either. They are pistol grips sold from the local John Deere dealer. Got the Deere logo on them and everything. Can I admit that as a Kubota owner??

 

[Charlesaf3]

I had the cheap Harbor freight pneumatic grease gun. Maybe worked 2 separate days. Just bought a $100 lincoln, so far so good.

I'm a big fan of letting the compressor do the work.

 

[Runner]

I got mad at my lever action gun the other day because I couldn't get it to bleed the air, so I took it back apart, put a Wally World sack over the end of the tube and smacked it on the workbench. That moved all the grease down to the business end, and, no more air pocket. Never thought of doing that before, but it seemed to work. Maybe I need to get mad at stuff more often...

I still want an electric gun though.

 

[3RRL]

3RRL,

Is this one you like:Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Yes, that's it. Works great for me.
I think it came with an extra battery too.

 

[DrRod]

I too am struggling with my grease gun - reloading it to be specific [never had to do it before].

It seems to me that the cartridge should just drop in tube and all. But it doesn't - the diameter matches that of the top of the barrel. Now this is at the head/pump end. Is it supposed to go in the bottom/plunger end? This doesn't seem to come off - maybe its because everything is greasy so to speak - but it doesn't have any grip grooves etc.

So I guess the questions are: does the cartridge go in tube and all, and should the bottom cap come off so I can just slide it in there?

Thanks for your help.

Rod

 

[JRobyn]

- Pull plunger all the way out of the gun tube and lock it (usually by tilting it sideways a little and catching the groove in the plunger shaft in the slot in the bottom of the gun tube).

- Unscrew the gun tube from the gun head.

- Pull out the old grease cartridge/tube (might have to grip the little metal ring on the cartridge with pliers).

- Remove the plastic cap from the new grease cartridge, and insert this end slowly into the gun tube until the cartridge seats al the way in (metal ring right on the top of the tube).

- Remove the pull-tab end of the new cartridge.

- Screw the gun tube back into the gun head.

- Unhook the plunger and slowly shove it all the way back in.

- Pump to clear any air - and/or rap the end of the gun on something to help grease to feed and air to purge.

 

[DrRod]

You make it sound so simple. Could it be that what I think is the lip of the gun tube is really the metal ring on the cartridge? Probably an unfair question. But that might explain why the new tube appears to match the diameter of the gun tube so perfectly. Won't get a chance to try this till the weekend but I move forward with hope and courage [and some new rubber gloves].

Thanks,

Rod

 

[Eagleview]

You make it sound so simple. Could it be that what I think is the lip of the gun tube is really the metal ring on the cartridge? Probably an unfair question. But that might explain why the new tube appears to match the diameter of the gun tube so perfectly. Won't get a chance to try this till the weekend but I move forward with hope and courage [and some new rubber gloves].

Thanks,

Rod

Are you sure it's a cartridge type gun ? Bulk fill guns have a smaller diameter than cartridge guns and will not accept a cartridge .

 

[DrRod]

Hmmm - I guess that could be. But the cartridge seems like such a simple solution why would they make anything else [unless it's a big commercial application]. In any case, I'll check it out this weekend and maybe I'll be fashioning a custom plunger [or buying a new one].

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Rod

 

[Eagleview]

Has it got made in China on it ? I get a new gun with every Chinese machine i buy , none of them take a cartridge .

 

[Birdmayon]

I too am struggling with my grease gun - reloading it to be specific [never had to do it before].

It seems to me that the cartridge should just drop in tube and all. But it doesn't - the diameter matches that of the top of the barrel. Now this is at the head/pump end. Is it supposed to go in the bottom/plunger end? This doesn't seem to come off - maybe its because everything is greasy so to speak - but it doesn't have any grip grooves etc.

So I guess the questions are: does the cartridge go in tube and all, and should the bottom cap come off so I can just slide it in there?

Thanks for your help.

Rod

DrRod, are you sure you removed the old grease tube first? If that is still in the grease gun, that would cause the problem you're having. I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but we've ALL had dummy moments before where we miss something, so, just figured I'd ask.

 

[DrRod]

And the winner is... Birdmayon.

Yes, it turned out that the old tube was in the barrel. Even after the comments in this thread I just could not see it - black gun, black grease, and plenty of it. So taking some other advice in the thread, I started fishing around with some needle nose pliers and -- ta da -- I discovered the shiny rim of the old tube. Came out with only a bit of a struggle and the rest went according to the text book.

So thanks to all for their help and concerns - I have now added to my list of core country competencies.

Rod