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

[ultrarunner]

Almost applied for a factory union job of machinery greaser…

To do it right required inventory, schedules, etc…

I had no idea such a position existed.

In the end it was good I didn’t because a few years later the plant closed and left California…

 

[WinterDeere]

I don’t bother cleaning them to perfection.

... and therein probably lies my problem. I want to be sure they're clean enough that I'm not picking up dirt and injecting it into that or the next fitting.

I would promptly knock it off using the loader or backhoe next to something or in dirt/rock. Seems that every exposed grease fitting is broken quickly.

Yeah, that's why I like the older loader designs so much. The Zerks were always hidden under the loader arms, where they could almost never be damaged. The penalty was that you had to curl the bucket one way and lift the loader arms to grease half of them, and then curl the bucket the other way and lower the loader arms to grease the other half. But every Zerk was exposed and easy to access or clean.

 

[ultrarunner]

Rubber caps will keep the zeros clean…

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

One of the things I hate most about working with equipment is grease. I recently decided I was going to make it easier by getting a battery powered grease gun. Then I opted to put a lube lock fitting nozzle thingy to try to reduce the mess.

It helps but the grease and mess still gets everywhere.

All over my hands. Ruined countless numbers of rags. All over the tractor in places I'd rather not have it. All over the grease gun and even some of my other tools.

Is there a better way? Are there any products I should look into?
Is there no newfangled alternate to grease that isn't quite so messy?

Grease makes the already unpleasant task of maintaining equipment even less pleasant.

Here's what I do, and it's normally after a shower and clean clothes:
step 1 is squirt some out and rub it all over my face, hands, arms, shirt & parts. Then I'm ready to grease the tractors. While I'm at it I grease every zerk in site: mowers, grinding arbor, tools...everything. Then with Gunk, Goop, Go-Jo or any other cleaner starting with a "G" clean Grease best I can off my hands, tools & grease gun wiping with paper towels I burn. Clothes too dirty to wash go to another "G"...the Goodwill.

 

[LHF2019]

My memory and personal records indicate my Deere 855 manual must have specified a 50 hours schedule for greasing the loader, but I don't have the manual handy to reference anymore (machine sold), and it's possible one of two things happened:

1. Manual was referring to greasing the rest of the zerks on the tractor, but not the loader. I can't even remember if Deere made a separate service manual for their loaders way back in 1986, but I think probably not.

2. Deere assumes that 50 hours on the machine is almost certainly less than 10 hours of loader uppy / downy action.

I did just run out to the barn and pull the manuals for the 3033R tractor and 320R loader, to check their maintenance schedules. The 3033R specifies front axle trunions at 50 hours, and "everything else" at 100 hours. But 320R manual does indeed say 10 hours.

To me, it's all the same. Each 50 hours on the tractor likely yields less than 10 hours of actual loader articulation, based on my usage.

 

[gmgm]

In simple terms, I feel every 100 spent on grease will save 1000 of machinery cost later. So I do anything I can do to make it "easier" to grease. I'm not saying to grease too much, just that it's beneficial to remove (perceptions of) obstacles to greasing.

So next to the grease guns I have rolls of blue paper, ready to pull out, and a waiting bin. Leather gloves + nitrile nearby.

The actual grease guns are screw-on manual type (Fuchs in my case). So much less faff than the old type of cartridge, and zero mess when changing cartridges. 2 fresh cartridges are adjacent, and it really takes 10 seconds to replace a cartridge in the gun. Then a G-coupler on the main gun. Another has other fittings for odd zerks.

Minimal mess and no excuses for not greasing!

 

[Crank Shaft]

Tried the horizontal storage. The oil that stays in the gun then runs out when you are using it, dripping onto everything beneath. If you happen to be laying under a piece of equipment, guess what's beneath...

Good point. I had not thought of that. I wonder if flipping the gun over every once in a while during horizontal storage would help keep the oil in the grease. In the long run if the oil leaks out, the grease will not be very effective at lubrication. Maybe all grease tubes should have a "best before" date on them.

 

[tuney443]

Hi all. I'm both a user and a Schaeffer Lubricants sales rep here in the Hudson Valley,NY. I see some members here are also Schaeffer guys, like to see that. In my excavating biz I have used our 229,238, 274, and my fav, our 219. They're all great aluminum complex greases, all with moly. Little known story most don't know is that during Operation Desert Storm, the tail rotor bearings were going South because of the blowing sand. When that happens, the helicopter gets squirrely and our laser system isn't accurate which could have cost American lives. Our CEO heard about this, called up some mucky muck in our military and told him Schaeffer will donate barells of our 238 grease and there will be no more problems with those bearings. Deal went through and here we are.

I sell at wholesale pricing so if anybody has any questions or wants to order any product, please let me know. Also, want to mention that during August, if you buy a 55 gallon drum of engine or hydraulic oil, you get a free product up to app.a $200 value such as a case of grease, a case of Penetro, Citrol or a fuel additive of some type.

Thanks,
Wayne
914-464-1882

 

[ultrarunner]

Hi all. I'm both a user and a Schaeffer Lubricants sales rep here in the Hudson Valley,NY. I see some members here are also Schaeffer guys, like to see that. In my excavating biz I have used our 229,238, 274, and my fav, our 219. They're all great aluminum complex greases, all with moly. Little known story most don't know is that during Operation Desert Storm, the tail rotor bearings were going South because of the blowing sand. When that happens, the helicopter gets squirrely and our laser system isn't accurate which could have cost American lives. Our CEO heard about this, called up some mucky muck in our military and told him Schaeffer will donate barells of our 238 grease and there will be no more problems with those bearings. Deal went through and here we are.

I sell at wholesale pricing so if anybody has any questions or wants to order any product, please let me know. Also, want to mention that during August, if you buy a 55 gallon drum of engine or hydraulic oil, you get a free product up to app.a $200 value such as a case of grease, a case of Penetro, Citrol or a fuel additive of some type.

Thanks,
Wayne
914-464-1882

I use and am pleased with Texas Refinery 880 Crown and Chassis grease.