How may tubes of grease do you go through greasing at 50h intervals?

[RickB]

My tractor stickers and manual says to grease every 10 hours. I grease my machines every fill up which is approximately 10-12 hours. Easier to keep track that way. I buy grease in 5 gallon pails and use an air greaser. Cartridges suck IMHO, messy and wasteful.

You cant over grease - it just gets wasted and ends up on the ground. You can UNDER grease which will be detrimental to the life expectancy of your machine. 50 hour grease intervals does not sound reasonable.

Pins and bushings for the most part cannot be overgreased. Ball and roller bearings with seals surely can.

 

[mangler]

Pins and bushings for the most part cannot be overgreased. Ball and roller bearings with seals surely can.

Do the bearings on implements (flail mower, rotary cutter, tiller) usually have seals? Any sealed bearings on the CUTs themselves? Just trying to figured out what the pin/bearing greasing will be. If I have to do have the greasing with a manual gun anyway not to blow out the seals, then the pneumatic option seems less attractive.

 

[Peter 315]

Do the bearings on implements (flail mower, rotary cutter, tiller) usually have seals? Any sealed bearings on the CUTs themselves? Just trying to figured out what the pin/bearing greasing will be. If I have to do have the greasing with a manual gun anyway not to blow out the seals, then the pneumatic option seems less attractive.

On something with seals I just give it one pump every time I use it.....:2cents:................................ Most of the time....

 

[mangler]

For those interested lock 'n lube makes grease guns and also a mechasnical bulk foot-pump see this link: Grease Guns | LockNLube - LOCKNLUBE

I really like the foot pedal G. Gun, looks like a no mess bulk loaded lifetime grease apparatus. But the cost...249USD is a lot of coin for a manual gun. I would likely have to Jerry Rig something to make it electric, with a remote, for those pesky under the tractor fittings.

This looks interesting, although it seems you have to watch the bucket welds closely (one report of leaks!) https://www.amazon.com/Mophorn-Grease-Pump-Compressed-Lubrication/dp/B07FMD93QR/ref=sr_1_10?crid=15CH0UFLUMGH6&dchild=1&keywords=grease+pump&qid=1586100451&sprefix=grease+%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-10
Same principal, but pneumatic with a loooong hose. Also no mess if the off shore welds are done properly

 

[Peter 315]

I really like the foot pedal G. Gun, looks like a no mess bulk loaded lifetime grease apparatus. But the cost...249USD is a lot of coin for a manual gun. I would likely have to Jerry Rig something to make it electric, with a remote, for those pesky under the tractor fittings.

This looks interesting, although it seems you have to watch the bucket welds closely (one report of leaks!) https://www.amazon.com/Mophorn-Grease-Pump-Compressed-Lubrication/dp/B07FMD93QR/ref=sr_1_10?crid=15CH0UFLUMGH6&dchild=1&keywords=grease+pump&qid=1586100451&sprefix=grease+%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-10
Same principal, but pneumatic with a loooong hose. Also no mess if the off shore welds are done properly

WOW big project to grease one tractor I grease a tri axle dump and a Komatsu loader wa180 with a lever hand gun.......... The loader everyday 5 days a week.....

 

[Citydude]

I probably go through a tube and a half a year. One tube greasing the tractor the other 1/2 tube on my clothes.

 

[RickB]

WOW big project to grease one tractor I grease a tri axle dump and a Komatsu loader wa180 with a lever hand gun.......... The loader everyday 5 days a week.....

Exactly.

 

[mangler]

WOW big project to grease one tractor I grease a tri axle dump and a Komatsu loader wa180 with a lever hand gun.......... The loader everyday 5 days a week.....

Sometimes getting a cool new tool IS the project It seems with that much greasing you could save some time with a pneumatic or battery powered gun.

 

[Peter 315]

Sometimes getting a cool new tool IS the project It seems with that much greasing you could save some time with a pneumatic or battery powered gun.

I get paid by the hour.............. And we have 2 battery guns like I said before I'm old school

 

[LouNY]

Many decades ago my father got grease in the 35-50# pails, and we would fill grease guns from them.
Some times we had a pump to load the grease guns with, much of the time you cleaned the grease gun unscrewed the end and used the rod to pull the grease using suction into the grease gun.
what a filthy dirty gritty grimy mess that always ended up being.
Then especially when it was cold out the grease gun would only be 1/2 filled and air pockets in the balance, having to loosen the end and try and purge the grease out,
way to many years of that crap.
Much working equipment gets greased every day, and some fittings may even be gotten a few times a day if experience has shown the need to do so.
The farm gets tubes of grease by the case and sometimes multiple cases. The grease guns work better, the grease does not get contaminated, air pockets and purging are mostly a thing of the past. It is quick, easy and clean to change out a tube. There will be times whenwe may go thru a couple of tubes per day. Many times air is not available where we are greasing and prepping equipment for the day. As far as the foot operated ones to many fittings are positioned were having to get a foot onto that pedal would be a contortionist joy.

So you boys go with the big buckets and pails, I'm for the tubes even when I'm using my pneumatic grease gun.
I may get a battery gun sometime, I keep looking but that's a lot of money to save very little work or time.

 

[mangler]

Many decades ago my father got grease in the 35-50# pails, and we would fill grease guns from them.
Some times we had a pump to load the grease guns with, much of the time you cleaned the grease gun unscrewed the end and used the rod to pull the grease using suction into the grease gun.
what a filthy dirty gritty grimy mess that always ended up being.
Then especially when it was cold out the grease gun would only be 1/2 filled and air pockets in the balance, having to loosen the end and try and purge the grease out,
way to many years of that crap.
Much working equipment gets greased every day, and some fittings may even be gotten a few times a day if experience has shown the need to do so.
The farm gets tubes of grease by the case and sometimes multiple cases. The grease guns work better, the grease does not get contaminated, air pockets and purging are mostly a thing of the past. It is quick, easy and clean to change out a tube. There will be times when we may go thru a couple of tubes per day. Many times air is not available where we are greasing and prepping equipment for the day. As far as the foot operated ones to many fittings are positioned were having to get a foot onto that pedal would be a contortionist joy.

So you boys go with the big buckets and pails, I'm for the tubes even when I'm using my pneumatic grease gun.
I may get a battery gun sometime, I keep looking but that's a lot of money to save very little work or time.

Interesting. I always thought bulk suction fill would be a mess, with potential grease contamination, but port filling? Besides maybe taking a bit of time (depending on your volume per stroke on your bulk pump), the only challenge I would see there is stopping in time, before you overwhelm the piston seal. And to avoid this, you could just stop a bit short and underfill. Probably good savings too, even with the purchase of a pneumatic pail pump to make refilling easier.

 

[LouNY]

Interesting. I always thought bulk suction fill would be a mess, with potential grease contamination, but port filling? Besides maybe taking a bit of time (depending on your volume per stroke on your bulk pump), the only challenge I would see there is stopping in time, before you overwhelm the piston seal. And to avoid this, you could just stop a bit short and underfill. Probably good savings too, even with the purchase of a pneumatic pail pump to make refilling easier.

The pump was a royal pain in the a--, especially in the winter when the grease was cold it would suck air and lose prime.
In the summer it would work but was slow, I couldn't hazard a guess as to how long now but it was much longer then changing out an empty tube and replacing with a new one.
I think it would take decades to pay for the cost of the pump for most people over the cost of tubes.

 

[4570Man]

I probably use enough grease to justify the cost of a better system but with my machine usually being on a job somewhere I haven’t found anything besides the tubes to be practical. I’m not interested in the huge mess of trying to refill a gun plus they don’t last long enough to help me much and I’m not carrying around a 5 gallon bucket of grease and for sure not a 20 gallon barrel.

 

[mangler]

Thanks for all the real world experiences. While I still WANT the large/bulk dispenser with pneumatic assist, the truth is grease availability will likely make the choice for me. I can't find anyone local who has the grease I want in 35lb pails, but I can get tubes shipped without issue. I will be replacing my level action gun with a pistol grip though. In my effort to keep it out of the dirt, I managed to put about 25% of the grease I dispensed on me. Maybe a swivel hose would help. I did like the lock and lube tip a lot better than the 30 year old tip I had on there though. Pretty sure this time around at least some grease made it into the zerks.

 

[mikester]

Thanks for all the real world experiences. While I still WANT the large/bulk dispenser with pneumatic assist, the truth is grease availability will likely make the choice for me. I can't find anyone local who has the grease I want in 35lb pails, but I can get tubes shipped without issue. I will be replacing my level action gun with a pistol grip though. In my effort to keep it out of the dirt, I managed to put about 25% of the grease I dispensed on me. Maybe a swivel hose would help. I did like the lock and lube tip a lot better than the 30 year old tip I had on there though. Pretty sure this time around at least some grease made it into the zerks.

5,��� PSI Air-Operated Grease Pump | Princess Auto

Ive had good luck with one of these for the last 5 years. I only added a 16 inch whip and LNL. Grab one now, CDN$112 on clearance with free shipping.

Has outlasted all my hand pump grease guns so far and way less mess and frustration than cartridges.

 

[dodge man]

I’ll just add I’ve bought a lot of tools over the years, a few I thought I needed but didn’t, but a battery operated grease gun was one of the best things I bought. I only have one tractor and only about 100 hours per year and I still like it.

 

[mangler]

5,��� PSI Air-Operated Grease Pump | Princess Auto

Ive had good luck with one of these for the last 5 years. I only added a 16 inch whip and LNL. Grab one now, CDN$112 on clearance with free shipping.

Has outlasted all my hand pump grease guns so far and way less mess and frustration than cartridges.

Thanks mikester, I was eyeing this, and your solid review put me over the top. I ordered one, at the clearance price with free shipping these days, it is a no brainer.

Now if anyone knows where I can get a 35lbs pail of Paragon 3000, Royal Ultra 865HD or Amsoil Synthetic Multi-Purpose grease shipped in Ontario, Canada at a decent price, I'm all ears

I'll even entertain similar performing products, if you know of any. Trying to stay away from the 5% moly stuff, even if it is better for the pins and shock loading. Staining power is also off the charts

 

[oosik]

I grease everything - every ten hours of use. Grapple, tractor and rear blade. I use a DeWalt 20V Max gun and one tube of nasty black grease. I have a Lock-N-Lube on a hand pump gun. The Lock-N-Lube will not fit into many of the recessed zerks on the tractor. So...... I gone to the DeWalt exclusively. It fits everywhere.

 

[Z71]

Once grease is open it should not sit around. I have seen people with grease guns hanging in cold barns for months if not years on end, bad practice (separation and contamination). ONLY buy enough to last 6 months and store in controlled climate, see chart.

source: 10 Ways to Improve Lubricant Storage and Handling


Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease, NLGI #2

 

[mikester]

Thanks mikester, I was eyeing this, and your solid review put me over the top. I ordered one, at the clearance price with free shipping these days, it is a no brainer.

Now if anyone knows where I can get a 35lbs pail of Paragon 3000, Royal Ultra 865HD or Amsoil Synthetic Multi-Purpose grease shipped in Ontario, Canada at a decent price, I'm all ears

I'll even entertain similar performing products, if you know of any. Trying to stay away from the 5% moly stuff, even if it is better for the pins and shock loading. Staining power is also off the charts

Search for local lubricant distributors in your area. You might have luck with your local fuel delivery guy, some will do special orders.