How Much Grease?

[Waxman]

I greased the bank of 10 zerk fittings inside my gantry this morning, as well as the oscillating parts for my top blower.

How much grease should I use per fitting? I used 2 full pumps of grease each.

Is this enough? How do I know?

The fittings on the block in my gantry go, via plastic tubing, to points along the gantry (bearings for wheels, where the arm slides in/out, etc.)

I've heard over-greasing is bad, but how do I know if I am over-greasing things? How is over-greasing bad?

Thank you.

 

[MEP001]

Over-greasing is more an issue of mess than causing harm. You only need enough grease to lubricate the part, but not enough to push out all the old grease. I've serviced machines where the attendant thought you were supposed to pump grease in until fresh grease oozed out, and I had to scoop about 10 pounds of old stuff out of the gantry before I could even begin to work on it.

The one time you need to be concerned with over-greasing is with electric motors, and in most cases you shouldn't grease those at all. There is a specific procedure for doing that, and over-greasing, using the wrong grease or not following the exact manufacturer's procedure will cause the motor to fail prematurely. Baldor 5HP motors have a service interval of 60,000 hours for greasing, and they usually won't last that long anyway.

 

[Dirt]

Depends on what your greasing. Bearings that turn 360*, like on rotating assemblys, run cleaner and need less grease than ones that go part way and then return.

 

[dreese]

It can also depend if you are greasing an open bearing or one protected with grease seals. Many swivels, for example, have grease seals that can blow out if too much grease is added. Many open bearings are greased by using the new grease to displace some of the old, being sure to wipe off the excess. I would ask your distributor or the manufacturer of the equipiment as to recommended grease amounts.

 

[bigleo48]

Waxman,

My Laser M5 cannot be over greased and perhaps we do and wipe more of it away than we need to. My blower motors are set to be grease every 10 years or so. I don't check the oil in the gear boxes unless I see a leak.

BTW, what kind of grease are you guys using? I'm using a Clear Arctic Grease (as per my PDQ tech).

BigLeo

 

[Waxman]

I'm using lubri-plate grease.

 

[dreese]

BigLeo - be advised that the in-line (on bridge) and 90 deg (on cross beam) swivels used on the M5 are a sealed bearing setup - you can "overgrease" these swivels and stress the internal grease seals. Usually, pump till you feel resistence on these - usually 1-2 pumps on a standard gun.

 

[bigleo48]

BigLeo - be advised that the in-line (on bridge) and 90 deg (on cross beam) swivels used on the M5 are a sealed bearing setup - you can "overgrease" these swivels and stress the internal grease seals. Usually, pump till you feel resistence on these - usually 1-2 pumps on a standard gun.

Thanks Dreese...I'll have a look.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Depends on what your greasing. Bearings that turn 360*, like on rotating assemblys, run cleaner and need less grease than ones that go part way and then return.

That's interesting. The Car Wash college bulletin says the opposite. They reccomend greasing the 360s Weekly and the pivots monthly.

http://www.carwashcollege.com/p-40-...on-a-top-motor-side-washer-november-2007.aspx