Grease and Grease Guns

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Is it just me ?

I have nice small grease gun...... which seems to be easier to get into tricky tigher areas for greasing the 90.

It ran out....... Oh F here we go

I did the grab tub and go for it technique

"Pull Plunger up.... and fill with a selection of screwdrivers spatulas fingers and lots of swearing".....

.....and ended up with more F grease on me,

in my hair (what little I have is now nicely greased) in my F eyes, ears and clothes, .....rather than in the tube

...but I released the plunger and thought "Hummmmm................ not that full"

Is it me ?

Is there some secret way involving chickens facing north at the midnight hour and a chant

to help fill these without that "Held by the ankles and dipped in a big vat of grease look" ?

Is there a decent grease gun / filling system, or what tips do you have ?

Or is looking like a really big elephant has just sneezed hard on you a normal situation with these F things ?

Maybe I am missing something here (Careful ) but its a right PITFA to ever use my grease guns

Thoughts ?

what do you use ?

how do you fill them?

is there a decent greasegun system to be had ?

Nige

[landrover598]

Most proper grease guns take a cartrige of grease. unscrew the gun, pull the old plastic tube out, slide in a new one, screw it back together and release the plunger. Simple.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Yep,

Tried those ......they seem big and clumbersome,

hence I bought the "Baby" version, .............which doesn't take a cartridge

Hence the above post query

Nige

[landrover598]

I've never had problems greasing all the nipples on my landy with my big gun, a flexible head make's life easier, so you can get over the top of the UJ's.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

:D been there and done that. My dad was so tight he would only buy the gallon tubs of grease and refill the grease gun by hand. What a PITFA that was. I threw the damn thing away and bought a decent cartridge gun and now only buy the individual cartridges (cost about a quid each from farm stores). The grease gun I have was from the Difflock Store and I must say is of a very good quality and comes highly recommended (if they still do them??). i have a flexi-pipe and a narrow end and have no trouble on LR prop UJs. i would NEVER go back to self-fill grease!

[geoffbeaumont]

I've also got one of the difflock ones - bought to replace a mini plunger type, which had to be refilled the messy way, after I discovered that it wasn't pumping grease properly any more (tested it after my prop UJ's went ). Although the grease gun itself is several times the size of the old one, I actually find it easier to use as you only have to get the tube onto the nipple, no messing with with trying to push down a plunger at awkward angles. It also holds a huge amount of grease, so I've not yet had to change the cartridge.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

It also holds a huge amount of grease, so I've not yet had to change the cartridge.

Ah , but you probably don't have 2 balers and a mini digger! I can get through 2-3 cartridges in a day if I feel the urge to lubricate! :ph34r:

Unfortunately the Difflock store no longer lists the grease gun. Just be prepared to pay around £20 for a quality item and you should be OK

[Bowie69]

Never had a problem with the grease pots with a plastic ring in the top of them, specifically for filling the said grease guns

[David Sparkes]

Never had a problem with the grease pots with a plastic ring in the top of them, specifically for filling the said grease guns

Maybe, maybe not.

I've mainly used Wanner grease guns (They've had a name change, but I can't remember the new one) and these have a floating cup/disc seal in them. This means that when you compress the spring by pulling a chain out of the back of the storage tube, the floating cup stays at the head end. Unscrew the head, invert the tube over the 'plastic disc with hole', press slowly but firmly, and the grease is pushed in with no air as the cup pushes the air out past the spring.

You can buy trigger grease guns that look very similar, but 'save' on the floating cup bit. These make life more slimy, as expressed by the others. The trick with these is not to retract the piston, THEN fill with grease, but to invert the tube over the 'plastic disc with hole' then co-ordinate your efforts such as the tube is pushed downwards on the disc, AT THE SAME TIME, slowly pull back the plunger. This prevents air getting into the guns grease container.

The only virtue of this method is that it's better than the 'knive, spatula, finger' method, but it still doesn't beat the cartridge syestem, which is probably better than the Wanner floating cup system.

As described earlier, I should think your local agricultural suppliers is the best place to go, as I can't see the farmers wanting the grease yourself up system, when working in areas that are naturally dirtier (with small particles) than a garage.

HTH.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Yes Very helpfull thanks david.

I think I will be going shpooing next week

If you can remember the new name that would be brill

Nige

[green110]

http://www.stephenslube.co.uk/wanner_lubrication.asp lists Wanner grease guns (I haven't got one).

I like the trigger guns (as opposed to side lever) as you can then hold the fitting onto the grease nipple with one hand and pump grease with the other. Flexible pipes are good and I'm a firm believer in changing the quick coupling on the end at regular intervals. If greasing is a clean easy job it gets done!

As an aside some cartridges are better than others; some have plastic ends that break instead of tearing off cleanly (don't use Texaco tubes) and some seem to come factory fitted with air pockets.

Gus

[David Sparkes]

Thanks Green110, I was thinking the name began with 'A', Abnox it is, they have obviously realised the benefit of keeping the positive kudos of the Wanner name.

Frightening price though!

I have always used the one handed gun.

Angle of attack (of the nozzle onto the nipple) can be critical, and some nipples just won't seal properly, although I seem to recall that some 4 jaw nozzles are available.

I've done all propshaft UJs with this gun, although sometimes the prop has to be rotated to give access.

BMC Mini front suspension can be another test, successfully met with this gun, as the internal grease pressure can require a lot of force to get more grease in, and leave the gun locked onto the nipple, where the pressure release screw on the gun comes in handy.

I see there are some links to useful tips at the bottom of the Stephens Lube page.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

Yes i forgot that mine is a trigger setup which means you can pump with one hand while holding the nipple in place with the other. Side handle pumps are impossible with a flexi-hose. Mine also has a handy 2 position handle which gives lower pressure but high volume or high pressure/low volume. Handy for forcing grease into tight spots or blocked nipples!

[clbarclay]

Cartriges are the best compromise I've come accross, they still get a bit messy, especially when the seal on the plunger is old and you get some greasee leaking back past it so when you pull the plunger back it squerts out round the releasing leaver. I always change them with an old rag to hand.

Deffinantly get a long flex for it, inveriably I find most machines have at least one nipple thats impossible to get a standard rigid pipe on to. One of the guns at home has the flex of an old tub greaser (ie very long). This is good as the gun can be placed ona firm surface and pumped one handed whilst the other hand hold the end on square or coil it up a couple of times and with one hand holds the coiled flex and the gun with just a very short length of flex between the hand and nipple whilst the other hand is free to pump.

As said above some of use get through a lot more grease than others, Nige be glad in your lubed up state you didn't have to go and grease a combine mid season, you would probably have ended up looking like a wicker man.

Personanlly I much prefer sealed for life bearings or if you can't get away with them then an auto greasing system. on big cultivators this can be a ££££ option, but given some cultivators can take 3/4 hour to grease they can be well worth the cost.

[Les Henson]

I've got quite a small one too

A normal tin of grease that you buy from the likes of Halfords have a plate with a hole in the center of it on top of the grease when you take the lid off. You just push the grease gun chamber down and the grease is forced straight into it.

Les.

[alan kemp]

I use the side handle one, I have three for some reason. They spill more grease out of the end when pumping than goes in the nipple. Tried changing the heads but still have the problem. Tried different nipples but the you are stuck with the small ones on a propshaft. Sometimes they work fine but generally, I end up with a big dollop of grease on and around the nipple.

Also, I wanted some waterproof grease for various jobs. My supplier sold me some but he has written on "water proof grease" in ink and I am not sure its the right stuff. I am really looking for water proof, very thick and in a cartridge. Where can I get some of that?

[green110]

http://www.rocol.com/lubricants/english/ma...gs/prod0058.php

Rocol Sapphire Aqua 2.

Most engineering suppliers seem to deal with Rocol; they make sealants, adhesives etc. I'd be very wary of grease identified with a marker pen!

Gus

[cipx2]

This is what I have in my toolbox: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-12681-Pisto...e/dp/B0001K9OWO

It's small, 130 cc, easy to fill - bit like how you fill a syringe, one hand operation.

For more heavy duty jobs I have one similar to this: http://www.northerntooluk.com/products.asp?partno=150305E

It can use cartridges or bulk grease, manual or air operated, comes with flexible or rigid adapter (mine came with a set of adapters, various sizes).

I only used it once on the LR, when I bought the vehicle to properly get the grease through all 4 heads of the UJs (I had to use compressed air). After that, the small grease gun did the job perfectly and its my favorite.

[steve_d]

I was given a broken, hand-me-down, Wanner gun which I repaired. I've had it for forty years now.

Steve

[Boothy]

Gentlemen,

Money cannot buy a decent grease gun because nobody makes one any more,

I am a maintenance man who has worked on the Railway signalling department for 31 years now, and have greased more cranks, fittings and ancient signalling things than you can imagine.

Its fair to say I've examined and serviced more nipples than a retired breast surgeon, and tended to said nipples with every type of grease gun imaginable, and frankly none seem to last above six months.

Some days spent on heavy mechanical signalling mtce can result in excess of 15 tubes or so being used, before the chippy opens.

Best gun without a doubt 4 jaw side lever, cartridge or refillable, probably costing in excess of £60 or so, especially ones from suppliers that can supply new springs, seals and jaw sets at point of sale.

If not any cheap carp and be prepared to sling it regulary and get another, but always check your nipples are clear before trying to force grease past, because clogged greaseways and nipples will seriously damage your tools seals.

It's a minefield, good luck.

[Br00n1e]

bought my wanner one of the bay, works great

[nickwilliams]

This thread is now 15 years old. It would be nice to think there have been some improvements in the technology since then, although I fear that's probably not the case!

I slung my Abnox side handle cartridge loaded gun across the yard last night in frustration at it yet again failing to mange more than one nipple's worth of grease before it stopped pumping. 

What's the current thinking on good and reliable greasing technology?

 

[Bowie69]

If doing it a lot, there's a number of electric grease guns out now which seem rather easy... 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m12-gg-0-12v-li-ion-redlithium-cordless-grease-gun-bare/212hp

https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m18-gg-0-18v-li-ion-redlithium-cordless-grease-gun-bare/374gy

They all use cartridges, and generally have a flexo hose on them so you can get in places. Grease is dosed into the fitting with a click of the trigger. 

Fancy 😜

[elbekko]

2 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m12-gg-0-12v-li-ion-redlithium-cordless-grease-gun-bare/212hp

That's cheaper than I thought they were. If you're buying a new grease gun anyway, that's a no-brainer...

[simonr]

2 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

If doing it a lot, there's a number of electric grease guns out now which seem rather easy...

The powered grease guns are just AMAZING!

They develop enough pressure / force to push grease into anything.  I've even considered using it for Hydroforming (but that's a project for another day).

We had some hinges with about 60 Ton load on each hinge (On a hydraulic toppling Bell Tower, Spiderman Far From Home) where someone had forgotten to grease the pins prior to assembly - and they seized with the pin being pushed against the grease nipple hole.  No amount of force on a manual grease gun could get any in.  Someone pitched up with a Milwaukee gun and seconds later there was grease oozing out the ends of the hinge and the tower was free to wave around as intended.

That was an extreme example, but I've continued to love them.  It just makes it so quick, easy & mess free.  The fittings on the ends are really good quality (to be able to handle the pressure).

Note: I'd recommend the Makita ones now over Milwaukee as they have a pressure relief valve and 2 speed - meaning you can use it more safely on small things.