Category Archives: Greasing

My Grease fitting will not take grease on my heavy equipment. What should I do?

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Grease fitting is attached to the top of the grease gun and it delivers grease from grease gun under high pressure to inside of the sealed joints of heavy equipments. For the efficient functioning grease fittings should be free of dirt and not contain hardened grease. However, grease fittings get clogged and become ineffective in delivery of grease (malfunction).The following are some of the solutions to overcome this problem:

  1. Spraying petroleum based spray onto a grease fitting and cleaning it with a cloth will clean the grease fitting.
  2. Heat the clogged fittings with a propane torch or heat gun on a low flame. Following which the grease gun should be attached and flow of new grease will push soften old grease out and will clear the fitting.
  3. To attach commercial grease fitting cleaners such Zecker Zap, IPA, Powerfist and Performance tools to the clogged fitting. They are attached to one end of the grease fitting, injected with light viscosity oil and then stroked with a hammer. This will force the oil into fitting and will clear it of the hardened grease. Thus, these tools help to clear fitting without removing, replacing, digging or scraping. Applying this option has advantages that one does not have to pay for labour charges, reduces maintenance costs and downtime.
  4. When the above solutions do not work, then the grease fittings have to be taken apart to clean off the grease.
  5. After unscrewing the fitting, its passage is cleaned with a wire and filled with motor oil. The fitting is replaced and oil is pumped up, which will soften the grease and get it out.
  6. Sometimes there is a hydraulic lock at the zerk and which seals it. One has to loosen this component so that grease flows in.
  7. Sometimes the little ball in the tip of zerk gets friction stiffness or dirt gets collected over it and just needs to be loosened. A small sharp object can be used to dislodge the tip.
  8. Most the grease hardens on the zerk fitting. After taking the grease fitting taken apart, the zerk fitting is removed. A very small flat head screwdriver is used to remove all the grease out of the opening. The remaining can be cleaned using oil. A new zerk fitting is used and new grease is pumped till it comes out of the seals.
  9. If the above methods are not effective, then the fittings can be replaced with new ones as they are inexpensive.

Additional few things although minor, need to considered when grease does not flow into grease fittings. Sometimes there is lack of contact of the tip of the grease gun and zerk of fitting. There is also a possibility that the grease gun nozzle is worn out and leads to collection of grease around the zerk. Hence, replacing it with a new nozzle works for a long time. Also, one used use superior quality of grease. Finally, a daily scheduled servicing of the grease fitting is necessary for proper maintenance of the equipment.

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Effective greasing of heavy equipment can elongate its life

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We take a good deal of effort to ensure that our heavy equipment are in order and it does not break down when we need them the most. For instance, when we have an important project in hand and need the machine to work all throughout the day, we will just not want it to stop working for any stupid reason. But in case if it breaks down due to its parts being not sufficiently lubricated, it only shows how much we care for our equipment. It is therefore of utter importance that we apply appropriate greasing on the equipment at regular intervals. This will not only ensure that our machines are in order but also will save you from incurring any financial losses.

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In order for the heavy equipment to work in proper condition, appropriate greasing is very essential. Over greasing can also become a big problem which can prove very costly to you. It can lead to several complications in the machines like collapsed seals, high operating temperatures etc. So, people who are of the thought that applying lot of grease can strengthen the life of the machine can fall completely flat on their faces when they will begin to experience these issues in their machines.

Before you apply grease on your machine, it is also important to understand that if the grease is the right one for your machine. Not all kind of grease on earth will suit your equipment and in order to know what will go better with your equipment, you need to check the user manual of the product. In case, you are unable to understand that, you can also go through few internet articles that speaks about the kind of greasing you need to do for your machine. Lastly, you may also get in touch with an expert mechanic who will guide you with the lubricant you can apply on the machine.

Grease is ideally a combination of 3 components; i.e. oil, thickener and additives. By mixing these 3 components, lubricants of different types are produced. The oil that is used in lubricants is ideally mineral oil and it has been seen that such greases have shown significant performances in keeping the machine well lubricated. However, in case of extreme temperatures, synthetic based oil is most effective. The oil is then mixed with a thickener which can be a metallic soap. This will turn the soap into a semi fluid structure. Concurrently, companies are also using complex thickener type greases as it can provide outstanding capability to pull huge loads.

The complex greases are made by merging the metallic soap with an organic acid that has a very low molecular weight. Just in case if the machine is working in high temperatures, then usage of grease without any soap thickeners can bring optimum results.

For users who do not know what kind of grease they need to apply on their machines, it is recommended that they take some help of experts who knows about the different types and quality of greases and then work it on their machine.