A grease gun is a common workshop and garage tool used for lubrication. The purpose of the grease gun is to apply lubricant through an aperture to a specific point, usually from a grease cartridge to a grease fitting or 'nipple'. The channels behind the grease nipple lead to where the lubrication is needed. The aperture may be of a type that fits closely with a receiving aperture on any number of mechanical devices. The close fitting of the apertures ensures that lubricant is applied only where needed, making it an efficient tool for maintaining high quality grease gun performance.
High Grease Gun Pressure
A high-pressure manual grease gun is designed to deliver from 2,000 to 15,000 psi. Applying too much pressure while greasing will damage the bearing seals, which rarely handle more than 500 psi. Symptoms of high grease gun pressure include collapsed bearing shields, damaged bearing seals, grease driven into electric motor windings, and safety and environmental issues.
Regreasing Frequency
Managing regreasing frequencies to optimal conditions is necessary to avoid long-term machine health problems. If the frequency is too long, symptoms may include lubricant starvation, which promotes wear, friction and grease contamination. If the frequency is too short, excessive grease consumption and safety and environmental issues may occur.
Overgreasing and Undergreasing
It is important to know the exact amount of grease necessary for your greasing application to avoid overgreasing or undergreasing. Symptoms of overgreasing include damaged seals and motor windings, environmental issues, and fluid friction, which leads to increased heat generation, higher grease oxidation rates and higher energy consumption. Symptoms of undergreasing include bearing starvation, which results in friction wear and increased contamination.
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