3 Ways to Prevent Putting Too Much Grease in Bearings

The grease gun can be an effective tool or a dangerous weapon, depending on how it is used. You need to know the output per stroke of your grease gun in order to know how much grease you are adding each time you relubricate.

Grease guns generally produce from one to three grams of grease per stroke. The actual output can vary from gun to gun. Measure the actual output from each gun and use that measurement to determine how many strokes to apply.

Three Ways to Prevent Over Lubrication of Bearings

1. Calculate the exact amount that the bearing needs using the bearing speed, width, outer diameter and a factor for quantity. Then lubricate with careful self-discipline.

2. Install a grease vent plug on a relief port in the bearing. Most lube system suppliers carry inexpensive vents that work well.

3. In lieu of a grease vent port, install a 2 to 3 inch 1/8 inch diameter pipe to the relief port on the bearing. After initial installation, be sure to slowly pump enough grease into the bearing to fill the pipe. Because dirt has a difficult time traveling through the discharge grease, it is unlikely that solid contaminants will travel through the pipe. If this is a concern, put a small balloon over the end of the relief pipe.

Are Your Program Savings Going Down the Drain?

Did you know that an oil leak of one drop per second amounts to approximately $1000 of oil per year that must be replaced? If you estimate the cost of replacement, including purchasing, handling application, waste clean-up and disposal at three times the cost of the initial purchase, then each one-drop-per-second leak costs your company $2,956 based on 14,000 drops per pint and $3.50 per gallon for oil).