Grease gun advice needed

Suggest just try a good quality nozzle - the bit that fits onto grease nipple. They all seem to be the same thread (?), and might be a better fit to the nipples.

The quality of the zerk connection is important. Replacing the fitting sometimes helps. Decades ago I can remember being chewed out by my aircraft maintenance instructor for pushing the fitting straight onto the nipple. That old English instructor demanded that the connection be rolled on and off the zerk to preserve the fit. I have no idea if it made a difference. Randy

I'm willing to pay a good price and throw all my cheap guns away. Any recommendations???

Thanks, Ivan Vegvary

Sometimes this just means that the other side of the zerk is a impacted mass of dried up grease (well, you hope it was once grease). Sometimes replacing the zerk helps, other times you need to disassemble the thing to get the crap out so that grease can flow again, as the zerk was not where the problem was. All it takes is someone ignoring the joint for a few years/decades. I have a bit too much experience with this on my backhoe, as some former owner did not believe in the stuff (as evidenced by the coat of paint, not particularly new paint, which lay unbroken over many zerks).

Note - if you think the problem is the end of your grease gun, you can buy replacements (end and/or end and tube/hose), and if your existing guns are not actually too bad, just screw off the old and screw on the new.

I use many tubes of grease per year on the farm. I hear on el cheapo grease guns.

I don't know the brand name, but I bought one from the Snap-on truck (brand of tools). You would not believe the difference!!!

I got the same story with screwdrivers. I used to just buy Sears Crapsman. After using a couple of the high grade units, I won't go back.

You gets what you pays for.

Karl

Sometimes heat works, although it's a smoky job and lighting the grease up is always a possibility.

I was also taught this in A&P school. Don't ever recall seeing it in print though...

A good quality coupling/nozzle really makes a big difference, costs little and lasts practically forever. A good investment if there ever was one. The one I have rotates around, and can be quickly one hand configured to reach most any zerk you can find.

OT observation mode on.

Here's a partial list of tool related things I've learned through the years not to skimp ON.

A good high tension hack saw frame. Better yet, 3 good high tension frames, one for 18, 24 and 32 TPI blades.

A good bench Vise (properly mounted with the fixed jaw just beyond the bench edge, allowing long objects to be held vertically). I have a dedicated ceiling mounted spot light trained right on my Wilton.

Good shop lighting.

A nice for real steel anvil. Doesn't have to be huge unless you really have a need... however 55 to 65 lbs min.

If you do any automotive work, a top of the line professional floor jack, along with a set of nice big beefy jack stands.

A nice set of dial or digital calipers. (And take good care of them)

A good combination square.

A good 3/8" drill motor. (I still prefer the old corded drills as they are smaller, powerful, and won't surprise you with a battery being down when you need it. Cordless i agree is the way to go if you need the portability.)

I could go on all night, probably should have started a new thread.

OT observation mode OFF.

Erik

Erik

Very high on the "don't skimp" list:

Vise grip brand locking pliers.

Crow bars and Pry bars made in the USA only.

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My grease gun nozzels/sockets.. are adjustable like a chuck. Loosen it up to a good slipp fit for most zerks and tighten it down wile on the zerk for the tough ones. I don't like the idea of blowing the nasty hard gunk into the bearings so I usually remove, clean or replaece and reinstall the zerks that won't take grease.

Glenn

we do a fair amount of line boring and bearing repair on off the road equipment at work and usually the cause of the failed , galled wore out bearing / bushing is the grease lines have become completely plugged along their entire length , a real hard thing to do in some spots ...

well i made our guys a couple of adapters to allow them to hook up the

10000 psi power unit to purge through the grease line , don't recommend doing it with the bearing/ pins / bushings in place but boy does it ever clean out a passageway

I used to have an English car, that instead of nipples had plugs on all grease points. The advice was to remove plug, fit a clean nipple and then grease. Quite a job! For suspension parts, lifting vehicle off ground (not by the wheels) helps get the grease where it's needed.

I've never seen a mid-priced grease gun that didn't work. You may have another problem.

Sometimes the ball-checks in zerks freeze up, or dirt clogs the passages. If one holds the gun nozzle firmly against the zerk, and grease only escapes around it, suspect a clogged fitting.

Most zerks are easily changed, but if you can't, there's a manual 'hammer' tool available (Northern Tools) to clear a clogged zerk. It fits over the fitting like a grease gun nozzle, and with a blow of a hammer, forces light oil into the fitting to purge it. After such cleaning, a full flushing of the affected joint with fresh grease finishes the job.

By the way... DONT use the hammer tool on a sealed ball bearing. It'll blow the seals out. For that matter, you should never lubricate a bearing unless it's running, anyway.

I have several machines with close-running bushed shafts. They require a lot of pressure to lubricate. The cheap ($16) Ace Hardware gun I have does fine. The baby 'mini-gun' I bought from Discount Auto works fine, too.

LLoyd

I know it might seem a funny thing to suggest, but do you have a JCB excavator dealership near you? I bought a grease gun from my local dealer for £9 (about $15 I think) and it's the best grease gun I've ever used. It's bright yellow so I never lose it, too.

Chris