Zerk/grease gun 101

[Wagtail]

I have a serious, yet whimsicle, question...

Since when did grease nipples cease being called grease nipples? It was easy enough to translate "zerk" (and even ENC's "zero") but if I were to say that around here I'd get some very strange looks.

Is it a 'brand name' thing? Like saying "xerox" instead of photocopy or "Hoover" instead of vacuum cleaner.

 

[PhysAssist]

I have a serious, yet whimsicle, question...

Since when did grease nipples cease being called grease nipples? It was easy enough to translate "zerk" (and even ENC's "zero") but if I were to say that around here I'd get some very strange looks.

Is it a 'brand name' thing? Like saying "xerox" instead of photocopy or "Hoover" instead of vacuum cleaner.

Oscar Zerk invented an improved design for grease nipples hence the name, his design was licensed to the Alemite Co., which was already making another fitting that was less successful at sealing out dirt, and letting grease in.

Grease fitting and grease nipple are also used.

Thanks wikipedia.
Thomas

 

[PhysAssist]

What do you do when the grease come out around the tip and zero area instead of flowing through the zero to the area that needs greased?

As was said previously- hold the tube and nozzle straight over the fitting, or try tightening the nozzle, finally, it may be plugged and you can do any of the above, or get a grease fitting cleaner/clearer from HF ($9.99 before coupon) or auto parts store (or TSC).

You fill the body of it with light machine oil like 3-in-1 or WD-40, attach its nozzle like the grease gun, and hit a plunger on it with a hammer to force the oil in and clean the crud out.

Be sure to pump it full of grease once it's cleared.

My DR Brush and Field Mower was stored outside last winter for the first (and only) time, and the grease fittings seized up, hence my purchase of the clearer. There was no rust, just frozen zerks.

Safe tractoring,
Thomas

 

[Kubota Tee]

Great thread! Was thinking of starting one on this topic, but wasn't sure if there would be an interest or if it would be considered too basic. Here's my question: does every grease gun leak? Are some better than others when it comes to leaking, changing cartridges, general usage? I've picked up several over the years (all cheap ones) and I'm just wondering if its worth "investing" in a good one - will I notice any difference? My only frame of reference was when I went from always getting/using a cheap caulk gun to a "professional" model, it made a world of difference!

Keep the posts coming!

 

[Stonehaller]

I have been digging trenches for drain tile the last few days and yesterday morning as I was wiping the grease zerks in the backhoe pins on my L39, I noticed one of the zerks turned. I got a ratchet and socket and every zerk in the center of a pin was loose. Those not in pins, like for the boom swing pivot, where tight. I checked the loader and it was the same story there. It could have been the previous owner, but it makes me wonder if the factory never fully tightened zerks in pins. It could also be that the pins see more impact loading verses a housing and over time that loosens the zerk (tractor has almost 800 hrs). Something to add to the maintenance check list. Anybody else notice this?

 

[Earl Ohl]

Great thread! Was thinking of starting one on this topic, but wasn't sure if there would be an interest or if it would be considered too basic. Here's my question: does every grease gun leak? Are some better than others when it comes to leaking, changing cartridges, general usage? I've picked up several over the years (all cheap ones) and I'm just wondering if its worth "investing" in a good one - will I notice any difference? My only frame of reference was when I went from always getting/using a cheap caulk gun to a "professional" model, it made a world of difference!

Keep the posts coming!

Most of the ones that I've had do leak. On my newest one I screwed the end cap off the barrel (spring loaded) & the plunger seal was out of position. I worked on it with my fingers (messy) & repositioned it properly. Try to do this when the grease cartridge is empty though.

 

[ENC]

Well looks like I have some plugged up zerks (no more autocorrect) . I was holding the tip of the gun on pretty hard and straight. I have about 4 zerks on my FEL that won't take grease, kinda hacks me off when the tractor has only 80 hours on it. Also I am obsessive about wiping a zerk off both before and after(helps minimize dust and grime buildup) greasing it.
Thanks again for the advice

 

[k0ua]

Well looks like I have some plugged up zerks (no more autocorrect) . I was holding the tip of the gun on pretty hard and straight. I have about 4 zerks on my FEL that won't take grease, kinda hacks me off when the tractor has only 80 hours on it. Also I am obsessive about wiping a zerk off both before and after(helps minimize dust and grime buildup) greasing it.
Thanks again for the advice

Also some times a Zerk wont take grease, because the pin joint is in a bind, you can move the joint or take pressure off of it by moving the backhoe or letting it rest on the ground. When you hold the tip on good and tight and straight, and attempt to pump grease do you feel resistance? In other words you cannot pump? If so then it could be stopped up like we have all mentioned but it could be you need to move the joint relieve pressure on it. I hope this made some sense.

James K0UA

 

[Runner]

I find that a cordless electric grease gun is VERY helpful. This is especially true for fittings that are set at an angle where you can't get "straight on it" with a hand-pump gun. You can hold the tip on the zerk with one hand and hit the button with the other.

I modified my electric gun by adding a rigid tube from an old pump style gun to the end of the rubber hose. This makes it much easier to hold the end tight against the zerk and also to get into tight areas where you otherwise couldn't get your hand on the end of the hose. Now that I've used this setup for a few years, I wouldn't be without it for tractor greasing.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I am sure those Lincoln battery guns are good but WOW the price is almost enough to buy a compressor and a $20 pneumatic one to provide the air. Since I do all my greasing at my shop, I couldn't see spending $200 on a battery gun since I already have a couple of compressors. We used to use a 5 gallon tank type gun to grease the cotton picker in the field. You could set it close to where you were greasing and grease all the bars without refilling. It took about 3 gallons of grease per day to grease it so the little cartridges were not useful. I wish I still had that gun. Once you got it filled, the mess was over for a while.

 

[dragoneggs]

Great thread! Was thinking of starting one on this topic, but wasn't sure if there would be an interest or if it would be considered too basic. Here's my question: does every grease gun leak? Are some better than others when it comes to leaking, changing cartridges, general usage? I've picked up several over the years (all cheap ones) and I'm just wondering if its worth "investing" in a good one - will I notice any difference? My only frame of reference was when I went from always getting/using a cheap caulk gun to a "professional" model, it made a world of difference!

Keep the posts coming!

Thanks Kubota Tee! I started this thread thinking the same thing... too basic? Hence Grease Gun 101 title but the conversation is what I was hoping for!

 

[farmgirl19]

Great thread! Was thinking of starting one on this topic, but wasn't sure if there would be an interest or if it would be considered too basic. Here's my question: does every grease gun leak? Are some better than others when it comes to leaking, changing cartridges, general usage? I've picked up several over the years (all cheap ones) and I'm just wondering if its worth "investing" in a good one - will I notice any difference? My only frame of reference was when I went from always getting/using a cheap caulk gun to a "professional" model, it made a world of difference!

Keep the posts coming!

I think the grease you have in the gun is the key on how much it leaks. (Provided you aren't using a really cheap gun.) I have one that has not leaked at all, this summer, and used to leak enough to make a big mess. If you get a grease that doesn't separate as easily, it will stay in the gun MUCH better.

 

[ENC]

Also some times a Zerk wont take grease, because the pin joint is in a bind, you can move the joint or take pressure off of it by moving the backhoe or letting it rest on the ground. When you hold the tip on good and tight and straight, and attempt to pump grease do you feel resistance? In other words you cannot pump? If so then it could be stopped up like we have all mentioned but it could be you need to move the joint relieve pressure on it. I hope this made some sense.

James K0UA

Thanks but the loader is on the ground and a lot of time I have been able to move the loader arms back and forth on the pin so resistance is minimal. The gun shows no resistance at all on these zerks. Like if i try to grease the serks on the turnbuckle that adjusts the height of my lift arms the resistance is huge and you can't pump the gun. I always just figured that was because it never gets adjusted from level and stays full of grease. I am thinking the zerks are just clogged.

 

[k0ua]

Thanks but the loader is on the ground and a lot of time I have been able to move the loader arms back and forth on the pin so resistance is minimal. The gun shows no resistance at all on these zerks. Like if i try to grease the serks on the turnbuckle that adjusts the height of my lift arms the resistance is huge and you can't pump the gun. I always just figured that was because it never gets adjusted from level and stays full of grease. I am thinking the zerks are just clogged.

On that particular Zerk, take the tip of your pocket knife and press on the tiny check ball on the Zerk, If grease oozes's out, you are good to go. Some items have no outlet for the grease to come out, and if they are full, their full. End of story.

James K0UA

 

[murphy1244]

On that particular Zerk, take the tip of your pocket knife and press on the tiny check ball on the Zerk, If grease oozes's out, you are good to go. Some items have no outlet for the grease to come out, and if they are full, their full. End of story.

James K0UA

Kioti DK series has a center steering zerk like that, only needs greasing once a year I'm told.

 

[Ross71]

Funny that you find the flexi hose to be such an improvement. I had constant trouble greasing round machinery. I'm no weakling, but I could never seem to get the grease to go in through the fitting. Everywhere else, just not into the thing that needed greasing. a side lever grease gun is difficilt to operate one handed if you have to use the other hand to hold the grease gun nozzle onto the nipple. On my chinese tractor, some of the loader pins had the grease nipple recessed a 1/4" into the end of the pin, but the diameter of the recess was too small to get the end of a grease gun into. It used to be such a daunting and frustrating task, and even when I had greased round I never had any confidence that I'd done it properly. Not a good way to be. I didn't actually use the tractor that much or often the first couple of years I owned it, and I probably used it less than I would have if I'd felt that it was at least getting basic servicing.

Then everything changed and I was using the tractor 30 hours a week instead of 30 hours a year.

I solved these issues by buying a pistol grip grease gun with a straight delivery pipe, which seemed to solve the first problem. Then I bought a spare grease nozzle and got a friend to turn 40 thou off the diameter at the end(but leaving the knurling intact) which gave enough clearance on the recessed grease fittings.

I replaced the (far east)grease nipples everywhere they didn't want to work with fittings from the german tractor dealership. Then I pulled all the pins which wouldn't take grease, and cleaned out the accumulation of dirt/dried on grease, cleaned the pin, cleaned the bearing that it sits in, new grease, reassemble and no more problems.

Some of these issues were due to my inexperience allowing the problems to persist unsolved, some were I think due to poor manufacturing in the first place. The upshot is that there's about 32 grease nipples on my tractor and loader and it takes less than 10 minutes to do them all, and check oil and coolant.

 

[Wagtail]

Oscar Zerk invented an improved design for grease nipples hence the name, his design was licensed to the Alemite Co., which was already making another fitting that was less successful at sealing out dirt, and letting grease in.

Grease fitting and grease nipple are also used.

Thanks wikipedia.
Thomas

Ta, Mate. I'm glad (and relieved) that it's not Political Correctness rearing its ugly head! :laughing: I reckon that you in North America would've been just as confused were I to refer to a ball-point pen as a "Biro"... for the same reason that he invented/patented it.

OK! Back to Grease nipple/Zerk FUN!

 

[allen6634]

On that particular Zerk, take the tip of your pocket knife and press on the tiny check ball on the Zerk, If grease oozes's out, you are good to go. Some items have no outlet for the grease to come out, and if they are full, their full. End of story.

James K0UA

i have found that a air operated gun will push the grease out harder so the stubborn ones end up taking grease.

 

[BXpanded]

What do you do when the grease come out around the tip and zero area instead of flowing through the zero to the area that needs greased?

If the coupling is adjusted and seated properly on the fitting, there should be no grease coming out of the connection. If the fitting is stopped up or the pin is plugged, you might not be able to pump the grease, but it really should not leak. Check the Alemite (another common term for grease fittings) for damage. A tiny nick in the end will cause it to leak as the coupling can't seal. Also, if the grease fitting is slightly loose, the grease will come out of the threads and appear to be coming from the coupling. I ran into the situation last week where a fitting on a machine in the shop had been hit with a piece of metal. The fitting was nicked on the end and the fitting was cocked slightly in the threaded hole. Grease was coming out at the coupling and from the threads where the fitting screwed into the machine. We replaced the fitting using hydraulic fitting sealant on the threads and took care of the problem.

 

[ENC]

If the coupling is adjusted and seated properly on the fitting, there should be no grease coming out of the connection. If the fitting is stopped up or the pin is plugged, you might not be able to pump the grease, but it really should not leak. Check the Alemite (another common term for grease fittings) for damage. A tiny nick in the end will cause it to leak as the coupling can't seal. Also, if the grease fitting is slightly loose, the grease will come out of the threads and appear to be coming from the coupling. I ran into the situation last week where a fitting on a machine in the shop had been hit with a piece of metal. The fitting was nicked on the end and the fitting was cocked slightly in the threaded hole. Grease was coming out at the coupling and from the threads where the fitting screwed into the machine. We replaced the fitting using hydraulic fitting sealant on the threads and took care of the problem.

Might be another thing to check maybe the easiest because like I said the tractor only has 80 hours which means this is the 8th time these fittings have been greased which seems a little early for failure.
While we are on the subject I included a picture of what I use for our trashcan. Got it form a service shop I used to work at in my college days.