Sealed or serviceable bearing: your choice?

[big bubba]

Lube question. so i've replaced a number of idler pulleys on my zero turn, a few on my pickup. never seen a grease serviceable idler pulley, all sealed.
asked an engineer friend who designed pulleys, and a good small engine guy why so...they both said sealed bearings are superior & will outlast grease serviceable, due to contaminants, etc.

your take? do you agree w/engineers & mechanics above based your own experience? btw, i'm glad to have grease serviceable mower spindles & front end zerks on my old pick up. thx in advance

 

[oldnslo]

I believe it depends on the environment and who is servicing the machine. Not cleaning dirty dusty grease zerks can put contaminates in the bearings. Over greasing to point blow seals out can also allow contaminates in.

I prefer type can grease for most applications

 

[Southernspeed]

I like the rubber sealed bearings for dust exclusion but I pop the seals off one side, squirt grease in there and reseal. Some cheaper sealed ones have barely any grease in. Metal sealed ones have their place in life but just buy good quality ones. Having said that, if the application allows, a zerk and grease gun gives peace of mind.

 

[MossRoad]

Lube question. so i've replaced a number of idler pulleys on my zero turn, a few on my pickup. never seen a grease serviceable idler pulley, all sealed.
asked an engineer friend who designed pulleys, and a good small engine guy why so...they both said sealed bearings are superior & will outlast grease serviceable, due to contaminants, etc.

your take? do you agree w/engineers & mechanics above based your own experience? btw, i'm glad to have grease serviceable mower spindles & front end zerks on my old pick up. thx in advance

My take would be, first, how would one install a grease zerk on an idler pulley? There's no place for it.

 

[4570Man]

Quality sealed bearings will last a long time.

 

[big bubba]

My take would be, first, how would one install a grease zerk on an idler pulley? There's no place for it.

true, & would require balancing as well. many idler pulley arms have zerks, just not pulleys. a lot of heat is generated from belt to idler pulley on my zero turn, just wonder of regular lube would lengthen pulley life

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I like the rubber sealed bearings for dust exclusion but I pop the seals off one side, squirt grease in there and reseal. Some cheaper sealed ones have barely any grease in. Metal sealed ones have their place in life but just buy good quality ones. Having said that, if the application allows, a zerk and grease gun gives peace of mind.

I've taken new ones apart and saw little grease.

 

[m1garand762]

Most people are ignorant to the fact that not all grease is compatible with each other and screw up good bearings with the wrong grease. If a bearing is made sealed it’s hard to screw it up

 

[super55]

Personally I'll take bearing or bushing you can grease over sealed ones. I like the idea when I know a bearing is starting to go bad I can preserve it's life a little longer by just keeping it greased. If all my implements had sealed bearing I'd never get any work done because I'd constantly be replacing bearings.

 

[Southernspeed]

Personally I'll take bearing or bushing you can grease over sealed ones. I like the idea when I know a bearing is starting to go bad I can preserve it's life a little longer by just keeping it greased. If all my implements had sealed bearing I'd never get any work done because I'd constantly be replacing bearings.

Like round balers!! Dozens of bearings and all sealed, not one zerk fitting to be found! Metal shielded at that so you can even sneak a little grease in there.