Which grease for which purposes

[coloradotrout]

I have tried to use one grease - Mobile 1 synthetic - for all purposes - mower spindle bearings, pto drive shaft lube, trailer wheel bearings, 3 point tiller bearing, finish mower wheel pivots, FEL pivot points, etc, etc. But at $6 a tube, I have to wonder if maybe I need to go with 2 options -- the good stuff for sealed bearings, and the ok stuff for general lube. Can someone suggest which uses I should continue with my Mobile 1 and which I should just go to Walmart and get a general purpose grease? Or make the case for why I should stick with Mobile 1.

Some of the grease points require 15 or so "pumps" to fill them up. The mower blade spindles for example each (3) seem to take 15-20 pumps to push out the relief holes. I don't get how that much grease can be lost in the course of 10 hours of mowing.

 

[LD1]

How often are you greasing??

If it is a concern, it sounds like you are over-greasing things.

I never pump until grease cones out of relief holes. Too much chance of blowing out the seal. I just give the deck bearings about 3 shots once a month. The pivots points on the loader and such never take much at all. About a pump or two max because of the tight clearences, there isn't a lot of space for the grease to occupy.

And even if you are over greasing, cheap grease is still a buck or two a tube.

Is it extra 4-5 dollars going to make or break you. You probabally aren't using hundreds of tubes a year are you??

And even if you opt to use a cheaper grease, I'd still use the good stuff at least in the bearings, which sounds like your biggest consumption anyway. So how much would you really save if you still used the good stuff in the bearings.

 

[Transit]

Why fight it? I use a 5 gal can of molly grease. The can is fitted with a pump that I use to load two grease guns that have zirk like fittings. The molly grease may not be hi-tech, but it does a fine job, very sticky.

 

[PHILIP8N]

I have 2 grease guns. One is filled with Mobil 1, only my truck gets it. The other gun is filled with Valvoline Crimson Red, everything else gets it. VCR is not for disc brakes. It is for construction and ag equipment. Very resistant to washout. Philip.

 

[number two]

I agree with Transit,the moly-fortified black grease is an excellent all purpose lubricant.$3-$4 per tube.I've used for it 30 years with excellent results.

 

[gauthier]

Well,just get the middle priced grease,than your in the middle. But,I got several things that need grease and couple tubes of grease last me about a year,,course I only grease things about once a year,so.. but if I was to grease twice a year that would be just four tubes.

 

[Ken45101]

I have wondered if higher speed things (like PTO joints) require a different lube than low speed, high pressure points like loader pins. Or is there a premium grease that excels in all uses?

Ken

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

I use Green Grease for all of my equipment. It is a bit pricey, but I don't use but a couple tubes a month. It's ~8.00 per tube.

Green Grease....The Best Grease Money Can Buy!....Just ask anyone who has used it!.....

 

[some zilch]

my employer owns a 1200 peice fleet of heavy equipment, all kept in one yard. everything uses the same, typical, cheap black grease, and never has bearing/pin/roller issues related to grease problems. only a few of the newer hydraulic hammers (for excavators) use a different grease. seems good enough for tractor use...........

 

[coloradotrout]

The Mobile 1 is a pain for me to get -- have to drive 45 mins to an Autozone. Last time they only had 2 tubes (guess I could order in a case eh?). Since I used that in my 5' brand new KK (TS Countryline) tiller for the side bearing, I'll definitely keep getting it for that one.

Walmart has a "red" Supertech high temp, high pressure 14oz cartridge for about $3. Would that be fine in just about everything else?

About the "amount of grease" -- on the 3 mower spindle shafts, it takes 15-25 pumps to get them to push out the relief holes. The manual (this is an old, say 30 year Arts Way mower) says "after the first 15 mins of operation, grease the spindle housing, until grease begins to emerge from the relief holes. Thereafter, grease weekly for every 20 hours of operation.." You suppose the weekly or 20 hours means just 3-4 pumps? or again until it emerges from the relief holes?

Other than that, you are right, most fittings only need 2-3 pumps. I may give the mfg a call -- they still stock parts (just got a set of new blades last month).