grease gun

[Sandhill Crane]

I have been using a Lock and Load for years, and always with a degree of frustration depending on the day.
The end result is not greasing as often as I probably should, because the mess telegraphs everywhere once on my hands.

I was checking out Good Works Tractors YouTube.
This is a guy in Kalamazoo, MI that sells used John Deere and Kubota compact tractors, and implements.
He has a good, informative channel.
He mentioned the Lube Shuttle by AIRTEC, a German made grease gun.

Game changer!

I got the lever action model vs the pistol grip and a case of grease.
Long story shortened, no more messy grease gun.
Very happy camper...(wait, we didn't camp this year at all.)
Extremely happy about the equipment getting proper, routine, no mess lube.

I still carry a plastic bag and roll of paper towels to clean squeeze out and wipe the zerks off, but my hands are all but grease free.
Don't know how the gun works as there is no plunger or air bleed.
I just does!
I also got the lock-on tip.

Did the SuperSplit, conveyor, PackFix and Navigator forklift two days in a row as I could not believe it, and used half a tube of grease.
With the other gun I never could judge how much was in the gun.

The grease tube screws to the head, and a metal sleeve slides over the tube and screws in the head as well, which give stiffness to the body for the two handed lever action, as shown on the box cover.

EDIT: The grease tubes are recyclable, or refillable.
If anyone has an idea on how to refill them I'd love to hear it.
Most likely simpler to purchase another case of grease.
At least I will not be wasting it or throwing out an unused quarter tube like before.

 

[farmer steve]

Interesting. Can you use any grease cartridge or theirs?

 

[rancher2]

I grew up in the fuel, oil business and we also had a small truck stop and did service work. Grease guns can be a pain. I have seen a ton of different ideas over the years be it hand operated or air or battery. For hand operated guns we always had the best luck with Lincoln's. When Lincoln came out with battery operated one I bought one for the farm. I run probably three cases of grease threw it a year and it works great. I am the only person that runs it and maintains it. Its been trouble free easy to bleed and uses up the grease. Crane this gun looks good but I would wonder about loading the cartridges back up. A lot of folks have a brand of grease they like and want to stick with it.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

As far as I know just their cartridges.
Two types of grease available.
They can be refilled or recycled.
Not sure how you refill them. I'll have to check the website to see if there is an adapter to do so.

 

[holeycow]

Lincoln.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Just looked at more on the website.
They offer pail pumps and adapters for pneumatic refill.
There is an expensive battery version as well.
Also several grease type options.

 

[TimberWolf530]

It's hard to find a good one any more. I had one that my Grandpa had since the 1960's. Someone.......uh...... not sure who, left it under the wheel of the skid steer so I had to get a new one. I've been through two so far in the last 5 years. I just bought a Lincoln last week, and by the previous comments it sounds like that may have been a good decision. Maybe I'll be able to pass it on to my Grandson some day.

 

[CentaurG2]

We run a lincoln battery grease gun. Works really well but you need to be careful not to over grease things. Luckily it has 2 speed settings. It is a pinch heavy for a grease gun.

 

[sean donato]

When I first started road work. I was handed an alemite lever gun, and told it would be the last grease gun I ever buy. That was 14 years ago. It's never given me grief. Hine through many hoses on it though, this last hose is a bright green thing, the hydraulic shop claims it wont blow out like normal grease hose. I have a lock n lube clip on end on it. Cant say I've ever wanted more out of a grease gun. I tried a few different electric models and always end up going back to the alemite.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Never heard of Lincoln or Alemite. Good to know they are good, and that's the whole point, to share what works and what doesn't.
If you use something a lot, and it works, the cost is often a distant secondary consideration. The Lube Shuttle is something like $59.00.
Grease pricing varies quite a bit depending on what you get.

Which is another question: What grease do you use on your equipment?
For lack of knowing, I bought the lithium base MoS2.

 

[CentaurG2]

Good old Lucas red n tacky. Buy it buy the case and use it by the tube.

 

[sean donato]

Depends on the equipment requirements. There were 2 main greases I used though. A molly based grease, and this high impact grease, was very stringy and think. The molly grease came from whatever distributer that got bid that year. They were all about the same spec. The high impact grease was made by wurth. It was basically used in impactors, and hammers.
There were a few mfg specific greases, but they were very limited in use.
At home I use a lucas heavy duty "green" grease, mainly because its rated good for wheels bearings, and readily available locally.

 

[sb47]

It all depends on what I'm greasing. On the tree spades and heavy equipment that work in the dirt the zerk fittings get clogged up with dirt and I have to take the fitting out and clean out the dirt or the grease wont go in. If you wait to long the grease can dry up and cloge it up as well. I switched to a pneumatic gun and it works better on a lot of stuff. You have to be careful not to blow out the seals on a lot of stuff with them.

 

[tla100]

Got a Dewalt 20 volt grease gun, way cooler to grease things now

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I also run a Dewalt 20v, Keeps things at work and the tractor at home lubed up. The grease is whatever red duralene stuff the company buys lol.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Got a Dewalt 20 volt grease gun, way cooler to grease things now

Same, just Milwaukee flavor. Also have a older Lincoln, but the battery is worn out.

I'd have hands that could crush steel if i had to use a manual grease gun on equipment.
Even WITH the cordless gun, it's still a fair bit of work. Some of the equipment has probably 50+ grease points and takes 2 tubes of grease.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Never heard of Lincoln or Alemite. Good to know they are good, and that's the whole point, to share what works and what doesn't.
If you use something a lot, and it works, the cost is often a distant secondary consideration. The Lube Shuttle is something like $59.00.
Grease pricing varies quite a bit depending on what you get.

Which is another question: What grease do you use on your equipment?
For lack of knowing, I bought the lithium base MoS2.
View attachment 867714View attachment 867715View attachment 867719View attachment 867720

I use some stuff from Schucks that is black and about as bad as anti seize for getting on stuff.

It runs around $2 a tube on my account.

 

[Jere39]

I have been using a Lock and Load for years, and always with a degree of frustration depending on the day.
The end result is not greasing as often as I probably should, because the mess telegraphs everywhere once on my hands.

I was checking out Good Works Tractors YouTube.
This is a guy in Kalamazoo, MI that sells used John Deere and Kubota compact tractors, and implements.
He has a good, informative channel.
He mentioned the Lube Shuttle by AIRTEC, a German made grease gun.

Game changer!

I got the lever action model vs the pistol grip and a case of grease.
Long story shortened, no more messy grease gun.
Very happy camper...(wait, we didn't camp this year at all.)
Extremely happy about the equipment getting proper, routine, no mess lube.

I still carry a plastic bag and roll of paper towels to clean squeeze out and wipe the zerks off, but my hands are all but grease free.
Don't know how the gun works as there is no plunger or air bleed.
I just does!
I also got the lock-on tip.

Did the SuperSplit, conveyor, PackFix and Navigator forklift two days in a row as I could not believe it, and used half a tube of grease.
With the other gun I never could judge how much was in the gun.

The grease tube screws to the head, and a metal sleeve slides over the tube and screws in the head as well, which give stiffness to the body for the two handed lever action, as shown on the box cover.

EDIT: The grease tubes are recyclable, or refillable.
If anyone has an idea on how to refill them I'd love to hear it.
Most likely simpler to purchase another case of grease.
At least I will not be wasting it or throwing out an unused quarter tube like before.
View attachment 867664View attachment 867665View attachment 867666View attachment 867667View attachment 867668

I've been considering this grease gun and grease for quite a while now. Seems every time I reload my old grease gun I remind myself that there has to be a better way. Then I would look into this system and balk at the price. Well, I recently wore out the ball joints on my JD x728 tractor, and they are welded to the ends of the tie rod. That makes them very expensive. The dealer parts guy suggested it was probably because I wasn't keeping them greased as much as I should. This in spite of me more than quadrupling the service cycle that is recommended in the manual. Be that as it may - I now intend to grease them even more frequently, and decided to "treat" myself to one of these Lube Shuttles, and add a LocknLube end to it (which required an adapter due to German standards vs US standards on the threaded ends). It was still expensive, but compared to my JD tie rod with welded on ball joints, I think I'll be better off in the long run. Thanks for bringing this back to front of mind. Nice to have an easy, quick, and reliable grease gun when laying upside down under the tractor on the cold winter concrete floor of my garage. Anyone interested in a very used OEM John Deere MIA 880702? With access to the right fab shop, I'm told one could easily cut the ball joints off, weld new ones on and have an entirely serviceable system for peanuts.

 

[cookies]

i run lucas red and green grease on cars/trucks/trailers and mobil/valvoline/lucas marine on boat trailers and boat steering...heck i even refill my guide bar grease gun with lucas. I have used it forever on my personal stuff and neighbors stuff and it has stopped recurring wheel bearing failures on multiple trailers.

 

[old CB]

Good thread. I always wondered if it was just me, but I fought and cussed grease guns for years. I used to run tractors, combines, trucks, & hay & field equipment. Always working to cut costs, I bought grease in 5-gallon buckets and refilled my grease guns from it. Frustrating as hell. I always thought that my refilling the tubes was getting air pockets into the mix. But in recent years when I've bought grease by the tube, it's no less problematic.

Now that I deal with just a wood chipper and the underside of my pickup, it's an easier task.