Grease guns

[kkottemann]

Ok....in the past two weeks i have destroyed 2 grease guns. One was air the other was manual. In the past year I cannot tell you how much time I have wasted waiting for the damm thing to prime and shoot grease. the air grease gun in particular is a major problem. First i had one from napa now i have a craftsman. is there a trick to getting these things to work efficiently? Is there a better product out there? I use alot of grease on my job...I need this to work a bit more efficiently. And yes.....they were destroyed in a fit or rage.....

 

[chemist]

I've never had any luck with pneumatic grease guns. The best I've used are the the one hand manual squeeze ones. I usually keep a minimum of two around to avoid getting shut down by a malfunction. Then again, when both don't work the rage is exponential!

 

[JohnH]

I feel you'r pain. I found you get what you pay for with them. The ones we get from Napa are cheap and suck. They get the cheap ones because they seem to disappeare a lot. I have one I got from Cat 5 years ago and have no trouble with it.

 

[Grace Tree]

I've had a Lincoln battery powered for the past year or so with no trouble. Before that I had some cheaper bat powered ones that burned up just when I needed them. So far so good on the Lincoln.
Phil

 

[A. Stanton]

I stand with you, Kman, on this one. Grease guns suck. I bought the deluxe manual one from Napa, with the one-hand trigger job. It took me about 1 hour to battle the spring and load the damn thing. Now it gets air bound during regular use. Why did Kubota have to put a zillion grease fittings on their backhoes?

 

[lone wolf]

you know that plate that pushes the greese up on the tube well i brazed mine so it stays where it should and i can use the shaft to push the greese up when it loses a prime

 

[dingeryote]

Where were you guys for back up a couple weeks ago on another grease gun thread? 'Ol Spacegoofus tried to play the "If ya knew what you were doin'" card.

The newer Guns are CRAP! They get airlocked constantly.

I'm down to two that work and can be bled with enough cussing and banging.
Both are Snap on's made in USA models I bought back in the early 80's.

The little bleeder check balls still work for some reason, so they get airlocked on the tubes, so I have taken to just hand packing the things.

Bloody mess, but it's better than bouncing another one off the wall.

There's nothing more agravating than having glop dripping on ya under a tractor, with skeeters biting, and both hands on a grease gun that refuses to deliver.

Last time I looked, Snap-on is getting some serious hardcore bank for a grease gun these days, so if either of mine finally croak, I dunno what I'm gonna do.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[M.R.]

I like the pistol grip over the lever style in a lot of places seems as if the lever needs three hands or a leg/knee and both hands, by the time I get around some of the equipment the pump is really *felt* in the forearm.

When changing tubes I just thread the top on enough to allow the air to bleed, the release the plunger....Prime...then tighten the top down.
When the guns start leaving too much grease in the tube it gets tossed.

 

[demographic]

I'm glad you lot are having problems as well.

I thought it was just me being an idiot when I was struggling to get mine setup.

 

[Veteran]

Buy a LINCOLN grease gun and you will never have to post a problem .Carefull about the high pressure gun it can pop a pressed fitting out.

 

[Gologit]

I'm glad you lot are having problems as well.

I thought it was just me being an idiot when I was struggling to get mine setup.

Nope...and I have the dents in the shop wall from thrown grease guns to prove it. And then a really big mess to clean up whilst contemplating the effects of riggin fits.

 

[kkottemann]

Well i'm glad to see that i'm not the only one!! I like the air gun so i'm goanna return th craftsman tomorrow and go find a lincoln.....i'm sure it will piss me off just the same. need a new hand pump as well for the track tension gauge.

 

[2dogs]

There are 3 or 4 grease guns kicking around. The one that always works is a 5year old John Deere one hand type. I have gone through two 5 gallon bucket grease pumps that have not worked worth a hoot. I through the last one out almost full because I was so mad at it.

 

[treemandan]

I am sorry but I have to laugh. Now you all know me, I am not being mean BUT its not the guns. Its you. I swear.
I never messed with anything but a 12 dollar pistol grip from the parts house and the one I have now I have had for well over a decade with nary a problem.
First start with an unmolested gun. I know everybody think that if you unscrew the valve thing-a ma- bob you will get somewhere but I highly doubt it so unmolested it is.
Now the next thing is to pull the piston handle all the way back and cock it so it locks and stays all the way out. The piston handle is at the bottom. Pull slow and firm , all the way, cock and lock.
Then put the top trigger part in a vise,you don't have to tighten the vise very much, this only holds the trigger part while you unscrew the bottom. I know you don't need the vise but alot of time people crossthread it when putting it back together and this just helps keep it steady so you can align it back together better.
You know to put the end of the cartridge with the plastic cap towards the bottom and the pop top towards the top? Put the cartrige in and pop the top.So do that then gently screw it back together. Once corectly tightened just un-cock the piston handle and push it in all the way. If its been crossthreaded its not going to work.
Now you are done, a few pumps will bring the grease out I swear or my name ain't Dan.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

I run heavy equ for a living and its not unusual for me to use two tubes of grease a day on a big excavator. And I agree 100% with Dan. But I add what M.R. does too. As I work in the field I don't use a vice. When I put the gun back together I unscrew the can until I feel it drop letting me know the threads are lined up then I screw it on.

When changing tubes I just thread the top on enough to allow the air to bleed, the release the plunger....Prime...then tighten the top down.
When the guns start leaving too much grease in the tube it gets tossed.

Take care of your grease tubes! If they are dented the plunger will hang up and it won't work. Yes you can make it work but its not worth the effort

Do not get any dirt in the gun. Wipe off the metal end before you pull the ring out. If it should fall in the dirt and get dirt in the grease you will not get it out the tube is junk. The dirt will get in the check valve of the pump and it will bind up and barely pump any grease and pump very hard if at all.

The guns that have that little tab around the plunger are junk. You want the one that has the groove in the plunger that you pull out then to the side to lock.

Gool luch and wear your grease gloves

Billy

 

[056kid]

to get the goo flowing, I have found that wacking the cylinder on somthing hard while pumping, getting them nice & warm helps too..

 

[Nosmo]

Vise Grips

If you are having trouble with the push rod jumping out of the slot when it is pulled back and your are trying to screw the gun back together clamp the rod against the end cap with vise grips.

Nosmo

 

[kkottemann]

honestly, I don't see the need for a pair of vice grips. it seems pretty simple to me. You unscrew the top of the gun, drop in a new tube of grease, screw the top back on and pump grease right???? only mine don't want to pump grease.

 

[056kid]

What about the plunger, you gots to pull it out in order to insert the grease tube...



Maybe that is why the grease isent coming?

 

[joesawer]

honestly, I don't see the need for a pair of vice grips. it seems pretty simple to me. You unscrew the top of the gun, drop in a new tube of grease, screw the top back on and pump grease right???? only mine don't want to pump grease.

If the tubs have been stored on their side or upside down, No.
If there is any air space at the top of the tub it will vacuum lock it. I Almost always start the top about one good turn on the threads then release the plunger and leave the handle open and tighten the rest of the way. This pushes grease up into the top and the air out.
Properly store your grease and make sure your supplier does also.
Grease guns are suffering quality control issues just like the rest of our decaying society. But they are very simple machines and should not be very difficult to make work.