Grease Type

[Sidecarflip]

I always thought a zerk was put in place where one was supposed to add grease regularly for lubricating reasons. For example, my friend's Kubota tractor manual says to hit said zerks every 10 hours w/ multipurpose grease. Again, my guess is one is pushing out any accumulated dirt/water/etc. from the interior greased surfaces and ensuring there is enough lube to do the job. The ball joints on a truck I had used rubber boots held in place with either zip ties or metal bands. Greasing the zerks squeezed out old dark grease that looked bad (never analyzed it) compared to the new stuff I was forcing in. Greasing the king pins on my last Ford truck did the same - dirty grease was squeezed out between the joints.

Exactly and Kubota recommends greasing every 10 meter hours, which I also do in as much as I own and operate multiple large frame Kubota tractors. I farm with them.

 

[muddy42]

As long as its got groove, its got meaning, and maybe its the time, the place, the motion, and the way we are feeling (or something along those lines) - it'll be fine.

 

[Automan]

As long as its got groove, its got meaning, and maybe its the time, the place, the motion, and the way we are feeling (or something along those lines) - it'll be fine.

It's the word ya know?

 

[Chevboy0167]

 

[Automan]

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Grease chev boy

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

Understand something. On a shielded bearing with an Alemite fitting (which is the correct term, not Zerk btw).

That is debatable. In 1929, Oscar Zerk was granted a patent for his zerk fitting. The assignee was the Alemite Corporation, now owned, I believe by SKF. Their separate Alemite catalog has a section titled Zerk Fittings, which are manufactured by Alemite. Since patents last only 14 years (without an extension), today anyone can make and sell these, but I'd guess Zerk is a trademark. If it is not a trademark, it has become a ubiquitous term (like Band Aid) for this type of grease fitting.

The original Zerk fitting was an improvement on Alemite's ball style check valves.

From his bio on the lock and lube website:
Zerk visitied Cleveland in the US in 1907 where he founded a company to produce an early version of what became the familiar Zerk fitting. While he was not the first to envision forcing grease under pressure into joints and bearings, his designs were very good. Unfortunately, Zerk's business acumen did not yet match his engineering prowess and in 1913, he was forced out by his investors.
The start of the Great War found Zerk visiting his home in Austria and he was compelled to join the fighting, mustering out in 1918 as a decorated army captain. He married a local girl and the pair returned to the United States, where he became involved in the Allyne-Zerk Company.
In 1924, Allyne-Zerk was purchased by Stewart-Warner, which also owned Alemite, a market leader in lubrication technology ("Alemite" actually became a verb meaning "to lubricate" for a while in the 1930s), and Zerk became a stockholder and consulting engineer. In 1929, Zerk created a refined version of his lubrication nipple and assigned the patent to Alemite. He also led a well-publicized "housecleaning" of Stewart-Warner management in 1934, forcing the company to concentrate on its core automotive business instead of diversifying. [2]