Should i get an air powered grease gun??

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Hi Y'all..

Have a question regarding greasing my bandit 2550xp, seems like the grease
channel in the bushings are getting clogged with dirt etc and some of them will
not take grease, i had to pull some of the bushings out today and clean out the
clogged channels, a real pain...

I am thinking an air powered grease gun would be the answer, what are your
thoughts ???

The problem is not with the fittings, pulled them out and they were clear, the
problems is in the grease channels in bushings, dirt is getting in and clogging
them up, once i took out the bushings and hit the fittings with grease the clogs
blew right out, i am sure a lot of stump grinders have had the same problems
and would be interested in their solutions..

Thx much..


Bob....

 

[Mowingman]

I know what you are saying and have had that problem on other types of machines. I have never had this happen on any of my stump grinders. How often do you grease these locations? Just wondering if more frequent greasing would help?
I grease my machine every day when I finish my last stump. It seems to take grease better when everything is warm/hot. Even if I just go out and do one stump, maybe a 15 minute job, I grease when done. I grease each location until fresh grease oozes out of the bearing/bushing. I definitly overgrease, but again, I have not had the problem you describe on any of the 4 machines I have owned. not sure what else you can do. Are you using red, hi temp grease??
Jeff

 

[Walt41]

Definitely get one and spend $5 on a package of zerk covers too, they keep the nipple clean and make the job easier. I also mounted a regulator right on my gun so I can crank it if need be without going all the way back to the compressor, it eliminates the need to crawl out from under a machine when you come across a dry fitting, 120psi will clear most clogs.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

I know what you are saying and have had that problem on other types of machines. I have never had this happen on any of my stump grinders. How often do you grease these locations? Just wondering if more frequent greasing would help?
I grease my machine every day when I finish my last stump. It seems to take grease better when everything is warm/hot. Even if I just go out and do one stump, maybe a 15 minute job, I grease when done. I grease each location until fresh grease oozes out of the bearing/bushing. I definitly overgrease, but again, I have not had the problem you describe on any of the 4 machines I have owned. not sure what else you can do. Are you using red, hi temp grease??
Jeff

Hi Jeff....
Yep using red hi temp grease, i grease about every 8 hrs sometimes more often, i will
try greasing when machine is hot, never thought of that, usually by the time i am done
grinding just don't feel like greasing machine, just want to load up and go home.

Thx for the help..

Bob....

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Definitely get one and spend $5 on a package of zerk covers too, they keep the nipple clean and make the job easier. I also mounted a regulator right on my gun so I can crank it if need be without going all the way back to the compressor, it eliminates the need to crawl out from under a machine when you come across a dry fitting, 120psi will clear most clogs.

Thx Walt41, going to go to tsc and lowes tomorrow and see what they have, the machine
came with zerk covers but they broke right off first time i tried to grease machine, i never
much had this problem on my tractor and mowers or even on my other grinders, but the
bandit is all hydraulic and much higher wheel speed than belt drive and really throws a lot
of dust...

I just had a hunch that an air grease gun with its high pressure might blow the
bushing and bearing valleys open and u just confirmed that...:msp_thumbsup:

Thx for the help...

Bob....

 

[Mowingman]

bob,
If you get one, let us know how it works out. I know what you mean about not wanting to grease at the end of the day. I really have to force myself to do the greasing sometimes, after a long day of grinding.
Jeff

 

[ConcordGarden]

We use one in the shop quite often I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. We use one from Blue Point (Snap On) however their are several out there. It's not really a continuous flow you have to depress the trigger just as many times as you would Manually Pump a regular grease gun.

You can also buy battery powered Grease guns now which seem to work well. It's on my list so i don't have to drag an air hose out.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Forget the air grease guns. Get a battery powered grease gun. I got a snap on gun, but there is others out there that work as good for alot less money. You can just hold in the trigger and it spews grease until you let out the trigger.

 

[imagineero]

You don't want to go forcing dirt into your bearings with a high powered grease blast. That'll put an end to your bearings pretty quick because once it's in there it isn't coming out. Clean out the channels (hoses?) and do it properly. Keep the zirk clean, and your grease gun too. Dont leave it in the dirt or have it rolling around in the back of the truck getting covered in crap. You may have to extend the zirks with hoses to a better location on the machine. You can hook them all up to one central point and autogrease, but if one clogs it wont get anything and you'll never know.

Shaun

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

You don't want to go forcing dirt into your bearings with a high powered grease blast. That'll put an end to your bearings pretty quick because once it's in there it isn't coming out. Clean out the channels (hoses?) and do it properly. Keep the zirk clean, and your grease gun too. Dont leave it in the dirt or have it rolling around in the back of the truck getting covered in crap. You may have to extend the zirks with hoses to a better location on the machine. You can hook them all up to one central point and autogrease, but if one clogs it wont get anything and you'll never know.

Shaun

HI Shaun....
The problem is not in the zerks, the dust is getting in around the bushings, my machine
is all hydraulic and does not have bearings. the only things that need grease are the
bushings on the cylinders and the boom, not a problem on the rear steering bushings
as they don't get much dust, just on the front bushings, thx for the suggestions..

Bob....

 

[CalTreeEquip]

I have two air grease guns, a Lincoln (over $100) and a cheap one from Northern (about $25).
Bought the first one because my hand pumps couldn't handle that thick red grease.
They both work great. I have been suspect of the red great for a while. It seems to be too think for the kind
of bearings that we use on chippers and grinder. I haven't done any research but I'm thinking its meant for real
heavy use like for D10 Cats and M1 tanks, stuff like that, super high pressure. I'm starting to think that using
molly grease the manufactures suggest is the way to go.

 

[epicklein22]

We run a air powered lincoln at work. Does a great job and does push grease a lot better than a hand pump. About $80 at Napa. Would never use a hand pump again. Battery powered ones are nice, but a lot more money and they (lincoln) break all the time. If you have access to air, i'd stick with that.

Running this right now for grease, a red moly. The blue Valvoline is nice stuff too.

Schaeffer Oil | Moly Ultra Red EP Multi-Purpose Grease

 

[memory]

We use a Lincoln 12v battery powered grease gun and they sure beat a hand pump. But they do not do real good on stubborn grease fittings.

 

[a_lopa]

I have every possible grease gun in my workshop and the one that gets used is the mcnaught pistol grip! Hope that helps

 

[MOE]

I picked up a grease zerk unclogger a few years ago and it works pretty good. You fill it with motor oil and give it a rap with a hammer. It forces the oil through to clear the clog. The down side is you need room to get at it with a hammer.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

I picked up a grease zerk unclogger a few years ago and it works pretty good. You fill it with motor oil and give it a rap with a hammer. It forces the oil through to clear the clog. The down side is you need room to get at it with a hammer.

Thx MOE, i guess sometimes an old dog can learn a new trick, i did not know such a tool
existed, going to go to northern tool tomorrow and pick up one:msp_thumbup:

Bob....

 

[TonyG]

Went to a airgun some time ago,

haven't looked back.
If you have a problem zerk or canal or just an obstruction in general, try a port-a-power with some 1/8" pipe fitting to adapt. This will blow most of the issues through. We always wipe zerks first.

Also, we have switched to Schaeffer grease as a rule, warmer weather we use 238, cooler 221. This grease just doesn't want to displace, stays where it is and requires slightly less attention.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Thx for all the help everybody,,,,a little update, went into town to northern tool yesterday and bought the tap tool moe talked about, it came with an extension also for hard to get at zerks, so far no luck on 2 main bushings, i used wd40 in tool, going to try again with some penetrating fluid and see if i have better luck, i may go up to mikes saw shop, pretty sure he has an air grease gun and see if that works, got stumps to do next 3 days so won't get to it again until probably thursday at the earliest, pretty frustrating because i grease every 8 hrs at least and sometimes more often, if i can get them open will grease every day regardless of how long i work to try and keep them open, never had this problem on anything else..

Will let y'all know what happens when i finally get them unclogged...

Bob....