Grease guns

cory

cory

Tree House enthusiast
Joined
Aug 23, 2008
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26,161
Location
CT
I need a new one, anyone got a good recommendation? I don't want electric btw, Ive tried em, not really worth the expense imo, probably good if you are using up a whole tube at a time, perhaps.

GGs are a royal pita. Getting them un-air bound is a nightmare and grease always seems to get behind the plunger and so causes problems when changing out "empty" tubes. Waaaaaaaa
 
The operators here either use a battery one from an 18v set, or some just still rock a cheap hand pump.
 
I have and use and like the Legacy type dual speed GG. One setting of pressure and one for volume. Fairly easy to pump one handed even in the bitter cold.
But I went to a M18 and M12 one in each truck.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5
Do the electric ones get airbound less that a manual one, I can't remember as my electric one was stolen years ago
 
I like using manual to avoid blowing out seals, overgreasing. Pistol grip. I leave the head a thread short of sealing til the air gets bled out. Sometimes it needs slamming the head on something solid a few times to pick up the prime. Haven't broken one yet but i did have the threads give out on one after many years. I keep one gun for multipurpose and one for moly. Moly holds up better on pins, ball joints, etc. Low speed. I just bought a new one that works good. Have to look for brand.
 
cory said:
Do the electric ones get airbound less that a manual one, I can't remember as my electric one was stolen years ago
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Every now and again they will loose prime but not a big deal. Pull the rod out 1/4 turn, push rod and hold the purge, slide rod back in, and pump yo grease.
 
I love the Milwaukee electric. a tip I got from an old mechanic was that you want to buy grease by the case and use whole tubes at a time. There should be grease everywhere all the time if you want things to go smoothly.
 
I remember my dad buying grease in 5-gallon buckets years ago, filling his grease gun, and it just WORKING. Nowadays, with the cartridges, I have trouble with the grease seeping past the plunger, and/or air-locking. I have begun to retract the plunger just off the grease when done, and that has helped immensely in remedying the issues.
 
Fiddler said:
All I can tell you is if you ever run across one that works right never let it out of your sight...
Click to expand...

That's for sure. It's taken a long time to find one I like.

Had an old Castrol one for a while, upgraded to Alemlube a few year ago. Not a lot of use for one these days but I wish I could have had some of the stuff they have these days. Alemlube - https://www.alemlube.com.au/web/product

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cory said:
Do the electric ones get airbound less that a manual one, I can't remember as my electric one was stolen years ago
Click to expand...

Yes, entirely without fuss in the years I’ve had the M18 grease gun. Entirely worth it IMO, frustration sucks.
 
I suppose I have a half dozen if not more .All just the standard lever type .Some have button head fittings for use on bull dozer track rollers which take oil .Most just the standard grease fitting . In addition to all that quite a collection of zerts .Working on 60 year old worn out junk they often are frozen shut .Just as easy to change the zert if they can't take grease/oil .
 
More times than not lubrication is often over looked on equipment .You just don't think about it .Then stuff stiffens up and need some attention .It might take heat on say the king pins of a truck or tractor because you can't hardly turn the steering wheel .Usually after you get them to take grease they limber back up again .I'm very guilty myself of over looking stuff like this .
 
I never went to the battery powered guns since I keep one in each truck. Found this one several years ago and now have three (I did until I sold the business). Pistol grip can be used with one hand so you can hold the end of the hose with the other hand. Adjustable for high pressure/low volume or low pressure/high volume. They just work and my employees never broke one.
Milton grease gun on Amazon
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #23
The House is so damn cool. I'm glad this thread is getting some traction, cuz yeah, greasing equipment is yet another significant topic in the field of GTW.

I was heartened to read others here have an appreciation for the some-level-of voodoo contained in manual grease guns. I'm leaning toward something like sqwerl posted though Ive never tried a one handed one GG. Judging by the selection available online, 1 hander is more popular than lever action. One thing I tried to fight air locks was storing the gg at a 45* angle, tip down, so that gravity could help keep all the grease toward the tip, seems to help to a degree (storing vertically would be better but space on trucks for that configuration is not available). If the new gg gives me grief, maybe I'll try batt power again, though I'd prefer the simplicity of a properly functioning manual, if possible.

old adage: "A good grease monkey can put a mechanic out of business" :drink:
 
In my experience the battery ones were loved by the operators, but they were also tensioning tracks with them too, which is more than a bit of grease. It kinda is matching the tool to the job, some stuff is little hand pump, some battery, and some are the air powered 55 gallon drum ones.
 
Cory, you mentioned storing the grease gun in a particular orientation. I also try to hang up my grease guns but more so because most grease tends to liquify and drip. I've discovered that Valvoline synthetic is absolute garbage despite the high price. It separates and hardens with all the liquid dripping out in just a few short months. If it is that bad when still in the tube, it certainly isn't any better when applied to bearings. I've been happiest with Lucas grease, either 'red and tacky' or the heavy duty industrial green. Available at most parts stores as well as Home Depot.

I think the biggest difference in the manual guns is the quality of the rubber diaphragm and seals as well as the overall quality of the machining. Both of these factors affect leakage and the ability to hold a prime. I chose the Milton specifically because it was a higher price than the typical $10 grease gun and for me it was worth every penny. They prime with 2-3 pumps every single time I change a cartridge and leakage is minimal. No more greasy hands just from grabbing the grease gun. It's nice having a grease gun that doesn't ooze from every seam.
 
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