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Grease guns

Started by btulloh, September 26, 2018, 09:06:30 AM

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btulloh

Seems I'm always fighting a losing battle with grease guns.  The only dependable one I've got was purchased in the sixties.  All the recent ones seem to have issues.  I doubt there's any reason to bore y'all with the details.  The question really is: Where are the good grease guns?  What kind of grease gun have you bought that you like?

Ideally I like to have a few with different kinds of grease for different requirements.  Three is about right.  Maybe a fourth so I can have both a flexible hose and a rigid snout for regular grease.  Then you get into the pistol vs. lever question.


Where are you finding dependable grease guns?



(My favorite malfunction is the plunger that comes unlocked when you're putting in a new cartridge.  The plunger releases itself just after you've inserted a new cartridge and ejects most of the grease.  Fun.)
HM126

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

btulloh

That's a good discussion on powered grease guns.  I haven't felt the need to go powered, but maybe I should re-think that.  For the most part, hand-powered works for my needs if I just had dependable guns.
HM126

Southside

The Dewalt 20V with a Lock-N-Lube on the end is some hard to beat.  Frozen zerks are not a problem, hard to reach spots you don't need two hands on the gun itself, the hose does not fall off.  Worth the money.  You get more grease into the zerk and less on you, more than I can say for all the old fashioned ones I have had.  
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SawyerTed

btulloh, I feel your pain.  I have four grease guns, only one of which I purchased.  None work especially well.  
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

scsmith42

I got 30 years out of my first Alemite, and replaced it with a 2 speed Alemite earlier this year.  It has a lock and lube coupler on it and a pistol grip.  Works great.

I've had a 12V Lincoln for about 10 years and also like it.  No issues with it whatsoever.  Only had to replace the battery once.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

petefrom bearswamp

Southside  have had 2 zerks that my dewalt 20v wont overcome so far.
Otherwise it is great.
Locknlube on it too.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Magicman

Quote from: btulloh on September 26, 2018, 09:32:03 AMI haven't felt the need to go powered
I have not either.  I have a regular sized pistol grip at the farm but I do not remember what brand it is.  I use a small Lucas pistol grip on the sawmill.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

YellowHammer

I used use a pneumatic gun for years but it would occasionally do more damage than good, blowing seals out. I don't use it anymore.  I use maybe three or four cases of grease a year, so I use a decent amount of grease, but not overly so.   

I also highly recommend the LockNLube tip already mentioned.  I now have a favorite, with a cam lock plunger, and it's been refitted with a flex hose and also the spring lever locking tip that opens like a clam, then locks on the zerk.  It will reach most any place, and won't pop off.  To release, just press the lever, and no more pulled out fittings.  No more wasting grease where the tip won't seal, and no more having to adjust tips for worn down zerks.  I got the thing at our local farmers COOP and when I questioned if it was any good, the guy said "You'll like it".  I do.  It's a LockNLube and cost more than my grease gun, $30.  Teamed with a flex hose, it's the only gun I reach for now.  No more bending over and pumping a gun.  It's that good.  
https://locknlube.com/products/locknlube-grease-coupler
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barbender

One of the main problems I've had with grease guns is that they won't prime. That's very frustrating. I've been using a Milwaukee 18v for the last 2 years, it's been a great gun and always primes quickly after putting in a fresh tube. However, it quit working a few weeks ago (power issue of some sort, could be as simple as the battery). I'll know when I getit back from the repair shop.
Too many irons in the fire

LAZERDAN

Hello.   I have been in your shoes, most grease guns are crap.  Until i found the alemite with the lock and lube tip.  You don't need to look further.  Here's the link. Hope it works
       well that did'nt work

btulloh

Great info. Thanks .

Looks like the alemite plus the locknlube tip is what i need .  If i add that to what i have on hand i should be in good shape . I really like the idea of that locknlube tip .It should work in 90% of the situations and i have plenty of tips to cover the rest.

If a zerk gets plugged, i usually just replace it. Zerk assortment is my best friend .Thought about getting one of those little zerk buster things you tap with a hammer, but I've been getting along ok without it. 

Good info .Thanks for the replies.
HM126

blackfoot griz

Years ago, I actually dumped an assortment of sae and metric grease zerks on the floor... simultaneously. They mixed up nicely. That was brilliant!

scsmith42

One nice thing about the cordless grease guns is that your hands don't hurt as much if you have the onset of arthritis. 
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Al_Smith

I probably have at least a half dozen all lever action .Most have zert fittings and two have button head Alemite oil fittings for track rollers on bulldozers ,3/8" and 1/2" .

62oliver

After I saw this video I had to apologize to my son for failing him as a parent, as it solves the most common issue I have ever had with grease guns.
 
How to bleed a grease gun every time! - YouTube
Husqvarna 266, Case 90xt, JD310C, TJ240E, 02 Duramax

petefrom bearswamp

And here I was hoping for some magic formula for doing this.
Informative tho for those great unwashed who do not have a clue.
Like him I sure dont know everything just like batman.
He made an observation to Robin about something and Robin responded gee batman is ther anything you dont know?
Batman replied why yes robin as a matter of fact several things.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

scsmith42

Quote from: 62oliver on September 28, 2018, 07:26:37 AM
After I saw this video I had to apologize to my son for failing him as a parent, as it solves the most common issue I have ever had with grease guns.

How to bleed a grease gun every time! - YouTube
An old timer showed me that tip about 12 years back.  Sure solved a lot of frustrations and works great.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

maple flats

After years of greasing old farm equipment, and some newer using the old design type grease guns (I have 6 or more), most lever handle and one pistol grip handle I recently bought a Lube Shuttle. It is a new design, but requires their grease cartridges. So far I love it. There is no plunger. The tube is threaded on the business end and you just push on a sliding follower to bring some grease up out of the top slightly, then screw the cartridge on. Then a steel tube screws on to protect the plastic grease cartridge. No bleeding needed and so far I've only used 4 or 5 tubes but all emptied completely, then changing was neat and painless, no bleeding and I was back at greasing again. I have a lock n lube coupler, but the threads are slightly different and I just ordered a locking coupler for the grease Shuttle (metric threads). The Lube Shuttle is made in Germany, Best grease gun ever.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

Novascotiamill

My favoritebgrease gun was a blue lincoln with a rigid tube,worked everytime and always primed on a new tube.lent it to a friend with backhoe and he returned a new in box grease gun,said he ran over mine by accident.,new one was piece of junk.never lent that guy another tool.
I use a 18 volt now which I find much easier to grease the tractor and backhoe with arthritis and no wind anymore. Only thing I dont like about it is the rubber hose thats seems to strike you like a cobra if its full of grease,everytime especially if your not wearing coveralls :( :( :( :(
2017 HM130
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2010 F150 xtr
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1 long haired german shepherd
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Wicked 55" root rake grapple
O

Upstatewoodchuc

Either the Lincoln lithium ion gun or the DeWalt 20v will leave you pleased, I held out for awhile but then realized how much time they save and also getting grease into places better. On a side note pnuematic grease guns are awesome, just they can make a mess real quick! Used to use one hooked up to a 15 gallon pale of grease in the back of a service truck, if you cranked the volume and air you could shoot a was of grease across a parking lot..... Not that anyone would do such a thing... Or at co-workers...
Current collection: Husky 3120xp,  372xp, 365, husky 55, homelite xl12. Michigan 85 wheel loader, Ford 8n with loader and forks. Farmall super C, 1988 international dump truck, John Deere 440ICD dozer, 19ft equipment trailer, 40 ton TSC splitter, modified dieder splitter with 4 way.

ellmoe

Quote from: YellowHammer on September 26, 2018, 02:53:12 PM
 It's a LockNLube and cost more than my grease gun, $30.  Teamed with a flex hose, it's the only gun I reach for now.  No more bending over and pumping a gun.  It's that good.  
https://locknlube.com/products/locknlube-grease-coupler
Thanks for info. Ordered one, and gave forestyforum as where I learned about it. I suggest all members do that when they order a product that they learned about on the forum. May help Jeff sometime with adding sponsors.
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

maple flats

I received my Lube shuttle locking coupler. It seems to lock on extremely well but is harder to get to engage than the Lock N Lube one. On the other hand, it is slightly smaller outside diameter and thus fits in some tight places better. At any rate, I really like the Lube Shuttle grease gun. It however is pricey at just under $60 U.S. about 3 months ago. It's the first gun I ever owned that was easy to bleed the air out to get it primed. It however is not USA made, it comes from Germany.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

Woodcutter_Mo

 I have a couple Lincoln grease guns, one regular and one pistol grip. Both work well, the only problem I've had is priming them when I add a new tube of grease. I've found that removing the hose is all they need to prime them when they get air locked.
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samandothers

Woodcutter, Happy Birthday 🎂!

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