A question about greasing

Hello all,

As some of you know, I am searching for a backhoe to purchase, and will probably own one in the next six months. With that in mind, I am looking at what equipment I am going to use to grease the pins. So, guys that have their units at their property, what are you using to grease...A battery powered unit that uses tube grease, or a pneumatic unit that takes a barrel of grease? I understand that if a unit is on a jobsite, it may be tough to use a pneumatic unit unless you have a service truck. My tractor will not leave my property and I am thinking it may be easier to just purchase a roll-around pneumatic unit...pros and cons of each and recommendations would be appreciated.

As a add-on, I do currently have a compact utility tractor that I use a hand pump grease gun on, and have been thinking about purchasing a cordless unit like the milwaukee unit (because I already have several m-18 batteries and chargers). It is really not a big deal to pump grease on this small tractor,however, I am thinking a full size unit will take more grease and become a pain to hand pump and change cartridges.

Cordless grease guns are handier than a shirt pocket.
I have an Alemite. If you already have Milwaukee batteries then by all means go with that brand.

Problems I could see with a pneumatic barrel pump besides needing the air compressor would be first you need to get machine to the grease pump's location. Second fir a relatively low volume of grease used it could tend to separate or get contaminated before you use it all up.

If it was me I would lean toward the Milwaukee if it takes the same batteries you have on the shelf.

X2

Tinkerer & 56 wrench, Thanks for the response!
kshansen, The tractor will not be leaving my property, and will be in a pole barn most nights, where there will be an air compressor. As far as the volume and grease separation...good point...Thanks

How many times can you grease a full sized backhoe on one tube of grease...When I was greasing full sized backhoes for my employer we used a pneumatic roll-around grease gun. My CUT (loader backhoe) can be greased several times on one tube of grease.

I'm thinking about 2-4 greasings with a tube of grease. I don't see the big deal with using a pistol grip grease gun for one backhoe, that gets used what? once a week? you only need to grease every 8 hours of operation, and you'll be doing better than 90% of backhoes out there.

If you're stuck on using the air compressor, get one of those cheap pneumatic grease guns. Or if you keep a certain brand of cordless tool, then get that one. I would not use a bucket greaser, stick with cartridges.

Electric grease guns are good if you keep up with greasing. I've found they don't generate near the pressure of a good lever-style gun, which sucks if you've got to force a blockage out.

Delmar, Thanks for the reply and info. I am not stuck on a pneumatic grease gun. I am weighing my options with an open mind, and know that i will have access to compressed air so I am looking at that option. All that being said, all that have responded are not in favor of the bulk grease idea, and the reasons for that make sense to me. At this point, I am thinking that a cordless battery powered may be the best option based on the input here. As far as use, I have several large projects, so I will use the machine daily for a while. Then, probably no more than once a week unless another project pops up. So, it is safe to say, I will not wast too many hours of my life greasing the tractor.

92U 3406, The milwaukee grease gun that I am looking at shows that it pumps @ 10,000 PSI, and has 2 speeds. I would hope, if their spec is accurate, that I wouldn't need more pressure than that...Oh, and trust me, I will keep up on the greasing...I want to have this machine for the rest of my life.

I have used all the types out there and I'm back to using a pistol grip as Delmer suggested. The pneumatic ones are a pain to use, the battery ones are not strong enough, the lever ones are the strongest but require 2 hands to use, the pistol grip is a one hander and is strong enough in most cases to get it done.

My two cents is an electric gun is only justified if you have significant volume of greasing to do, as there are trade offs. For example the trade-offs include an electric gun will be bulkier, you have to deal with greasy batteries, you will likely pump more grease, you can’t get the 10000 psi unless the batteries are fully changed (which won’t happen when you have stubborn pin that won’t take grease), and electric guns don’t normally fit in the backhoe’s tool box. Additionally, you will still likely need at least a different tip or small pistol gun to get on things like universal joints. Not to mention pumping grease from any gun for smearing on the extendahoe slides just forces a grease tube change quickly.

For me with a single backhoe, I use a traditional hand pump gun and buy peanut cans of bulk grease for the extenda-hoe. I tried a Lincoln battery gun a few years ago, but it was too bulky and having to deal with greasy batteries was a pain. With the hand gun I can feel and hear if the pin/joint is taking grease.

I have also gone away from cheap grease guns as they tend to leak and can be a pain to prime. I bought a Locknlube traditional pump gun recently, so far it has been worth the money and I am thinking about getting a second one.

As for your question as to how many times can you grease a backhoe on one tube of grease, I think you are asking the wrong question. It should be how many tubes of grease does it take to grease a one backhoe? Everyone has a different opinion, but I believe grease is cheap compared to other repairs so I grease generously. I normally figure I should have 2 tubes handy before starting to grease my backhoe/loader, as I know I will go through at least 1. This is in addition to some bulk grease to manually smear on the extendahoe instead of using a lot of tube grease on it.

I have used an alemite electric grease gun for about 7 years now. The first one I used for 4 years working for my last employer, it was a non lithium ion unit, worked great till the day I quit. When I was hired by my current employer, I got a new alemite unit that is a 20v lithium, been using this one for the past 3 years, still works great. Both were purchased by my employers and if I ever buy one myself, itll be an alemite. Maybe some electric grease guns dont produce enough pressure, I never had that problem, and all the equipment I service is always outside. Ive been a field mechanic in and around the Portland, OR area for both jobs, and my grease guns have seen plenty of rain, sun, ice etc and I do not baby them, they get used almost every day. If you only need to grease once in a great while, get a manual type. The amount of grease I go through (about a box of 12 cartridges every couple weeks), I would not keep up with a manual grease gun.

Greasy batteries ? Really ?
A 10,000 psi grease gun is plenty strong enough for most anything.
After you use one a while you can tell by the sound it makes if grease is going in slow or fast. A plugged zerk or bushing will stop an electric one from pumping just like a lever gun.
When I ran a service pump it had a Graco pneumatic pump on a barrel. It was awesome. But I got sick and tired of dragging that damed hose around. Especially on muddy days and all over as many as 10 to 15 Cat 631 and 641 scrapers.
But a battery powered grease gun would be useless when pumping as much as a barrel of grease a month.

Bought the M12 Milwaukee and installed a Lock N Lube coupler and could never go back to manual or air. Coworker bought the Dewalt version after borrowing mine a couple of times and says the same.

Used every day on rental and customer construction equipment. Pretty much anything it can't push through is getting the zerk pulled or pin knocked free and cleaned/lubed/heated/etc to get it to take grease.

Which ever way you do go I would also keep a good quality hand powered gun handy and use it every so often to it working for the time you only have two fittings left to hit and some SOB forgot to charge the battery last time it was used or the air compressor blows a hose!

JL Sargent, Thanks for the post. Several agree that the pistol grip is the way to go. I currently use a lever, and want to get away from that.

fpgm04, Thanks for the response. I really do not have a significant volume. I will have a CUT with a loader/hoe, another CUT with a brush hog and finish mower that I grease quite often when it is in use, and I will be purchasing a full size backhoe.

Max87 &MarshakkPowerGen, It is nice to hear that you had good results with a battery powered unit.

kshansen, I would never discard the old lever gun. It has served me well, but is a bit of a pain to use at times.

I am getting the feeling that a barrel pump is overkill for my use, and a battery powered is worth a look but a pistol pump will do the job fine. I am thinking that I may purchase a pistol style grease gun for now, and when my kids are asking me what I want for Christmas, and I really don't need anything, I may tell them to get the Milwaukee m-18 grease gun.

Pistol grip guns take a lot of muscle in cold weather. I used to stick them in dozer exhaust pipes. WOT and then they worked like it was summertime.

Tinkerer, yeah greasy batteries… I never have seen a grease gun stay completely dry as sooner or later fingers or a rag will get in the grease, then the gun gets wet. For an electric gun that includes the batteries.

I agree that 10000 psi is good for any fitting/pin that is not jammed with old hardened grease, but my experience with electric guns is they don’t deliver the pressure that a traditional lever arm hand pump can do. Perhaps it is just that my sorry hind-end can generate a lot of weight on a manual grease gun lever, to really push the grease through a pin!

My lever grease gun has a three foot whip hose on it, can situate it where need to support it and still get it on fittings. I do also have two pistol grip units(different grease tubes)

DMiller said:

My lever grease gun has a three foot whip hose on it, can situate it where need to support it and still get it on fittings. I do also have two pistol grip units(different grease tubes)

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I've always put a 3-4' whip on my guns. I'm not a fan of the pistol grip guns. Too hard on the hands putting 2-3 tubes thru a gun in 45 minutes.

Hello All,

Thanks for your responses! All of my grease guns have at least 24" whip...for me that is a must. Good quality whips are not to be had locally tho. Last ones I purchased were online. Also have the lock-n-lube that was suggested. On another gun I have a swivel for those hard to get to places. And yet another gun with a reduced diameter coupling for those real tight spots (lower ball joints on my 4x4 truck). I also have one of those right angle couplings for the wheels on my finish mower...I am not sure what they were thinking when they built that unit but it is impossible to grease with a regular fitting.

I do understand the pistol grip may be a little tough to squeeze, but I have never used one and have decided to give it a try.

As far as getting grease all over: I wear rubber gloves when greasing because no matter how hard I try, I do get grease all over. That being said, I always clean my gun prior to putting it away, and a battery powered would not be an exception. So, I am not real concerned about getting grease on the batteries if I do eventually get one for a gift.

In other posts I have shared that I used to fix equipment, including backhoes for my employer, and that we used a pneumatic grease gun. To be honest, I really cannot recall what grease was in the barrel. I do remember it was a golden color. For my personal equipment I have always used Valvoline Multi-Vehicle Moly-Fortified Grease, because it was available at my local auto parts store. Lately I have been looking and reading about the different grease available, and I see many talking about how much moly is in the grease. So, I have been doing some research and found that Schaeffer Manufacturing Co. makes grease that has 3% and 5% moly. How do you all feel about this grease, and is more molly better, or is the 3% molly all I really need to keep my pins well lubed for loooong life?

Thanks again!