Lincoln Grease Guns made in China: quality?

[cgraham]

I know Lincoln guns have had a great reputation. Intending to buy a regular pistol grip type for a small TBL, I discovered they have been made in China for the last 2 years at least.

Has anyone purchased Lincoln lately and found them to still be of high quality?

Their price is certainly high! If not Lincoln, what?

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I have been having trouble with grease leaking out between my (non-Linclon) grease gun snap-on head and the nipples on the hoe boom swing pins recently, instead of injecting through the fitting. (I feel no resistance, so don't know that there is a blockage). Changed out fitting for new - same problem. Other fittings take grease just fine. Strange! Thoughts?

I'm going to try an adjustable gun head today.

Comments much appreciated!

 

[Lashlander]

I always thought Lincoln made by far the best guns on the market. A while back they switched the lock on the plunger rod. Now when you are greasing the rod slips out and locks so you only get a couple pumps and it quits pushing grease. Then you have air and have to bleed the gun again. I've taken to tying a string on it to keep it in. Its a pain in the butt . I won't buy anymore Lincoln guns until they change this.
Lincoln has a booth at Con-Expo every year and I was going to stop by and let them know this but after looking forward to it since the last one I'm hung up on a hot dredging job in Seward so can't attend.:crying I need everyone to stop and complain for me.

 

[Countryboy]

We use these at work. Never had any problems out of them. Not sure where they get them from though.

We have a couple of pistol grips but I'm not sure if they are the same brand.

 

[cgraham]

I've seen that Lincoln plunger lock, Lashlander. It looks convenient, but it's a cheap shortcut too.

Yeah, Countryboy, I have often seen Alemite mentioned in the same sentence as Lincoln. I wonder where they are made now.


I solved my second problem, by replacing the grease gun nozzle. Now when I can't get any more grease in the boom swing pin assy, the gun locks on to the grease fitting! The nozzle won't come off until I release pressure by backing off the adjuster on the nozzle until grease can flow back through its threads.

I took out the zerks, and probed down the grease channel in the pins to the horizontal channel: all clean grease, so there must be crud beyond that point. Agrrrh!

I'm wondering whether to apply PB Blaster or engine oil between the lugs where grease should be emerging, to help free things up.

Charlie

 

[rino1494]

Hmmm....we bought a lincoln gun this past year and it has been a good gun. The worst gun I ever owned was a Cat gun. After a few weeks, I ended up tossing it in the woods.

 

[ben46a]

Yeah the Cat guns are junk, They were made by alemite. I never had luck with anything but a lincoln.

 

[385Diggin' Doug]

Our oilers and mechanics use the 12 & 14V Lincoln Power Lubers.They love them.Even the Lincoln hand guns are still around for a long time.

 

[ror76a]

I have never had much luck keeping a hand gun around and working for more than about 2 years, and at that the Lincolns seemed to hold up best. I have a 12 & a 14V Lincoln that I love, however my "help" has managed to strip the threads out of where the cartrage screws onto the gun on the 12V. Other than that we have not had any problems with the electric guns.

 

[IowaCat08]

I have to second countryboy on the Alemite guns. I have had the same gun for 2 years now, it has probably went through a 1,000 tubes of grease and still works great. Many of our junky cat guns are being replaced with Alemites.

 

[Bentworker2]

Alemite makes all of their grease guns overseas... except for the Heavy-duty series. I paid about $93 for my 1056-SE4, it is built like no other gun that I have seen. I have not used it enough to give it a thumbs up or down, but it looks like it should last a very long time.



Here is a place listing it for $78
http://www.all-cordless.com/alhedumalegr.html

 

[tuney443]

$78 for a hand gun????They had Alemite and Lincoln cordless electric guns at Conexpo in Hartford for $175--$190 with a spare battery.

 

[Bentworker2]

Yes, $78.00 for manual gun... but it is made here, not in CHINA. I do have to say that the stupid expensive Alemite grease gun impressed me today, read below.



I dropped a tube into the brand new 1056-SE4 today, and I was impressed. On my super crusty 1987 CASE 1835C rust-bucket I had two pins that would not take any grease. I tried and tried to get some grease into them when I had the engine out of it for the rebuild this past winter (I bought it in November). With no luck I was figuring I would have to drive out the pins and clean everything up. Not so, this afternoon I took my new fancy pants Alemite grease gun, dropped it into the "pressure" pivot point on the handle (it has two positions) and squeezed the hell out of it. Like some sort of equipment miracle both pins took grease!

Why spend $50 on one of those zerk fitting cleaner do-dads that you load with light oil and whack with a hammer when you can just get a grease gun that will do the job? I really do believe that you can and will develop 10,000 psi with this gun if you need to.

 

[tuney443]

The Alemite salesman said the cordless model also developed 10,000 PSI.My days of manually pumping are over.

 

[Bentworker2]

Yep, the Alemite 585 series (14.4V) cordless ones are 10,000 psi.

The 575 series (12V) ones are only 6,500 psi.

I only own one crusty piece of equipment, which I only put a few hours a week on, so I have a manual gun.

 

[bobcat ron]

The biggest problem I have with the electric greaser are that it now takes twice as long to grease as the electric guns only pump out half as much as a hand gun, it used to take me 10 minutes with a hand gun on my 320CLU, now it's topping off at close to 20 minutes, is there and adjustment to speed up the pump?

 

[bkdlays]

Where do you buy Alemite?

I have no local dealers listed in my state or surrounding.

 

[Komatsu 150]

The biggest problem I have with the electric greaser are that it now takes twice as long to grease as the electric guns only pump out half as much as a hand gun, it used to take me 10 minutes with a hand gun on my 320CLU, now it's topping off at close to 20 minutes, is there and adjustment to speed up the pump?

This is why I quit using our Lincoln electric, it takes so long to grease the excavator.

 

[Bentworker2]

Alemite makes all of their grease guns overseas... except for the Heavy-duty series. I paid about $93 for my 1056-SE4, it is built like no other gun that I have seen. I have not used it enough to give it a thumbs up or down, but it looks like it should last a very long time.



Here is a place listing it for $78
http://www.all-cordless.com/alhedumalegr.html

bkdlays...
Check out this link

 

[bkdlays]

Thanks!

What about air? I noticed noone talks about air powered, but they seem like a good option for the price?

 

[Backhoe310SG]

Dad always has used Lincolns, and I did too when I got old enough to but my own grease gun. I wore out a pistol grip Lincoln that was made in the US and when I replaced they were made in China. I really liked my old pistol grip, but the China made one was the worst tool that I've ever owned, nothing but trouble from the time I bought it. I bought another china made gunfrom tractor supply, and it wasn't much better, but at least it didn't cost what the lincoln did. I ended up scrapping the china junk and used dads old US made Lever action until this winter. I bought a 14 volt Lincoln Power Luber and the old man and I both love it.