Which grease are you using?

[sgf]

Besides my 99 Lx665 I also have a Takeuchi mini-excavator and 1960 and 1968 farm tractors. So far I have greased them using high temp. grease someone gave me a box of.

This weekend I bought one of those battery operated grease guns. I already have four or five manual grease guns since it seems like everything requires a different grease. I want to use the same grease for these four pieces of equipment I mentioned, so I get my money's worth out of the new gun and improve the process. My mini-x requires EP-2 Lithium based grease and the skid steer Multi-Purpose Moly Grease EP/AW/NLGI2. Of course the tractor recommendation are moot since the standards have changed time and again since their specs. were written.

My plan was to use Lucas Red "N" Tacky grease. I contacted Lucas to ask if that grease met the specs as I believed was the case. They didn't say it didn't but they recommended their Heavy Duty Mining and Construction grease, which meets NLGI-2 specs and contains 5% Moly. My question is what are you who have multiple machines using ? I could just go with this recommendation but the stuff is harder to find locally and it is twice the cost of the other greases I use. I get that any thread on oil or grease will contain comments ranging from "they're all the same" all the way to almost fanatical adherence to types and brands. I am at neither end of the spectrum. I just want to follow manufacturer specs so the equipment lasts without throwing money away.

 

[mrbb]

for the most part as far as I know almost all basic equipment uses NGLI-2 spec grease, the big part of grease IMO, is just making sure your using grease that is what your OEM calls for and for the operating temps and conditions, as NOT all same type/spec grease flows as well in hot and cold condition or in wet conditions! so using what works better in your conditions yet meets your OEM spec's !
and then greasing often enough, to do things the good grease does!
and not mixing them all together, as not all grease even of the same spec's is compatible to be mixed, if switching over, I always try and clean out best I can and pump a little extra thru and grease a few times more often than needed to sort of flush the system/
use one and stick with one
the grease I been using for many yrs now on most of my equipment and things, has been Schaffer's 274 NLG I#2 grease ,
its not the cheapest or easiest to find, but I buy in bulk due to I like you wanted to use just one grease on as many things as I could using a cordless grease gun! (I also highly recommend the LOCK AND LUBE grease fitting for grease guns too)
as I it use on most things, and it seems to work very well for me in both hot and cold condition, (pumps easy in the cold) too) and it has been recommended to me by a lot of folks in the construction/ farming game, that have had great luck with it as well!

I always keep a few grease guns about, with more special grease for certain things, like HI speed wheel bearings on trailers and such, and low temp grease for things that work mostly ONLY in the cold!
just no real getting away from having the need for more than one grease or grease gun, but you can surely use one grease in a majority of things
so Schaffer's # 274 grease gets my vote here if wanting a brand model recommendation!

 

[sgf]

I just talked to someone from a company that runs everything from cranes, which they refurbish internally, and skid steers and most everything in between. He says they run this grease in everything without issues, at least as far as they are aware after many years. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NOL75600 . Obviously it can't follow the specs of every piece of equipment but I guess it works for them.

 

[JTWAT]

Unless you need a high temp grease for a fast running bearing, use any grease spec that is EP ( Extreme Pressure). Almost everything on a tractor is slow moving with a high load on it. The addition of Molly would be a plus. The molly separates the moving metal parts and is sacrificial. The Lithium is a soap thickener. It is compatible with most greases.

 

[sgf]

Thanks for the input. Along with a bunch of other research I took your comments into account. I think I am going with this https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...lithium-complex-nlgi-2-grease-14-oz-cartridge
As per my original post I wanted to 1. meet equipment manufacturer recommendations as closely as possible 2. Choose something I could get locally. Shipping is about $16.50 on a box of 10 tubes! 3. Reasonable price.

I took a particular interest in the Shaffer's and Cheveron Delo greases but neither was available locally. We do have a TSC store close by.

 

[JTWAT]

I've used the TSC grease before. Got a new Kubota SVL and have switched all the lubes to Amsoil. 1044 hrs and so far so good.

 

[Wayne440]

For the last 50 or so years my choice of grease has been "whatever is in the gun I can find at the time". So far, I have not had a failure that I attributed to the wrong type of grease. That doesn't mean that it won't happen, but so far so good.

 

[solakian]

Grease rule #1; For best results use it often
Grease rule #2; To better understand failures related to grease, refer to rule #1

 

[mrbb]

if you having things shipped, does it really matter if store is close by?
and there are many stores that ship free too, so might be worth shopping around, not bashing traxctor supply either, just saying

places like ebay ,amazon all sell most brands and have free shipping from many sellers!

 

[sgf]

if you having things shipped, does it really matter if store is close by?
and there are many stores that ship free too, so might be worth shopping around, not bashing traxctor supply either, just saying

places like ebay ,amazon all sell most brands and have free shipping from many sellers!

No Sir, it doesn't matter if the store is close by if I order it. My prefered option is local procurement but I was willing to order if I couldn't get what I want locally. I found that ordering online was less cost effective in this case. There were free shipping options but the prices were adjusted up to compensate. The shipping cost I cited was typical of what I was finding for . a box of ten cartridges. My twenty-six years of ordering online has taught me that some things are a bargain online and others not. In this case a local purchase is more cost effective for grease, at least in my case. I just ordered two carbs online for string trimmers for $14.89 each with free shipping. No way to touch that price locally and they work great. Just depends in my experience.

 

[sgf]

For the last 50 or so years my choice of grease has been "whatever is in the gun I can find at the time". So far, I have not had a failure that I attributed to the wrong type of grease. That doesn't mean that it won't happen, but so far so good.

I like your thinking, even though it does scare me a bit. Seem like it works for you and it's hard to argue that.

 

[Wayne440]

Claiming zero expertise, I figure that for typical things with a grease fitting like U joints, bucket/boom pins, mower spindles etc. any grease is preferable to running dry. Most of my stuff is old and well worn by the time I get hold of it anyway, so who knows what it has had in it in the past 20, 30, 40+ years.

It isn't as if I am turning some bearing at 30,000 RPM in a life safety application. IF I was, I would get a gun just for it with whatever the maker said to use.

 

[Ivan]

For the last 50 or so years my choice of grease has been "whatever is in the gun I can find at the time". So far, I have not had a failure that I attributed to the wrong type of grease. That doesn't mean that it won't happen, but so far so good.

Thank you grease is grease and as long as it has it any is better t han none. Maybe some is better than otheres but find one that works in all temps and use it