Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
User avatar
Gattonero
Posts: 3730
Joined: 31 Jan 2016, 1:35pm
Location: London

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Gattonero »

I use Dualco grease guns.

They're not perfect, but Q/P is good and if well kept they last many years. Fairly easy to fill with any grease, good pressure and nozzles are replaceable.
Only negative things is that with time they tend to spill along the spring, but isn't such a big deal

Image
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
roger
Posts: 176
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 2:14pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by roger »

I have a collection of the older guns and a Duaco which, being nippleless, I use to squirt grease into place. There is the usual collection of Castrol tins from early Ford days.
Whilst wiping muck off the Tecalemit I remembered they were made at the fat end of the Tamar. Are there any recollections or loyalties about?

Roger.
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Brucey »

this is my most-used Wanner grease gun

the most useful grease gun of the many I own
the most useful grease gun of the many I own


It has been modified in three ways from standard

1) there is an additional hanging loop fitted to it ( a welded stainless steel loop), so that it can be stored alongside several others of similar ilk that I use
2) there is a ~10" long nozzle (made in welded stainless steel) with a ~1.5mm dia exit in it. This will reach comfortably between the spokes to most lube ports on hubs etc, as well as allowing precise application of grease to all kinds of other assemblies. The pump delivers about 0.5cc per stroke at up to several thousand psi
3) The upper bleed fitting has been repaired; I clumsily broke it, and then repaired it with a little 'near net shape' MIG welding deposit

This gun is normally loaded with my favourite SFG. Once bled out, the spring pressure can be removed and the floating piston will move thereafter under suction. Only if there is an air bubble is the spring pressure on the reservoir required again. The upper bleed fitting can be swapped for the delivery tube to make it an inline lever action gun if required, but I prefer the pistol configuration for most jobs. The standard delivery tube has a really good claw chuck on the end of it and is cranked about 15 degrees for good access into awkward spots.

Regarding durability; my grandfather, my father and various uncles have maintained all kinds of machinery in their businesses using similar Wanner grease guns and they were the gun of choice for them too (they owned/tried many others, but they didn't work so well). So far as I know, none of their Wanner guns (they have all owned several) failed or really gave any trouble despite heavy use and the oldest is now about 60 years old (I think it originally turned up in the toolkit of a Claas combine; an expensive way of buying a grease gun..... :wink: ). The worst problem I know of amongst all these guns is the broken bleed nipple I had, which was self-inflicted.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ambodach
Posts: 1023
Joined: 15 Mar 2011, 6:45pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by ambodach »

My old Flying Scot of 1955 vintage has grease nipples top and bottom of the head tube and also on the bottom bracket. Just pump till clean grease comes out and job done. Sadly not very often nowadays as bike is little used.
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Brucey »

ambodach wrote:My old Flying Scot of 1955 vintage has grease nipples top and bottom of the head tube and also on the bottom bracket. Just pump till clean grease comes out and job done. Sadly not very often nowadays as bike is little used.


Grease nipples make a lot of sense, especially with the kind of BB and headset components that were then available. They still make a lot of sense with certain modern components that have seals which are designed to let grease out from within, whilst preventing water etc from without getting to within as it were. [Shame the 'greaseguard' approach didn't become more popular.]

Contrast this with a lot of modern designs in which an allegedly 'sealed bearing' of some kind (which has typically got the wrong fill of the wrong grease in it) is installed in a stupidly designed installation which subjects the bearings to unnecessary amounts of water. For example

1) A-head headsets; these rarely make an effective seal around the steerer, allowing water to enter and run down the steerer. The result is that the lower bearings can rot out first, even on a bike with mudguards. Duh!

2) Most BBs with external bearings. The manufacturers take the trouble to provide a sealing sleeve between the cups, which often makes an airtight seal, but leaves a large trapped volume between the bearings. Any tiny change to a cooler temperature causes the air inside the housing to contract, and if there is water present near the bearings, that gets sucked in instead. No wonder they clap out; take a bike from a nice warm house or garage into the cold of a winters morning commute and a single journey can suck enough (salty) water into the bearings to kill them. Double duh!

In both cases you can improve your lot considerably by using more, better quality, grease. Just filling the airspace in an EBB assy (with any old grease more or less, but the right stuff is best obviously) can greatly improve the service life of the bearings.

BTW some greases (that resist water washout better than others) use a type of calcium soap that thickens appreciably when in contact with water. This can mean that such greases work better as a sealing medium (eg in the poor a-head designs), albeit that eventually some parts may be bonded together with corrupted grease.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
Patrickpioneer
Posts: 322
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 11:18am
Location: Brynteg

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Patrickpioneer »

hello, has anyone successfully sealed the tubes leading to the BB so the BB can then be fitted with a grease nipple. If you have, how did you do it please.
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Brucey »

Patrickpioneer wrote:hello, has anyone successfully sealed the tubes leading to the BB so the BB can then be fitted with a grease nipple. If you have, how did you do it please.


the method varies with the type of BB you are intending to use, so it might help if you say what it is likely to be

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
Patrickpioneer
Posts: 322
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 11:18am
Location: Brynteg

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Patrickpioneer »

yes your right I should say which BB it would help, I am so out of date I only tend to think about my own bikes, 3 piece crank square taper, cups and loose bearings or in a race,
thank you Bruce
Pat
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Brucey »

I think that CJ has suggested the best method with this style of BB; IIRC he suggests that you get a length of radiator hose (~33mm OD) that seals the gap between the cups and then (permanently or temporarily) let a short length of tube through the BB shell and the hose, through which the grease can be introduced. The sealing to the hose doesn't need to be perfect, since the sealing at the BB spindle is usually not good enough to prevent grease from purging through the bearings at fairly low pressures.

A benefit of this method is that if the BB shell has a drain point in it, to let water out of the frame, this need not be obstructed by the BB grease sealing arrangements.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
Patrickpioneer
Posts: 322
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 11:18am
Location: Brynteg

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Patrickpioneer »

I get it, the pipe will have a better seal than the ends of the axle so the grease will flow that way rather than past the pipe and up the frame.
thanks, next project I think.
Pat
User avatar
fausto99
Posts: 952
Joined: 19 Sep 2011, 10:06am
Location: NW Kent

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by fausto99 »

Image

Am I correct in my presumption that this type of gun is only good for filling hub cups or does it come with a different end which would fit a grease nipple?
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Brucey »

it is a high pressure gun and the nozzle unscrews, so I would imagine that a grease nipple fitting to be added to this kind of gun.

If modifying hubs or pedals, just drilling a hole (and using tape over it afterwards) is a lot easier. The pointed nozzle will work with that arrangement too.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pneumant
Posts: 275
Joined: 7 Oct 2010, 8:25pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by Pneumant »

This post is brilliant - grease guns rock!
Here are mine:
1) Draper
2) Mighty Midget
3) Oregon chainsaw grease gun - most useful as very small, but an absolute pig to replenish with grease, actually I use the big Draper for that job and it does seem strange to use a grease gun to fill a grease gun?
Attachments
grease.JPG
ratherbeintobago
Posts: 971
Joined: 5 Dec 2010, 6:31pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Brucey wrote:2) Most BBs with external bearings. The manufacturers take the trouble to provide a sealing sleeve between the cups, which often makes an airtight seal, but leaves a large trapped volume between the bearings. Any tiny change to a cooler temperature causes the air inside the housing to contract, and if there is water present near the bearings, that gets sucked in instead. No wonder they clap out; take a bike from a nice warm house or garage into the cold of a winters morning commute and a single journey can suck enough (salty) water into the bearings to kill them. Double duh!


Didn’t CK used to make a tool for re-greasing external BBs?

I managed to wash all the grease out of a set of BB30 bearings such that they seized in four rides. Such are the joys of mountain biking in the Pennines in winter.
mig
Posts: 2695
Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: Grease Guns, lube ports and grease nipples

Post by mig »

one of my intended jobs for the long weekend to to refill my grease gun (from a hard plastic tube.)

is there any need to clean out the residues of the old grease before whacking in the new? they seem to be fairly different types!
Post Reply