Lucas Red-N-Tacky turned to solid?

[92saturnsl2]

I have some equipment at work that needed greasing, so I grabbed the grease gun which had a can of red-n-tacky in it that's probably 6-9 months old from the last time we greased. I've always felt it's pretty good stuff for basic industrial applications (material conveyors in this case,) it seems to last a while and stay in place good.

But when I went to grease with it, nothing came out, so I assumed the gun was out of grease. I pulled the can out and it was still 2/3 full, but all the grease had hardened. It had a similar consistency to cold butter, I could cut it with a knife. Ambient temps were 75 degrees or so, so I ruled that possibility out right away.

Could it have hardened from improper storage considering the can was opened and left sitting in the grease gun? I've never seen that before, I've always just left grease in the gun and gone back months later and it still looks and performs like it should. I had to search the whole shop for more grease and came upon a can of Valvoline general purpose grease that looked like it'd been there an eternity. It probably had because it had a 1999 copyright date on it. It worked fine, and consistency was normal. So maybe it's something about Red-N-tacky? Does grease have a shelf life or has anyone else ever experienced this?

 

[dlundblad]

I’m betting it was exposed to high temps last time it was used. It won’t go hard by just sitting there.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Did the oils separate from the grease ?
If it separated, I could see being left with a thicker grease.

Where did the oils go ?
Look inside the tube or on the shelf.

Maybe call the manufacturer and get their opinion.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Could it have hardened from improper storage considering the can was opened and left sitting in the grease gun? I've never seen that before, I've always just left grease in the gun and gone back months later and it still looks and performs like it should.

Yes to all. Base oil WILL separate from the thickener in ALL greases- the only question is how long it takes.

Many things can "influence" that speed (I use the term influence capriciously) such as storage conditions, vibrations, heat, humidity and so forth.

Many greases seem to be more stable and resilient than others too with no clear reason why- many times the same product and even batch.

Its somewhat randomized but an eventual certainty along with individual properties degrading