Thanks and yea i agree with your last statement,thanks for the update.
Needing to change grease
- Thread starter turfequiptech
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I have been following this thread to see what kind of observations you made while trying all the different greases. It is nice to see someone evaluating the products instead of just switching to the cheapest grease available.
Generally speaking, most of the people I know that tried to save money by going with a cheaper grease ended up buying more grease, and/or more parts. An extreme case would be going from a premium grease to the lowest-bid grease.
Since the grease only makes up about 22% of your lubricant budget, I'm curious if you are doing any evaluations for the other lubricants? e.g. Extended drain intervals on the engine oils? Also, have you considered buying your grease by the pail?
Generally speaking, most of the people I know that tried to save money by going with a cheaper grease ended up buying more grease, and/or more parts. An extreme case would be going from a premium grease to the lowest-bid grease.
Since the grease only makes up about 22% of your lubricant budget, I'm curious if you are doing any evaluations for the other lubricants? e.g. Extended drain intervals on the engine oils? Also, have you considered buying your grease by the pail?
There is something about the Valvoline Optimum Choice I'm not tracking. The base oil viscosity is way thicker than most #2 greases. Most are ISO 220 or 320. That 40c cST of 595 puts it to nearly a ISO 680. No wonder it stayed in place. How was the pumpability of the grease?
For my general knowledge can anyone explain what Valvoline is trying to do with such a thick base oil? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
For my general knowledge can anyone explain what Valvoline is trying to do with such a thick base oil? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
It has a heavy base oil to help keep it in place. It also appears to be heavily tackified for the same reason.
I wanted to update this thread. Since my last post I have settled on a Jet Lube grease it is Alco-EP-73 aluminum complex grease, its cost range from 4.00 to 7.00 a tube depending on where you buy it. Here is the link. www.jetlube.com/jetlube/uploads/pdf/msdspdf/alcoep73.pdf. It happens that they do not publish much info on their PDS however the in service tests we performed became more valuable than the PDS. I will elaborate.
I last mentioned how well the Optimum Choice by Valvoline was working the Optimum choice was good but I really felt that an aluminum complex would be better for us regardless of how well a lithium grease performed. Most of our equipment goes out in the early morning(crack of dawn) and is wet with dew and flying grass juice, so water resistance was my number one consideration. It is generally stated that aluminum complex is better than lithium of any type. I tried a Lubriplate grease #730 it was the worst aluminum I tried it came out like a oil in the bearing cavity it was a oily mess. I tried the Swepco 121 it worked excellent in the subject bearings it was about 2 shot till it purged the vent its consistency remained excellent. The bearings remained mostly covered in the grease when we inspected them. At the same time I tried a few grease from Belray Oil. They have a line called Termalene, there is a Wg-150 which is a white grease this was the most waterproof grease of any that I tested. I do not think it is possible for it to mix with water it is incredible. It is a bit thick for roller bearings and doesn't flow freely around the bearing when I inspected the bearings the grease was actually not covering the bearing. An e-mail from their tech guy wouldn't answer about its use for taper roller bearings and why their PDS said it was good for anti-friction bearings, his reply was to use their roller bearings grease. I could not get small quantities of it but at that point the Alco grease was rising to the top so I didn't pursue it. I also tried two other Belray greases a different Termalene grease and a aluminum moly grease # 126 EP. The moly grease was good and sticks around pretty good but they did not offer a percentage of moly on their PDS so a e-mail revealed it was only 1%. if I am going to use moly on different areas I might as well use 3-5% moly, for me 1% just didn't seem worth the extra effort. At this point however the Alco was proving its worth and I was noticing how well it held up.
So I bought ten tubes of the Alco and set up 10 bearings cavities with it and mixed it with the opposing ten cavities that were full of barium grease.( being brave). Within a few weeks I was hooked started using it on plain bushings it held up well there also. Reasons I like it, it holds up well 1-2 shots purges the vent, when I inspected the bearings they were covered in the grease and no metal was exposed, easy to get in any quantity, held up very well to water, maintained consistency it also seemed to have better consistency . It beat the Swepco 121 in the “mix it in the palm of your hand test” but not in the “hammer splatter test”.
So between the Swepco 121 and the Alco I went with the Alco because it cost about 3.00 dollars less per tube and was easier to get. As for the mix between the aluminum and barium I saw no problems at all nothing.
I am sure some are wondering why I did not try the Schaeffer products. I will only say that it just did not work out, but I hear some tubes are on the way as soon as this week. Lubriplate was the only company to send me free samples, the tubes were shipped the same day I requested them. I will also say I never asked anyone for anything free I only asked to be able to purchase a few items rather than a large case.
WagonBoss the pumpabilty was fine it has a nice consistency. Even though it means nothing it smells good. The Optimum Choice grease.
Rob Roy, I have looked into buying grease and refilling my own guns, I have two reasons that I choose not to. One cleanliness, and two dependability of the pumping equipment.
A few other notes the equipment tested on was a Jacobsen LF-1880 light weight fairway mower it has approximately 70 zerks, we own three of them and grease them once per week. They cost 40,000 dollars each they get washed every time they go out.. http://www.jacobsen.com/slf1880
I last mentioned how well the Optimum Choice by Valvoline was working the Optimum choice was good but I really felt that an aluminum complex would be better for us regardless of how well a lithium grease performed. Most of our equipment goes out in the early morning(crack of dawn) and is wet with dew and flying grass juice, so water resistance was my number one consideration. It is generally stated that aluminum complex is better than lithium of any type. I tried a Lubriplate grease #730 it was the worst aluminum I tried it came out like a oil in the bearing cavity it was a oily mess. I tried the Swepco 121 it worked excellent in the subject bearings it was about 2 shot till it purged the vent its consistency remained excellent. The bearings remained mostly covered in the grease when we inspected them. At the same time I tried a few grease from Belray Oil. They have a line called Termalene, there is a Wg-150 which is a white grease this was the most waterproof grease of any that I tested. I do not think it is possible for it to mix with water it is incredible. It is a bit thick for roller bearings and doesn't flow freely around the bearing when I inspected the bearings the grease was actually not covering the bearing. An e-mail from their tech guy wouldn't answer about its use for taper roller bearings and why their PDS said it was good for anti-friction bearings, his reply was to use their roller bearings grease. I could not get small quantities of it but at that point the Alco grease was rising to the top so I didn't pursue it. I also tried two other Belray greases a different Termalene grease and a aluminum moly grease # 126 EP. The moly grease was good and sticks around pretty good but they did not offer a percentage of moly on their PDS so a e-mail revealed it was only 1%. if I am going to use moly on different areas I might as well use 3-5% moly, for me 1% just didn't seem worth the extra effort. At this point however the Alco was proving its worth and I was noticing how well it held up.
So I bought ten tubes of the Alco and set up 10 bearings cavities with it and mixed it with the opposing ten cavities that were full of barium grease.( being brave). Within a few weeks I was hooked started using it on plain bushings it held up well there also. Reasons I like it, it holds up well 1-2 shots purges the vent, when I inspected the bearings they were covered in the grease and no metal was exposed, easy to get in any quantity, held up very well to water, maintained consistency it also seemed to have better consistency . It beat the Swepco 121 in the “mix it in the palm of your hand test” but not in the “hammer splatter test”.
So between the Swepco 121 and the Alco I went with the Alco because it cost about 3.00 dollars less per tube and was easier to get. As for the mix between the aluminum and barium I saw no problems at all nothing.
I am sure some are wondering why I did not try the Schaeffer products. I will only say that it just did not work out, but I hear some tubes are on the way as soon as this week. Lubriplate was the only company to send me free samples, the tubes were shipped the same day I requested them. I will also say I never asked anyone for anything free I only asked to be able to purchase a few items rather than a large case.
WagonBoss the pumpabilty was fine it has a nice consistency. Even though it means nothing it smells good. The Optimum Choice grease.
Rob Roy, I have looked into buying grease and refilling my own guns, I have two reasons that I choose not to. One cleanliness, and two dependability of the pumping equipment.
A few other notes the equipment tested on was a Jacobsen LF-1880 light weight fairway mower it has approximately 70 zerks, we own three of them and grease them once per week. They cost 40,000 dollars each they get washed every time they go out.. http://www.jacobsen.com/slf1880
Yes the Alum complex thickener is better compared head to head.
you did good....thanks 4 the update..
you did good....thanks 4 the update..
I'm much obliged for the response and thank you for the whole write up. Real world experience is very enlightening. I was going to try Cerulean, but now I'll try the OC next.
So here we are a few years later and about 700 machine hours later.
The Alco-EP-73 is proven to be an exceptional grease, we have not replaced one reel bearing, roller or wheel bearing since the winter of 2010. We normally inspect these bearings and find them to be in great condition. Previous years have seen about half of all bearings replaced. There is about 132 tapered roller bearings in machines that go out about 30 hours per week in wet grass. When in use they are always wet. One machine has very small high speed bearings in it, these never lasted a full season before, we changed about 8-10 in season, now at the end of the year the were still in service.
From my tests in fall of 2010 I had a few wheel bearings in golf carts packed with various greases. We serviced those this winter and found the Valvoline Cerulean packed hubs held up the best, the bearings were reusable, of those we had Swepco 121, Belray Termalene, Chevron blue grease. Of course non of these test are scientific , however they are real world. Using this grease has saved money in the form of purchasing parts and labor involved in overhauls.
I purchased 90 tubes last fiscal year and had 18 left when the year changed over in October, .
AS for the applications that I wanted a moly grease for, that was a little more difficult. we tried so many moly greases many that are frequently mentioned on this website. In the end just this winter we settled on using Chevron Heavy Duty EP 5% moly grease. This grease held up incredibly well, it seems to release the oils evenly between greasing, not really sure how to explain that but the pins and bushings always seem freshly greased and a little bit wet. The pins show very little wear with plenty of grease in the areas.Everything that is not a roller type bearing has this in it this spring, perhaps in the fall I will update on its use.This a lithium based grease however, it held up compared to greases that were aluminum and barium. I did not want two different base greases but it works so, it has to come down to managing who grease what.
The Alco-EP-73 is proven to be an exceptional grease, we have not replaced one reel bearing, roller or wheel bearing since the winter of 2010. We normally inspect these bearings and find them to be in great condition. Previous years have seen about half of all bearings replaced. There is about 132 tapered roller bearings in machines that go out about 30 hours per week in wet grass. When in use they are always wet. One machine has very small high speed bearings in it, these never lasted a full season before, we changed about 8-10 in season, now at the end of the year the were still in service.
From my tests in fall of 2010 I had a few wheel bearings in golf carts packed with various greases. We serviced those this winter and found the Valvoline Cerulean packed hubs held up the best, the bearings were reusable, of those we had Swepco 121, Belray Termalene, Chevron blue grease. Of course non of these test are scientific , however they are real world. Using this grease has saved money in the form of purchasing parts and labor involved in overhauls.
I purchased 90 tubes last fiscal year and had 18 left when the year changed over in October, .
AS for the applications that I wanted a moly grease for, that was a little more difficult. we tried so many moly greases many that are frequently mentioned on this website. In the end just this winter we settled on using Chevron Heavy Duty EP 5% moly grease. This grease held up incredibly well, it seems to release the oils evenly between greasing, not really sure how to explain that but the pins and bushings always seem freshly greased and a little bit wet. The pins show very little wear with plenty of grease in the areas.Everything that is not a roller type bearing has this in it this spring, perhaps in the fall I will update on its use.This a lithium based grease however, it held up compared to greases that were aluminum and barium. I did not want two different base greases but it works so, it has to come down to managing who grease what.
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