we do we have to grease things? Where does it go?

[The motor guy]

Alot of things these days have zerk fittings and require periodic greasing to be done. My question is why do I have to add more grease? Where does the grease go? It's not like it gets burned up like oil does.

 

[BubbaFL]

The new grease displaces the old grease, which could be contaminated with water, dirt, etc., or could have heated up and ran out.

I wish more things had zerks instead of the "lubricated until the warranty runs out" garbage.

 

[Kestas]

I believe it's for a number of reasons. One is that it doesn't get circulated onto the active surfaces as it does in bearings and it thins out over time. The other is to flush away the wear debris and any possible water contamination from the active surfaces. Still another reason is that with time the oil can bleed out of the grease, leaving only thickener, and render the old lube impotent.

 

[md20]

I'm sure that you have seen splatter on the wheels of trailers. That splatter is usually grease that has leaked from the hub. When grease reaches its dropping point and liquefies, it can get through the seals and leak away. The same thing can happen to grease in various motors. As they heat up, the grease liquefies and leaks through the seals.

There are a number of reasons for grease loss depending on use. Another one would be grease used in boat trailers that do in and out of water a lot. They suffer from washout.

Finding the right grease for each application requires proper research. Personally, I tend to go with a higher grade of product than typically recommended as it will usually result in less maintenance time and less repair costs down the road.

Spending a little more on a higher quality grease most definitely pays off in the long run. But be aware of incompatibility issues, and other issues based on what is in the grease.

An example that I am aware of comes from South Africa where a company is using a lot of heavy equipment in a wet environment. The recommended grease also has 5% moly in it due to the EP needs. They have been experiencing corrosion that they believe is grease based as when molybdenum disulfide when mixed with water creates sulfuric acid. Over a longer period, that can cause pitting and corrosion in the metal.

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
An example that I am aware of comes from South Africa where a company is using a lot of heavy equipment in a wet environment. The recommended grease also has 5% moly in it due to the EP needs. They have been experiencing corrosion that they believe is grease based as when molybdenum disulfide when mixed with water creates sulfuric acid. Over a longer period, that can cause pitting and corrosion in the metal.

What grease do they use?

 

[md20]

It is the european version of the CAT 5Moly grease. They get it from a CAT dealer out of England.

 

[greggn]

We bought a Cat 235 excavator at an auction, there is a sticker on the door that says- grease daily " I need grease to live"

 

[SuperDave456]

I've watched shows on mining. The first 2-4 hours of the 1st shift of the day most of the workers are just doing daily maintenance to the machines that will be used by everyone for the rest of the day.

Due to the rough environment that is nothing but dust and rocks greasing everything daily significantly extends the life of the machines.

I figure that this is normal for such environments.

 

[Charlie1935]

The grease worms eat it is where it goes!