Why grease must separate(bleed)

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I switched over to the stuff in the purple cartridge and come to find out, it doesn't bleed in the hot weather like the red grease in the red cartridge. The purple cartridge is Sta-Lube SL3110. Check it out.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I switched over to the stuff in the purple cartridge and come to find out, it doesn't bleed like the red grease in the red cartridge. The purple cartridge is Sta-Lube SL3110. Check it out.


Did you read the article I provided for you?
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Did you read the article I provided for you?


No, I just wanted to ruin your thread with a solution to the problem.
grin2.gif
 
Thanks for the link. Good info.

"...Ideally, grease should be stored in a cool, dry indoor area that does not exceed 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) and remains above 32 degrees F (0 degrees C)…"

"...Cartridge tubes of grease should be stored upright at all times. If a cartridge tube is left in a grease gun, the grease gun should be depressurized, wiped with a clean cloth to remove any contaminants and stored in a horizontal position inside a clean, cool, dry area to keep the oil from bleeding out of the grease…"

"...If a grease is more than a year old, the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) recommends that it be inspected and the worked penetration tested to ensure that the grease is still within its intended NLGI grade…"


Looks like I will have to stop storing my grease guns in the garage.
 
Here is my take, not my word because the following is probably just a guess.


If the grease separates in the gun or the oil from the grease drops out of the suspension zerk or boot then you are left with the thickener. The thickener just holds the lubricating properties to make it thich and to 'stay put'.

If it all escapes you are left with something that gets hard and stubborn to clean....basically dried-on grease. It can become worse than no grease from what I understand.




I havent read the article,,but it seems to me that the grease must thin to do its job. Like in hot weather (or when it is being stroked/worked) it can then fill the nooks and crannies. But if it separates and doesnt remix with itself, I view that as a problem in a lubricant that can be in lubed for life applications, and to a lesser extent, last several years without being reapplied.
 
Good stuff, I've been complaining that my grease gun is leaking on my bench. Think I'll try depressurizing and laying it on its side.
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Here is my take, not my word because the following is probably just a guess.


If the grease separates in the gun or the oil from the grease drops out of the suspension zerk or boot then you are left with the thickener. The thickener just holds the lubricating properties to make it thich and to 'stay put'.

If it all escapes you are left with something that gets hard and stubborn to clean....basically dried-on grease. It can become worse than no grease from what I understand.




I havent read the article,,but it seems to me that the grease must thin to do its job. Like in hot weather (or when it is being stroked/worked) it can then fill the nooks and crannies. But if it separates and doesnt remix with itself, I view that as a problem in a lubricant that can be in lubed for life applications, and to a lesser extent, last several years without being reapplied.


My advise is to read the article. I found I learned a lot about grease and how to store it.
 
Originally Posted By: SubLGT

"...Cartridge tubes of grease should be stored upright at all times. If a cartridge tube is left in a grease gun, the grease gun should be depressurized, wiped with a clean cloth to remove any contaminants and stored in a horizontal position inside a clean, cool, dry area to keep the oil from bleeding out of the grease…"


This is a little confusing. Should it be stored upright, or stored in a horizontal position?
Why would it change whether the catridge is loaded into a grease gun, or just sitting in a box?
 
Thanks, Tig1. Lots of good info.

I started pulling back the plunger on our grease guns a couple of years ago, makes a huge difference, no more messy, oozing gun and don't have a mess on the shelf where I keep the gun.

The article talks about overgreasing bearings, are they referring to repackable roller bearings? Or are they talking about sealed bearing assembly, like Buddy bearing style?

I'm asking because I repacked the front wheel bearings on our SUV, I don't have a lot of experience with repacking bearings. I don't think I would know what overgreasing would look like.
I don't want problems down the road because I did it wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: LubeLuke
Originally Posted By: SubLGT

"...Cartridge tubes of grease should be stored upright at all times. If a cartridge tube is left in a grease gun, the grease gun should be depressurized, wiped with a clean cloth to remove any contaminants and stored in a horizontal position inside a clean, cool, dry area to keep the oil from bleeding out of the grease…"


This is a little confusing. Should it be stored upright, or stored in a horizontal position?
Why would it change whether the catridge is loaded into a grease gun, or just sitting in a box?


If you store your grease in a gun just pull the plunger back and lock it so pressure doesn't stay on the grease.
 
tig1 you only repeated what had been quoted already.
It still offers no explanation why they say to store cartridge tubes of grease upright at all times, and then go onto to say that if cartridge tubes are left in grease guns they should be stored in a horizontal position.

My Mobil grease cartridges come in boxes that would be impractical to stand with the cartridges upright as suggested. I store them with the box laying flat which puts the catridges in a horizontal position. It also puts all the writing on the box the right way up, which would indicate that it is the intended orientation.
 
Excellent article for the basics on grease. There's so much more out there if you need technical information. In an industrial application you take into consideration, bearing bushing size, speed and operating temp. Shock load etc. There's NLGI 00,0,1,2 ,3, 4 which is the thickness of the grease as a whole with the thickner. After than you can control the bleeding or lubricating characteristics by selecting different base oil ISO grades whick will identify the bleed rate. For most automotive chassis use a good NLGI #2 grease with lithium complex thickner. I recommend always using a good quality nationally branded product or some of the better boutique greases like amsoil, schaffers, Red Line and Hydrotex



Jason
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: tig1
Your better grease does separate somewhat for better lubrication. Some here believe grease should not separate at all. This article explains why grease must separate for proper lubrication. Also it explains how to store grease in a gun to prevent grease bleeding.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28761/storing-grease-to-avoid-bleed-separation-


I think that this is in response to the comment in another thread that Mobil 1 bleeds.

There's a big difference between a grease "releasing" oil, and a tube of grease leaving a red pool in the cupboard over a few months.

The latter is NOT what the former requires.

The being said, I was involved in moving to Mobil SHC (100 and 220) in the late 90s across the board on HV motors, and it's a really really good thing.

Just doesn't need a tenuous link to defend against a strawman argument.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: tig1
Your better grease does separate somewhat for better lubrication. Some here believe grease should not separate at all. This article explains why grease must separate for proper lubrication. Also it explains how to store grease in a gun to prevent grease bleeding.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28761/storing-grease-to-avoid-bleed-separation-


I think that this is in response to the comment in another thread that Mobil 1 bleeds.

There's a big difference between a grease "releasing" oil, and a tube of grease leaving a red pool in the cupboard over a few months.

The latter is NOT what the former requires.

The being said, I was involved in moving to Mobil SHC (100 and 220) in the late 90s across the board on HV motors, and it's a really really good thing.

Just doesn't need a tenuous link to defend against a strawman argument.


And your point is....
 
Originally Posted By: LubeLuke
tig1 you only repeated what had been quoted already.
It still offers no explanation why they say to store cartridge tubes of grease upright at all times, and then go onto to say that if cartridge tubes are left in grease guns they should be stored in a horizontal position.

My Mobil grease cartridges come in boxes that would be impractical to stand with the cartridges upright as suggested. I store them with the box laying flat which puts the catridges in a horizontal position. It also puts all the writing on the box the right way up, which would indicate that it is the intended orientation.

LOL, I also wonder why unopened cartridges should be stored vertical vs opened (in gun) cartridges stored horizontal.

Aren't your boxes like this, which can be stored vertical?
291489722249_1.jpg
 
My boxes are different. They are not stable when the grease catridges are vertical.
I have Mobil grease. Not Mobil 1 Synthetic.

But as you I still await an answer as to why it would be stored one way when in a box, and another when in a grease gun. It's still in the catridge.

P.S. I just had another look and it appears one of my boxes is the same as yours (except says Mobil instead of Mobil 1). The other one does not stand upright though. They are both the same grease but the packaging is slightly different?....
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: njohnson
Thanks, Tig1. Lots of good info.

I started pulling back the plunger on our grease guns a couple of years ago, makes a huge difference, no more messy, oozing gun and don't have a mess on the shelf where I keep the gun.

The article talks about overgreasing bearings, are they referring to repackable roller bearings? Or are they talking about sealed bearing assembly, like Buddy bearing style?

I'm asking because I repacked the front wheel bearings on our SUV, I don't have a lot of experience with repacking bearings. I don't think I would know what overgreasing would look like.
I don't want problems down the road because I did it wrong.


I wasn't sure about what the article was talking about w/overgreased bearings either. To properly grease a bearing, clean it (I use diesel fuel) or just repack if it doesn't look too bad by putting a golf ball size pile of grease in the palm of your hand and force it into the rollers. You'll see the dirty grease come out. Wipe that off on a rag and pack until you see clean grease. Smear a generous amount of grease on your races and smear some on your spindle. It's really hard to over do it, but I guess possible.
 
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