School me on grease guns

[GB SISSON]

I have learned everything I know about working on vehicles on my own over the last 50 years. My dad, who I loved, didn't know a piston from a carburetor. I do ok with keeping my fleet in order and for the most part I enjoy working on my old trucks. One thing I haven't figured out is grease guns. It seems that no matter what I try, or which of the many guns I've bought, or what type of gun I use, I end up getting more of the grease on myself, the shop floor or any other place it doesn't belong. It starts with the installation of the new cartridge. I'm HORRIBLE at this. Pull back the plunger, tilt to the side to lock. Pull the pop top and the plastic cap. Slide into barrel. Next I try to thread the cap assembly onto those fine threads. Not so bad usually but no guarantees. Next I release the plunger rod and attempt to pump, but 90 percent of the time it's not pumping. I assume air in the system. Next I will unscrew the cap assembly a bit to purge the trapped air. Not a great idea. So I pump and pump and it usually kicks in. Then it's lining it up on the fittings and 90 percent of the remaining grease goes elsewhere. OK... Why do some tips lock onto the fitting and are hard to remove and some just won't stay on? I am wondering what is a good gun to buy, hopefully on amazon and any tips on what I'm doing wrong. Also flex hose or bent tube on the business end?

[19Fordy]

I think the secret is to be able to secure the grease gun in a bench vise while you're installing new cartridge. The other secret is to have plenty of paper towels nearby to reduce mess frustration. Otherwise, You need 3 hands. Bent tube makes it easier to hold the gun on the fitting where clearance is tight between components. I found flexible hose to be pretty much useless.

I am sure there are different kinds of tips for different types of nipples.
Probably a science all by itself. "Lock ons" can be a bear to remove.
I bet the military has something to do with the " Grease Fitting Standards".

[truckdog62563]

Similar experience here. Pump, pump, pump....nothing. I did buy one of the mini guns at the farm store a while back that seems to work okay. I’ve thought about getting one of the air powered guns. What could go wrong with 90 psi pushing grease - besides having goop spray everywhere? Stu

[GB SISSON]

I have two of the mini-luber guns in my arsenal and agree, they seem to work better, but it's 4 times as often with refilling hassle. I also have a 'hand me down' John Deere brand cordless electric that I have never tried, and Stu I am with you on the 90 psi added to the mess. But who knows... Maybe they are an improvement.???

[flatford8]

I have always had trouble getting the damn thing bled so the grease would come out. My air powered gun is near impossible to get working after a cartridge change. I use two flex hoses together and a hand squeeze gun, not a lever operated one. It takes me longer to change out the cartridge and finish the job than the whole rest of the oil change.......Mark

[40cpe]

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I don't know if all have it, but my standard grease gun tip has an adjustable end. The end of the fitting rotates to adjust the pressure on the zerk. I also use the lock n lube locking tip. It works fine, but is sometimes too large for some spaces.
https://locknlube.com/products/lockn...hoC16gQAvD_BwE

[Mart]

I too get covered in it. It's just the nature of the beast.

Mart.

[flatford8]

My experience with the fittings has been an old one won’t stay on and a new one is hard to pull off......Mark

[leon bee]

I was just studying new guns last night. My experience is just like GB's. Yesterday one of the flex hoses blew out in my hand while I was trying to force grease into a zerk. Dam near injected grease into my hand. Pistol grip, lever action, flex, pipe we've tried em all. Only thing not tried yet is that lock on tip.

I've been using a flex hose cause I've always been on my back under the car and holding the gun against me. Now we have a lift in the shop and I've discovered I need a lever gun with a rigid tube to reach up with.

Last thing; I never cared much about wearing those nitrile gloves but, man, those things are MADE for messing with grease.

[RalphM]

I’ve always had to bleed them out when installing a new cartridge. To get the air out, just unscrew the cap slightly till the air is all gone. Then pump till the grease comes out. Tighten cap when it starts pumping.

[Yoyodyne]

My rule #1, buy good grease guns and hardware. flatford8 is right, usually if a coupler won't stay on a fitting, it's the fitting's fault, replace it with a new one. A GOOD new one. Keep spares and a fitting tool handy. Buy good brand guns like Lincoln or Alemite, Deere should also be reselling a good name brand. Also use good couplers. A needle adapter can get you out of a jam with a damaged fitting that can't be replaced immediately, or a fitting like on a U-joint that can't be reached with a standard coupler.

After installing a new tube, slam the gun head down on a wood block to drive the grease downward toward the pump a couple times, pump it a couple times, slam it again, pump it again, etc. until it pumps properly. There's usually a spot on the head you can slam it that won't bend anything. If not, rig something up so you can or get another gun. Leaving the body a turn or 2 loose while doing this can help let the air out of the body, but you also usually need to drive it out through the pump.

If you only grease a little, get a pistol grip gun and a long flex hose or join 2 hoses. That lets you pump with one hand and hold the coupler in line on the fitting with the other. Pistol grips pumps need 3X as many pumps as the lever guns, so you get tired of pumping sooner, but less frustrated than with both hands on the lever gun.

If you grease a lot, get a powered grease gun. I have a Milwaukee cordless that I think is awesome. It has a spring loaded bleeder valve on the head to let air out when changing tubes, that feature should be on ALL guns. I seldom have to even slam this one, just hold the bleeder, release the long rod to release the spring and piston, and it's ready to go. One charge will pump a half dozen tubes of grease. This gun has ended my 50 year hatred of grease guns and greasing things. I even had an air powered grease pump that took 5 gallon pails of grease, this is way better.

[burnette]

i use grease guns every day. Lincoln are my favorite, and can last a couple years. i usely slide new tube screw head a few turns,then push the rod back in. a couple pumps and grease comes out,then fully tighten head.

[RalphG]

Pistol grip and flex hose for me all the time. I go through at least a dozen tubes of grease a year on the farm and the only time I have problems loading a new cartridge is when the gun gets old and the plunger won't lock in the "out" position. I've had to use the bench vise lately but its frustrating and I need to buy a new grease gun. Always store the cartridges in upright position to the grease will be settled right in position to feed. Leave the head a touch loose and bounce the gun upside down on a tire to help push out any air. Yes, rubber gloves are good for this job.

[Tinker]

I need to buy a decent one. My last one was a wally world one. The flex tube pack was more $ then the grease gun unit. Not a great setup.



I lost my old farm grease guns in transition. Funny how the little things matter. . Guess some farm auctions are in order, just get bored waiting 4hrs to bid on a grease gun.


Granted clean and good zerks help. Some zerks are almost welded shut.

[mhsprecher]

I am glad to read that I am not the only one.

[GB SISSON]

I have just learned that it's not about me! I know there are folks dealing with heavy equipment such as earth moving and logging that have to grease at the start of each day. Maybe I should try the John Deere cordless setup that guy gave me. I'm actually (pleasantly) surprised that it's a difficult task for so many other barners. Sounds like the fittings are as much to blame as the gun. Yesterday I bought a box of the black nitrile gloves in anticipation of another round of grease. Here I was hoping I'd check the forum and a bunch of guys would have the use of these infernal contraptions down to a science. So here we are at Grease Gun School. Thanks for all the input.Everything helps!

[ABento]

Burnette hit it on the head,buy a lincoln grease gun, when filing the gun with tube grease,pull the plunger and lock it in, remove cap off of tube,insert tube, remove pull tab cover on end,install pump handle a couple turns release plunger and screw pump down the rest of the way,this generally lets the air out and when you screw the pump the rest of the way you insure grease getting to the pump, some guns I've seen have a tiny hole about 1 to 2 threads down from the top this lets the air out also.

[drolston]

Just can't get my very old straight tube grease gun onto many fittings on the '41 due to access angles, so bought a new pistol grip type with a flexible tube. Damned fitting absolutely would not snap onto the Zerks. What I learned was that Zerks have changed since 1941. I finally managed to adapt the old end fitting onto the new flexible tube.

There are probably a lot of cars running around with a mixed bag of fitting types.

[slowforty]

I have a grease gun that you can refill from another gun. I take it to my brothers shop for a refill.

[19Fordy]

Here's a video on how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4FeaYOZGoo