Grease and lubrication

Lubrication is behind 30 to 40 percent of bearing failures: the wrong grease, too much, too little, or grease past its useful life. It is the most common cause of failure and the least expensive one to fix.

Think of grease as oil held in a soap thickener. The soap determines how it reacts to heat and water; the base oil determines which speeds and loads it can handle. For that reason two greases that look identical may not be compatible, and mixing them does more harm than skipping a relubrication.

Lithium greases are general-purpose and cover most industrial applications at normal temperatures. Extreme pressure (EP) greases carry additives for heavy loads and shock, which is what mills, crushers and heavily loaded spherical roller bearings need. High-temperature greases keep working where a lithium grease dries out and leaves the bearing without lubricant. Food-grade greases are required wherever incidental contact with product can occur.

Quantity and frequency matter just as much. A bearing packed too full runs hot from churning its own grease and fails as surely as a dry one. The right amount depends on bearing size and speed in rpm, and the interval gets shorter as temperature rises: each additional ten degrees cuts it in half.

Tell us the machine, its operating temperature and whether it gets washed down, and we will recommend a grease. A two-minute conversation can save you a plant shutdown.