Lubricants grease application methods

The reality for the practitioner and equipment maintainer is that the decision regarding the use of oil or grease and the application method is made well before the equipment reaches the plant floor. Still, for many reasons, lubricant selection and the method of application need to be changed or adjusted to best achieve reliability objectives. 

While it is often believed that it is easier to grease a bearing than to reoil, the reliability of lubricated components is often enhanced when oil is the lubricant of choice. Table 2 describes the advantages and disadvantages of common oil application methods. 

Soil Drawing lubricant, animal fat and grease Surface Steel Application Method Spray Manufacture Ribbon or paddle blender... 

Important performance properties such as adhesion, rheology, and lubrication are largely dependent on the grease hardness and its ability to maintain a stable lubricating film at the metal contact zone. There are a variety of bench test methods for measuring friction and wear properties of a grease. The method of choice depends on the end-use application. Two commonly used bench test methods are described here. 

This test method covers the determination of the loss in mass by evaporation of lubricating greases and oils for applications where evaporation loss is a factor. Evaporation loss data can be obtained at any temperature in the range from 100 to 150 C (210 to 300 F). 

This test method provides a calculation procedure for converting data obtained by Test Method D 972, to apparent vapor pressures and molecular weights. It has been demonstrated to be applicable to petroleum based and synthetic ester lubricating oils, at temperatures of 395 to 535 K (250 to 500°F). However, its applicability to lubricating greases has not been established. 

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