Grease gun suggestions

[jmacdonald]

In the market for another grease gun as my last one gave up the ghost. I don't want an air gun, and don't need an electric. I know that there two basic types a lever operated or a pistol grip. My last was a lever type. Are grease guns pretty much the same other than some are very cheaply constructed? I don't know how to tell a good grease gun from a piece of junk.

 

[jderstine]

I got my last lever type grease gun at my local Western Auto. First was a cheapy $20 one that worked for about 1/4 tube of grease before it wouldn't pump anymore.

I took it back ( for full credit - nice doing business with a local store ) and bought the $40 one. No problems with the better one and I've had it for 4 years now.

 

[dross]

I have a pistol grip wish I had a lever. To be honest sometimes it's handy to have one hand free to hold the tip but for filling up a little gearbox or steering gear yer hand gets tired. Quality is a guess. it ought to have some wieght to it without the grease in it. If you can get your hands on it take the pump end off, (it just unscrews) grab the end of the hollow part and see how solid it is, or cheap it is, pump the handle and see how much play it has, look at the joints as they move though the stroke. if thier loose now they ain't gonna tighten up with use. Like jeff said don't be afraid to spend a little extra, don't bother with junk it won't last. YMMV

 

[kphill]

I like the lever type grease gun the best. Also take the steel tube off and put a flex hose on the end and you will be able to get in tight spots. I have a Lincoln that I have had for years. They seem to last a long time. http://www.lincolnindustrial.com/asp/products/greaseguns.asp

 

[dfrisk]

I have a piston grip and haven't used ANYTHING else for the last +/-45 yrs. In fact the gun I have was kept in one of those little over-center clamps bolted to the frame rail of the '39 H and Super H back in the 1960's. I hate to think how many thousands of tubes of grease it's pumped. I used to carry 2-3 new tubes of grease in the big frame-mounted tool box on the Super H to grease stuff like hay rakes that seldom if ever made it up to the buildings.

Best improvement I made to it was adding a swiveling/pivoting nozzle to the end of the tube to attach to the zerks. Pull a steel sleeve back and bend the nozzle to get squarely onto the zerk. The center mower spindle, center frt axle pivot, and steering gearbox on CC's are three places you just can't grease without that nozzle.

With the amount of JUNK made in china anymore I'd suggest looking around at yard sales, estate sales, farm auctions, etc. for a decent US made grease gun.

Lubrimatic and Lincoln Industrial are two current brands to look for.

 

[kweaver]

I let the 5 gallon bucket grease pump get away when they sold the farm !!

I bought a lever gun at K-Mart in the early 80s and it's still pumpin'.
I'm in the market for another one just for the boat trailer and outboard. I don't want to mix the grease since I'm going to use waterproof grease.
I had planned on looking at wallyweird but may check Craftsman.

If I used a pistol grip ... it'd better have a place in the bottom for a stick of 45's !

 

[kmcconaughey]

I have two lever style that I bought at Fleet Farm back around 1992. At the same time I bought the flexible hose end to replace the standard steel tube. Not sure what brand they are, I'll have to check We have several lever style grease guns at the farm all are older 60's and/or 70's vintage.

 

[dfrisk]

KEN - "If I used a pistol grip ... it'd better have a place in the bottom for a stick of 45's !"

I think they make THAT kind too!

 

[aschumacher]

Maybe you could get a small pistol grip and put a stick of C4 in it. Pump a little in each bearing. If the bearing goes bad and overheats it will give a loud warning to change the bearing !

 

[kphill]

Ken, You are thinking of one of these grease guns..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:M3-SMG.jpg

 

[kide]

129's spindles made a nice "air over grease" a believer out of me - I could never get 'em to take grease with my old Lincoln...(although grinding a groove all the way around the bushing in line with the zerk did improve things). I'm with KentucK, I've got about 5 different guns, from a small pistol style with a needle up to my air op one - main problem with all of 'em is I have to have a pan under that shelf in the shop to catch the ooze when they warm up...

 

[proessler]

I agree with Dennis! In previous career; Hwy. mowing with Ford 6610 with a fully mounted Mott Interstater (18'4" cut) . Rear flail 3 point w/PTO driven & 2 side flails, one on either side hydraulically driven...there were about 45 grease zerks spread all around the unit to grease every day.So a pistol grip gun worked the best.In my own shop I have a 1972 Craftsman lever grease that's served me well, but next one will be pistol grip. Maybe I'll find a nice Lincoln at a farm sale.

 

[kweaver]

Kid_e - You were using the wrong Lincoln. Use the 220v Lincoln and weld it up and forget it

Quit agreeing with me , you'll get in trouble !

Paul - Don't you just love where they hide some of those zerks too !

Some would be easier to get to with a pistol grip pump but these days my hands can't do much squeezing. I always thought about getting one but since I just about throw a rod and reel in the lake every trip due to loosing my grip I'm glad I didn't get the one handed ones.

A 15 foot bat wing is big enough to be deadly , if we'd had an 18 footer at the farm it's untelling how many more new born calves our worker would have ran over ...

I checked NAPA online yesterday and they have a Lincoln cheapy in store for $33 and and $118 one listed as available at a store in the area.

I'm still undecided about the electric ones.

 

[kmcconaughey]

KENtucky, perhaps you need to install a lanyard of some sort on your rods...

 

[kweaver]

Old Faithful

 

[kmcconaughey]

 

[dfrisk]

KRAIG - As much as I enjoy you posting all those pages from IH Parts & Accesory catalogs, I sure hate to see those prices.

 

[kmcconaughey]

If only I had a time machine and a big bag of cash... but then I'd probably only go back to the early 1980's and buy up Microsoft stock...

 

[proessler]

Kentuck, I mowed with a Woods 15' Batwing for years ,before I got the Mott Interstater. The Batwing only had about a third of the zerks that the Mott had (one tube of grease a day). More time sharpening & changing blades, less pumping a grease gun! P.S.... Woods has the best blade attachment pin that I've used in 30+ years mow'n the slopes.

 

[kweaver]

Paul - We had a Woods 6 footer but we couldn't keep gear lube in it with the BIG hole in the side of the gear box.