Basics of a Grease Gun

Function

A grease gun tip has a female coupler that attaches to the piece of equipment. The male coupler that it attaches to, or grease zerk, has a special ball tip. Whenever the grease gun pushes the grease into the ball on the zerk, the ball opens and allows grease to flow into the machinery. When the grease gun pulls away from the grease zerk, the ball closes to keep foreign material out of the machinery.

Grease gun types offer a number of different ways to deliver the grease into the machinery. Pistol grip and hand grip styles are easy to handle. Air-powered and battery-powered machines make short work of greasing equipment and don’t require repetitive motions to use. The simplest type of grease gun is the lever type, which uses a lever as a pump to extract grease from the gun. Each type of grease gun comes with different fill methods. Some fill by suction from a large tub of grease. Others make use of a pre-filled grease gun cartridge that fits inside the storage chamber.

When purchasing a grease gun, it’s important to know where the grease zerks are on the equipment. If they allow easy access, the grease gun can have a straight applicator nozzle. Otherwise, a flexible nozzle makes greasing hard-to-reach grease zerks easier.

Too much grease can damage equipment. The technician who applies the grease must know exactly how much grease to insert into the equipment. If he sees grease coming back out of the zerk or other openings, there’s too much grease in the fitting. It’s also important to use the proper weight grease for any given fitting. Labels on the grease gun can help make this happen. Contaminants in the grease can also cause problems. The grease gun should have a cap on it when it’s not in use.

Although the operation of a grease gun is pretty straightforward, anyone who operates one should have some basic safety training. It’s important to keep fingers away from moving parts, especially the lever, as it can pinch fingers. If a pin-type zerk is in use, extra care is necessary to keep from accidentally injecting grease into the technician’s finger or hand. If that happens, he should seek first aid immediately.