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Grease guns in cold weather

23K views 59 replies 32 participants last post by  CTS2 
#1 ·
Anybody have any suggestions about what is the best grease gun for using in cold weather?

When I say cold, I mean anything from about 20 degrees Celcius down to freezing.

I am talking about manual grease guns, not electric or air operated.

I have the current model MacNaught K29, and while it is a little better than the old model, it still isn't much use in cold weather. Here it is - Macnaught - articles

The MacNaught sales reps at field days say that nobody has problems with the grease guns in cold weather. The MacNaught online contact says there has been no complaints since the updated model has been out.

I am currently using Caltex Liplex EP2 grease. I tried Caltex Delo EP2 grease but it was even worse. Mobil XHP222 was a waste of time. BP Energrease LC2 was not too bad, but it is very hard to get in this area, no distributors.

A neighbour has a Alemlube grease gun which works better in cold weather, but looks rather flimsy and may not last very long.

The MacNaught K29 is rather sturdy and well made. But it just doesn't do its job in cold weather.

Anybody else have trouble greasing in cold weather?

Anybody have any suggestions about other brands?
 
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#2 ·
I haven't owned an electric unit yet so its all by hand and what I've used for a number of years is Esso ... now Mobil Epic EP 102 grease. Its an NLGI grade 1.5 thickness and semi synthetic. I won't claim it pumps at the freezing point like it does on a summer day as that would be bs-ing a lot but its far better than a typical number 2 grade grease. They do make it in a moly version too and I have used some of that but thought better of using moly in everything and went back to the regular grease. I don't know how it compares price wise but I'd say buy a bit and try it out assuming its compatible with the other greases you've been using and I suspect it most likely is if they are all lithium type greases as well. Here's a link to the grease which also lists the moly and another thinner grease with high moly content that I have no experience with and I don't think its the best to use moly in some types of bearings anyway ... but bushings is the cats meow, hard to have a grease that can do it all.


Mobil Epic? Grease
 
#3 ·
I've also had good luck with the John Deere manual grease gun... are you sure you are storing those tubes and guns right side up? All I've used for grease is some brand X stuff the local co-op sells, and as mentioned, the typical western Canadian farmer deals with temps well below the range you are experiencing in Oz.
 
#6 ·
As I mentioned before about the grease I am using vs what had been used years ago which was always an EP 2 grease, It does puzzle me why there would be enough cold temps in Australia to cause any issue at all with grease. But never the less at 0c an EP 2 grease does stiffen up although if you are still having issues at 20c with grease, I'd be pointing to the grease gun or the type of coupler ends your using, or you have some damaged zerks and really warm grease can pass through where otherwise its more of a struggle. Just grasping at straws here as maybe us up in the northern States or Canada are used to things becoming stiff ... and we don't know any different :)
 
#7 ·
Northern Farmer uses Mobil Epic 102 and I use Mobil EP Epic Moly. Very similar properties but I can pump the Epic Moly at -35C with no problem with any regular grease gun.

Mobil Epic EP 102 and Mobil Epic EP Moly have excellent low temperature dispensing and pumpability, as low as -40°C and thermal stability in applications as high as 150°C.

Mobil Epic? Grease
 
#9 ·
Never had a problem with any grease gun down to 0 C. Below that it's not too bad. Used to throw the grease gun in the exhaust of the cat to warm it up when it got down to -15 or lower. Made greasing all the cable pulley sheaves much easier to do. We've always used the regular blue grease and have never had problems with it. For most other equiptment when it's cold we have a grease gun inside where it's warmer for that purpose.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Hello CTS2
When I worked in the bush, I pumped many a tube of Co-op moly grease with an Alemite hand pump grease gun while greasing the skidder. & I'm not talking about 20° C, I'm talking about -20° C.
If you are having trouble with your grease gun at 20° C, throw that **** thing in the bush, but put it under a wheel & drive over it first, & then get yourself a real grease gun.:22:
 
#15 ·
I have a couple of them, CTS. I can`t remember having a problem in cold weather. I use GP grease. There`s probably something wrong with your gun. Are you using a cartridge or bulk loading?
 
#18 ·
So what exactly is the problem ?? Is it getting air locks ? is it failing to pump with pressure ? , is it leaking at the nipple ?
We got a new mcnaught about 5 years ago and were using bulk grease not cartridge and it was a prick of a thing leaking , bypassing the plunger and getting air locks. it didnt take long and its good bits went onto our 50 year old mcnaught to fix it up and we have used it ever since.
We use a pneumatic gun at the work shop and a twenty liter plunger type on the service trailer , the old mcnaught gets used for quick squirts here and there. We work from 40 degrees Celsius down to minus 10 c. Cold weather only gives trouble if we need to refill the gun, it does make the plunger gun slow but it is on a 5 meter hose.
 
#24 ·
So what exactly is the problem ?? Is it getting air locks ? is it failing to pump with pressure ? , is it leaking at the nipple ?
The problem is, in cold weather, it seems that the grease just doesn't flow into the pumping chamber.

It acts like an air lock. But it's not. It's just that the handle seems to "freewheel" without resistance. Like what happens when you get an air lock, but when you lock the rod with the follower and push it while pumping and eventually get the grease going there is not the pop of air like you get when you do have an air lock.

Hope this makes sense
 
#19 ·
Do yourself a favour and get an alemlube. After battling with mcnaughts for years I was lent an alemlube by a contractor to prove a point, that was about 10 years ago. I bought one and I am still running the same alemlube gun on my ute to this day. It's had 2 new hoses ( I like the longer ones) and one or two couplers and that's it. Never had an air lock. Never. Ever. Throw a new cartridge in screw her up and grease away. Did I mention that the course thread doesn't cross and can be started with ease? I can't say it gets real cold up here, but I know it works at 6 in the morning when there's ice on the windscreen and in the middle of jan when it's 47degrees. Caltex Lipex EP2 in it all the time.
 
#20 ·
Try this cts ,
Unscrew the canister and the nipple gripper and blow compressed air backwards down the tube moving the handle until all grease is blown out .
Just maybe theres something obstructing your flow.


if not try this :sFun_DeadHorse:
 
#21 ·
I have a MacNaught K29, beautiful gun, works great with warm light grease but won't fill the plunger if the grease gets thicker, too bad. Alimites will pump just about anything, they look cheaply built but are not too bad.
 
#26 ·
gday cts man ! i use mcnaught grease gun , at the moment shoving general purpose valvoline cartridges through it ,working fine but not 5 am when it is real cold !
In my exspriance k29 is a good gun for a bit then it starts to suck air or loss its prime. We bulk fill Deere guns as there cheap and 20kg bucket of grease is cheaper than cartridges
Do yourself a favour and get an alemlube. After battling with mcnaughts for years I was lent an alemlube by a contractor to prove a point, that was about 10 years ago. I bought one and I am still running the same alemlube gun on my ute to this day. It's had 2 new hoses ( I like the longer ones) and one or two couplers and that's it. Never had an air lock. Never. Ever. Throw a new cartridge in screw her up and grease away. Did I mention that the course thread doesn't cross and can be started with ease? I can't say it gets real cold up here, but I know it works at 6 in the morning when there's ice on the windscreen and in the middle of jan when it's 47degrees. Caltex Lipex EP2 in it all the time.
Now we are getting somewhere..............seems I am not the only one............thanks for the replies so far everyone
 
#22 ·
I was only thinking in terms of stiffness of the grease gun handle ( assume its a pistol grip style ? ) and not the issue of air locking. I've really struggled with some grease guns to get them going and keep them going when putting a new tube of grease in as some units just want to keep on air locking and have to keep pushing on the plunger handle and pumping only to have it air lock again. Worse in colder weather and finally guns like that have hit the trash as its a total waste of time to deal with that constantly and usually its pushing grease past the piston so when I pull the handle to kick out the cartridge the grease comes squirting out the back of the gun and that's not impressive.

So if it is getting grease to the head and trying to pump it, is the main issue a really stiff handle that you can hardly move ?. Have you pulled the coupler off and then tried it again, then pulled the hose off entirely and then tried it to see if it now pumps grease out ?. If none of this works and its still stiff I'd give the gun as a present to someone you really don't like well ... give them something to frustrate over :)
 
#25 · (Edited)
Yes, to clarify, it is a pistol grip style, (photo of half of it in post #12) and the handle is not stiff, it is "freewheeling" as if it was getting air locks. Sounds like you have had similar frustrations.

Rather than giving it as a present to someone that I really don't like, I think it may be better to give as a present back to the manufacturer who says that nobody has problems with it.
 
#27 ·
Gee, why does it not surprise me when McNaught said: "you're the only one that's having problems" - or words to the effect of!
Yep, cold weather - now don't laugh all you Canuks, what we regard is "cold" is anything below 15C :crying: - yes, cold is a PITA when trying to pump grease. Could well be other brands of guns work better, I have know experience, & I know some brands of grease are easier to pump in cold weather than others.
Maybe the most common remedy is what has previously been suggested. Run over it & get another brand. :52:
 
#28 · (Edited)
I gave up on Mcnaught grease guns years ago due to leaks, air locks etc


run Alemlube now which are a step up, especially for grease leaking past the piston - EVERY Mcnaught Ive had leaked past the piston, even when replaced with new seals!! You pull the handle back & grease squirts out the back. And yes, they did it whichever way the seal was positioned, for cartridge or bulk fill


my biggest issues with grease guns in general are the couplings & nipples


in cold weather I normally don't bother with greasing first up, just start work then at smoko or lunchtime pull up & grease when the day is\a bit warmer. However, I've never had an issue with Alemlube or Mcnaught not working in the cold, just the grease being stiffer to pump with a pistol grip. I also use EP2 grease ( Ultra Lubricants )


when installing a new cartridge, I only screw the head on 1 turn, release the handle and then finish screwing the head on - never have any air lock or pumping issues doing it like that
 
#30 ·
Perhaps my Alemite is a one off that I had bought a few years back as it does exactly the same thing as Joe's comment, like clock work half way through a tube it seems to act like its air locked and have to push on the plunger to get it to get grease again. I soon decided to use it as a backup gun carried with another one in a pickup for in the field as its just too frustrating to go through that every time I go to use it. I tend to buy Lincoln pistol grip guns and I won't claim they are great but seem to work reasonably well.

I'm just guessing that the Alemite and the Alemlube are two different brands with a similar sounding name and doesn't Alemlube come from Germany ?
 
#31 · (Edited)
When I was in the trucking industry still I worked in a fleet of 1000 units. We had a yard service truck that ran outside all year doing safeties and preventative maintenance inspections. The mechanic running it would grease a lot of trailers in a day, even in -35 celcius. The whole time I worked there he used one of the heavy duty Lincoln cordless electric grease guns and never had any issues with it.

In the shop we just used air grease guns, but it was never cold so I don't know how they would hold up.

Not sure how much $$$ those lincolns are, but it was a really good little unit.


P.S. I know nothing at all about manual operated guns lol
 
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