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What is a Grease Gun?
A grease gun is a simple yet effective tool to lubricate and grease up different machines and their mechanical parts. It is a far better method than having to manually pour oil and grease. You will find these in most garages and workshops in use by engineers, workshop professionals, and even mechanics.
While you might argue that grease and lube can be applied even with a dropper tool, the function of a grease gun goes beyond this simple process! Since grease guns can lube up your machine’s parts that would otherwise be unreachable, it is an indispensable product.
Today, we are going to learn more about grease guns, what makes them special, and answer a very important question; how does a grease gun work?
What are the uses for a Grease Gun?
The main benefit of using a grease gun over any other tool is precision. You will get hard-to-reach parts of a mechanical machine to lubricate them with impressive accuracy. One of the best benefits is that the grease guns have special control on pressure and flow control in applying the grease.
It would be impossible manually. Grease guns are also exceptional with the lubrication and greasing of non-sealed bearings.
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To help you figure out where grease guns are used the most, it is vital to understand what their functions truly are. The interesting aspect of these machines is that they are quite versatile and therefore are used in both industrial and home settings.
Here are the industries and professions that use grease guns the most:
- The maintenance of chainsaws and lawnmowers for gardening.
- To grease various parts in auto maintenance.
- To maintain factories and processing systems
- In workshops
- Agricultural vehicles and equipment
What are the kinds of Grease Guns that exist?
It might surprise our readers to find out, but there are quite a few different types of grease guns available! You can opt for both smaller and larger options.
Here are the 4 main types of grease guns!
1. Hand pump grease guns
Let’s start with the simplest kind of grease gun first. With this option, you get to engage with a hand-held pressurized pump handle that is what allows the pressure to be built and the grease to be released.
These kinds need to be primed before we can use them. It is essentially the trigger mechanism that releases the build-up of pressure. This process then pushes all the lube and grease out of the fitting.
2. Lever grease guns
Lever grease guns are perhaps the most common kind of grease guns. They have to be operated manually which is why they are dubbed manual grease guns. To make them work, all you need is a pressure trigger mechanism, to control force and flow rate by squeezing down on the trigger hard.
3. Pneumatic grease guns
Pneumatic or air-powered grease guns can be attached to a compressor using some hose. It can create a huge amount of pressure which makes it the perfect option for larger commercial applications or industrial use.
4. Battery-powered grease guns
Finally, we have battery-powered devices. These essentially work in the same way that the three above do. However, these require built-in batteries to power the pressure build-up. You won’t have to apply any force or pressure of your own!
Now that we have a thorough introduction to what a grease gun is and what kinds are available, let’s figure out how a grease gun works!
How Does a Grease Gun Work? Step By Step Guide:
There are different components to a grease gun without which it cannot work properly! We are going to list them out with a brief understanding of what each aspect does.
- The first one is called the grease tube or cartridge. This tube is used when your grease is finished. However, since this is a replaceable housing of grease, you can easily just insert it in when needed.
- Another element is called the lever. You will use this when you need to commit to manual configurations of the grease gun. With the level, you can hand-pump the lubricant and grease to the tube via the barrel.
- Next, we have the hydraulic coupler. This connector or connection point is responsible for holding the tube and hose that is attached to your grease gun.
- The trigger and handle are used in manual configurations of the grease gun for hand-pumping the grease from the barrel to the hose or tube in a similar way as the lever.
- The outer layer of the grease gun is known as the barrel. It will house both the grease tube and the grease that you get in larger amounts from the storage.
- Another important part is known as the grease gun head. It has complex and tiny grease valves and pathways which encourage the pumping of grease so that they get to the fixed hose or tube via the barrel.
- To apply adequate pressure on the plunger, you have the spring.
- To get a proper grip when you need to pull the follower rod, there is the follower handle. It is necessary before you can insert a new grease tube.
- With the flexible hose, you can use it or the fixed tube to position the coupler or connector flexibly.
- When your resource of grease is depleted, the plunger offers an even amount of pressure to the rear end of the grease tube.
- There is also a more rigid form of a flexible hose in the shape of a fixed tube.
Finally, this has been our informative guide to figure out how does a grease gun work. This article should have enough information for anyone interested in the internal workings of a grease gun. The mighty grease gun is quite a valuable tool for any professional workshop or garage.
Hopefully, with this guide, our readers better understand how this tool works and how to get the best use out of it.
Related: How to Attach Grease Gun to Zerk Fitting?
