Air Grease & Sealant Guns
Grease guns are an effective and convenient way to supply lubricants to important mechanical parts. There are a number of different types of grease guns, including air grease guns, that are each usable in a wide variety of applications. Some use an air hose while others use force generated by hand, which makes it possible to use them outside of the standard garage or workshop setting.
What are air grease guns used for?Grease guns are tools that are commonly used in both garage and workshop settings for supplying grease for lubrication. The nozzle of the grease gun fits over a specially designed "grease fitting," which acts as an entry point for the grease to be inserted. The grease fitting leads to channels that funnel the grease to where it needs to be to provide the necessary lubrication to the mechanical parts.
What are the different kinds of grease guns?There are three main kinds of grease guns. They all have some factors in common, such as a grease cartridge, but the major difference between them is the way that the grease is delivered, and the different ways are the following:
- Manual: The grease is pushed through the gun and expelled using a hand trigger to create pressure in the hose, which then pushes the lubricant through.
- Manual Non-trigger: Similar to the above type, except there is no trigger system to use. The pressure is created by simply pushing on the butt of the gun with your hand.
- Air-powered: Uses a pneumatic hose to provide air pressure to the system when activated. The easiest to use but requires the necessary equipment to provide an external source of compressed air to function.
Depending on the job at hand, some lubricants can do the job better than others. It is important to make sure that you are using the proper cartridge for your machinery. Some lubricants, for example, are only certified and tested for use in a specific application, such as an automotive wheel bearing.
What do the letters on a grease cartridge mean?Automotive lubricants have a specific letter code to designate what applications it can be used for. There are separate codes for use in wheel bearings and in the automotive chassis. The code for wheel bearings uses a G to designate it is an appropriate usage. There is also a letter (A, B, or C) to represent what level of testing the lubricant passed, C being the highest, most grueling testing. Chassis lubricants have similar markers with a letter L being used to represent chassis use and A or B used for the level of testing, B being higher than A. A cartridge of lubricant that passed both tests at the highest level and is suitable to be used in either application would be marked as GC-LB.