Equipment... Grease Gun Recommendation

[wfcjr]

I know that this is not strictly forestry related, but figured it may be best forum
because of folks who are constantly using heavy equipment.

Have a more or less standard grease gun that we use around the place.
But with addition of heavier equipment, need a heavier duty, higher quality grease gun.

Anyone have any recommendations on make & model for a grease gun that will do good
service on excavators & dozers.  Would strongly prefer made-in-USA over others.

Thanks...

[1270d]

I have an alamite 2 speed that works fine

[OH logger]

2 speed lithium ion maybe 20 volt (biggest they got) Lincoln that works better than any I have ever had. I think the lithium battery is the answer. I rarely use it in high though to conserve battery power ;)

[beenthere]

What is the "fail" of the "more or less standard grease gun" that it won't work for heavy equipment?

[wfcjr]

What is the "fail" of the "more or less standard grease gun" that it won't work for heavy equipment?

Capacity, stroke & quality.

Pistol grip, short stroke gets old real fast when hitting all the fittings.

Not only for the heavy equipment, but also for the attachments for both the excavator & tractor.
When we only had a few attachments, it wasn't too bad.   Now if I decide to have a "PMCS Grease Party", there is a lot more work to do, lots more fittings & lots more grease.

[Ford_man]

I have a Milwaukee It has a setting dial that will let it shoot up to I think 15 shots per 1 pull on the trigger it has a long hose (3 ft) and a light , it also has a sling to carry it on you're shoulder. I would get another one if the need would come up.

[redneck]

I have been using a 12 v lincoln grease guns for 8 years now on a daily basis on heavy equipment they are a little pricey but i will never pump by hand again.  A co-worker of mine has the 18v lincoln gun  pumps faster in high gear but battery does not last.  In the winter i keep the grease batteries and gun in the cab to keep warm, no good when cold

[treeslayer2003]

allimite lever and a milwaukee 18 volt. i like this power grease gun alot. i never got much service from lincoln whether hand  or power.

[brendonv]

I have a milwaukee. I think ive charged it half dozen times in a few years. Use it weekly on two trucks, chipper, log loader, etc. love it

[Ken]

Just recently bought another Milwaukee 12V.  Bought one back in the spring but apparently someone else wanted it more than me and it disappeared from a work truck.  Also have an Alemite.  Have had several Lincolns but am unconvinced they will stand up to everyday hard use.  Will see how these other models compare.  Battery operated grease guns are worth their weight in gold.  Much easier to ensure that enough grease gets to pins as opposed to hand pumping.

[Jhenderson]

No matter what gun I use, Lincoln 12v or hand operated , the best thing I ever did was buy a LocknLube coupler. Doesn't leak,doesn't fall off, and can be removed from over pressurized fittings one handed. Looks expensive until you grease a machine or two.

[wfcjr]

No matter what gun I use, Lincoln 12v or hand operated , the best thing I ever did was buy a LocknLube coupler. Doesn't leak,doesn't fall off, and can be removed from over pressurized fittings one handed. Looks expensive until you grease a machine or two.

Looks pretty neat.  Any experience with that bucket/pump grease gun looking gizmo on their website?

[Woodhauler]

milwakee is the only way to go! Owned the rest and gave the away!

[jwilly3879]

X2 on the Lock-n-lube. I have had one for over a year and love it.

[sprucebunny]

Recently got a Milwaukee 12V to replace a Lincoln.Couldn't find replacement batteries. Like it much better. I feel I have control of how much grease is being pumped instead of feeling like the grease seals were going to blow out.

[barbender]

Milwaukee has become the preferred grease gun on our crews, especially the 18 volt. I am still running a 12 volt Alemite that won't die, good gun but the batteries are shot. They won't hold a charge, so I have to keep the them on a charger in the machine. Replacements are too expensive for a gun on it's last legs, so when they completely quit I will get a Milwaukee or Dewalt. It's a bonus to have a battery platform that you can easily get replacements for, and you can use for other tools as well.

[Corley5]

I've got two 14.4 Lincolns.  They've been good.  The original batteries are long deceased and I got Chinese replacements which are better than the originals which were probably made in the factory.  I keep eyeing the 18V Milwaukee  ;) but the Lincolns are still running.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Have two Lithium Lincoln guns in the machines and hate them with a passion. One has been sent back under warranty like 3 times in the last year, and it still only works half the time.

Next one will be a Dewalt or Milwaukee

[bushmechanic]

I found the Lincoln to be an awful grease gun. It rarely worked and spent more time gone back for warranty than in the shop. The Alemite gun is perfect and runs constantly until the batteries just won't keep their charge. I have ran that alemite that long that it heated up so bad it wouldn't pump, let it cool down and away you go again. Had a Milwaukee seemed slow pumping but can't kill it.

[huskyxp]

I have 20v Dewalt that works great, battery life is Awesome and interchanges with other 20v tools they make! Very happy with it

[Polish Hammer]

The lincoln guns are junk the oring breaks inside the gun and plugs the grease gun hose, of course a standard hose wont fit and you have to buy the expensive replacement hose. The dewalt 20 volt lithium works great but the batterys dont like the cold at all.

[NWP]

I love the 18 volt Dewalt I have. If you have rechargeable tools now and have enough batteries, you can buy the gun only reasonable. I have $150 or so for mine.

[4x4American]

I too haven't had good luck with Lincoln lever guns.  Either pistol or long gun.  Best thing I like is to have a 3ft lead hose.  Where I work, we have 4 excavators, 4 dozers, 2 tri axle dump trucks, one 550 dump truck, 2 pay loaders, a backhoe, skidsteer, vibratory roller, a wmz lt 40 super diesel, firewood processor and a bunch of implements and other good stuff.  I am the guy who maintains everything.  And they won't buy me an electric grease gun!!!  I do alot of greasing...On top of it we use that Schaffer's 238 Moly Supreme, which is the thickest grease I have ever felt in my life.  Even in the hot summer months, the stuff is stringier elm..best grease IMO, but you gotta work that grease gun.  Pistol grip just don't do it for me.


A good couple tricks with grease guns, that you proberly already know, but maybe someone reading doesn't, when you go to change the tube, before you pull the stroker unit out, loosen the head a little bit, so that it can suck air.  It will be easier to pull, it will save that gasket from breaking off in there, and you'll have a better day.  Once you load the new tube, and you peel off the tin part, smear it around with the tin piece that came off, or your finger, so that it's nice and smooth around.  This will help make a seal faster, which will prime the gun faster.  Most times I don't use the primer I just prime it by not screwing it tight and pumping a bit, then tighten it up when it feels right.   ;)

[maple flats]

I have several assorted lever pump guns and a pistol grip Lube Shuttle. I have lost enough strength at my age that I have a hard time changing grease cartridges. Then I got a Lube Shuttle, a German made design that works great. Pricey but real nice to use. No plunger to pull, you just unscrew a protective outer sleeve, remove that and then the grease tubes screw on. No priming issues. One nice ting is you can even change tubes from one grease to another type if needed with no mess changes. But I also got a DeWalt 20V grease gun. I can't compare it with any other, because this is my first powered grease gun. I use it with a Lock-n-lube coupler. Now greasing is easy. The DeWalt has a long hose (3'?), couple the lock-n-lube onto the zerk and squeeze the trigger. So I don't need to load grease by pulling the plunger, I use a bulk load fitting and a bulk manual pump. I only generally have a few pieces of equipment to grease, 2 tractors, an excavator and an assortment of farm implements and I rarely grease more than maybe the bigger tractor/FEL and the excavator at the same session. Easy now, and one hand operation much of the time.

[nativewolf]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

[Skeans1]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

Give the Alemite a little bit of hard use and they don't last long. We have Dewalt, Milwaukee, and an Alemite which is fine for light duty use but I have had to have rebuild it a few times.

[Walnut Beast]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

Give the Alemite a little bit of hard use and they don't last long. We have Dewalt, Milwaukee, and an Alemite which is fine for light duty use but I have had to have rebuild it a few times.

So which one do you like the best

[Walnut Beast]

I have a Lincoln Power Luber works fine

[Corley5]

Lincoln pistol grip grease guns suck.  They're hard to prime.  Kendall grease tubes used to suck.  They had air voids in the center of the tube and guns would lose prime.  I've got an Alemite pistol grip grease gun that works great.  I've used it a lot since the 14.4 batteries for my Lincolns have given up.  They're good machines but I didn't want to spend $$$ on new batteries for them since I've got Milwaukee cordless stuff.  Last summer I bought a Milwaukee 18v grease gun to add to the collection of Milwaukee stuff.  Works good.  Still use use my Alemite on the firewood processor's 8 zerks.  Bigger machines get the Milwaukee. 

[nativewolf]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

Give the Alemite a little bit of hard use and they don't last long. We have Dewalt, Milwaukee, and an Alemite which is fine for light duty use but I have had to have rebuild it a few times.

Seriously?  20v battery one?  You're breaking that?  We use maybe only 15 mins a day but then it is every day, cases of grease.  We've never had an issue and it balances better to me.

[BargeMonkey]

 I want to say we have 2x 14.4 still kicking and 4x of the 20v Lincoln's and zero issues, mine gets thrashed and just keeps going, other than batteries going bad but ebay aftermarket are cheap and work good. 

[Walnut Beast]

The Lincoln needs a longer hose than it has 

[Skeans1]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

Give the Alemite a little bit of hard use and they don't last long. We have Dewalt, Milwaukee, and an Alemite which is fine for light duty use but I have had to have rebuild it a few times.

Seriously?  20v battery one?  You're breaking that?  We use maybe only 15 mins a day but then it is every day, cases of grease.  We've never had an issue and it balances better to me.

Yes the 20 volt most days greasing will take me close 45 minutes on the harvester, 30 to 40 minutes on the forwarder, and about 30 minutes on a shovel. The harvester will go through 2 tubes a day about a tube alone on the head and a tube on the carrier.

[Skeans1]

Alemite Grease Gun

Last grease gun you will ever need.  Just amazing, better balance than dewalt and the other.  Expensive and worth every penny.  Keeps a charge forever- maybe charge 3 times a year.  No jamming, no fuss, easy to load and an idiot can use it (I even use it).  Takes all the pain away from greasing.

Give the Alemite a little bit of hard use and they don't last long. We have Dewalt, Milwaukee, and an Alemite which is fine for light duty use but I have had to have rebuild it a few times.

So which one do you like the best

The Milwaukee is what I use in my personal machine it's lighter, faster, and is adjustable unlike the Dewalt. The Dewalt is great once you remove the relief valve then you can unplug a joint most of the time. The Alemite is ok more of a light duty gun lots of fun to get them unjammed if it happens.

[62oliver]

I have the 18 volt Milwaukee and I like it. Makes use of batteries I already have.

[Stoneyacrefarm]

I have to agree on the 18v Milwaukee grease gun. 
It is a great tool that makes life easy. 
Now that I have one. 
Would never go back to a manual again. 

[aigheadish]

I'll be contrary to say I have a Lock-n-Lube pneumatic gun I'm pleased with. I does occasionally lose prime but I also suck at getting that part right. Once it's going though it works really well. I went with it over a battery operated gun due to the price. I think I was looking about 70-80 bucks for pneumatic vs. 200-300 for battery op. And the Lock-n-Lube couplers are great.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Locknlube is great until you have to get into a tight spot,such as on my Polaris ATV.
I have a DeWalt but am just an occasional user.

[gman98]

I have used a lot more f manual grease guns and the electric Milwaukee's.  The electric Milwaukee's are the way to go in my opinion.  The electric greasing seems to go a lot easier on the cold days or the days when it's 80 degrees and humid with a swarm of horseflies around you.  If the jobs easier you're more willing to do it more often, and grease is part of what the whole operation relies on.

[treemuncher]

In reply to response #11:

Yep. I purchased a LockNLube foot pedal type grease gun for a special expensive grease that I use on one machine's autolube system and manual fittings. It holds at least 3 cases of grease cartridges or more. Pumps about double or more that a standard Lincoln cast head lever pump will and it will relieve back pressure as well. It is about as fool-proof a system as you will find except that your foot can deliver some really high pressure if you are not careful. If I was hand greasing every day, I would purchase another for my typical moly grease that I normally use.


My basic hand guns are always Lincoln cast head lever types that last for years if I don't dent the holding tube but I rarely use these any more. I quit using the battery operated Lincoln because of battery issues all of the time and needing to use the basic lever guns to finish.


I have gone to all air-operated lube units with 120 lb kegs. The one in my service truck has a heat blanket that normally gets plugged in overnight when temps are below 45 degrees. Some of my machines have on board air supplies that power the greaser and for those that don't, my pto-generator runs my air compressor. I still keep a back up lever gun for days when I have issues with the air greaser - nothing is ever without break downs.


I am also a firm believer in the LockNLube fitting connectors. I've tried the cheaper knock offs that can not be rebuilt and they NEVER last as long as any first life on a LockNLube. Time is money and I go through a lot of grease and fitting couplers in a year, well, at least before I tried the good ones I used to go through a lot of couplers.


I am also a BIG fan of remote grease lines to make maintenance faster and easier. I found a good supplier for all of the fittings, hoses and custom stuff at AutoLubeParts.com I also have some cheap 12vdc tube type grease guns (chinese type from Ebay) that will make a small "push the button" greaser system for my impact hammer and one of my other machines. All I have to do is pipe it to a grease manifold distribution block and I can grease 10 or more fittings while running with the push of a button. Tube guns can be refilled quickly with the air powered grease bucket. More grease = less stress.

[Walnut Beast]

Thanks for some good feedback 👍

[Joe Hillmann]

If you get an electric grease gun make sure you hang on to your manual one as well.  I have been in a situation where a machine needs grease and the only grease gun available has a dead battery.  That leaves you with the choice:run the machine without grease, wait until a battery can be charged enough to get the job done.  It becomes even worse if you need to drive back home to use the charger, wait for it to charge, and then drive back.

A good tip on a grease gun is also important.  Some will leak as soon as there is a tiny bit of pressure, others will lock on so tight you break something getting it off when under pressure.