Decoding Your Grease Options

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Decoding Your Grease Options

How to Choose the Right Grease Product for Your Equipment

Grease protects your equipment and extends its usable life, but not all greases are the same. Despite how common the use of grease is, many misconceptions remain. These misconceptions, such as all grease is the same and more grease is always better, can lead to performance issues and maintenance concerns down the road.

Choose the wrong grease and problems can range from minor headaches to increased maintenance costs, overheating, component seizure, corrosion, premature breakdown, and even catastrophic failure of the part that was intended to be protected.

Choosing the Right Grease

Every third bearing can be saved if you apply the right grease at the right place, at the right time, and in the right amount.

“Within the diversity of applications and operating conditions, grease users have to balance many needs when selecting the right grease,” explained Chris Herle, Lubricant Product Manager with Federated Co-operatives Limited.

Ambient and operating temperatures, coupled with base oil viscosity, play a role in determining which grease is right for a certain application. Additives can also have a positive influence on grease performance, with some having a greater impact than others.

The grease recommended by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) will take things like load, speed, cost, specialized requirements, orientation of the equipment, environmental sensitivity, potential contamination, lifespan, lubrication system, friction and operating temperature into account.

“When choosing grease, you should consult the owner’s manual of the equipment in question and know the grease thickener type of the required grease,” said Herle.

“Choice of grease, including thickener type, additives and base oil used to make the grease will ensure the protected parts function at peak performance within the environment. Things such as pumpability, water resistance, consistency, dropping point, oxidation stability and temperature of the part and the environment are all variables that should influence choice of grease.”


Determining the differences between some of the most common types of grease that you might encounter can be tricky.

Co-op Premium Lubricants offer a range of greases designed to protect and extend your equipment life, including:

Blue Guard

SONIC® BLUE GUARD® is a lithium-complex, multi-service application grease that excels in protecting equipment with corrosion, rust and oxidation resistance, anti-wear properties and extreme pressure additives.

Benefits

  • Multi-purpose grease
  • Extreme temperature stability
  • Extreme performance protection

Silver Guard

SONIC® SILVER® GUARD is a synthetic-blend lithium-complex grease. The unique additive package helps to maintain high performance levels in both high and low temperatures.

Benefits

  • Provides extended lubrication intervals
  • Synthetic blend composition
  • Improved cold temperature performance protection

Moly Guard

SONIC® MOLY GUARD™ is a premium synthetic-blend lithium-complex grease containing 3% molybdenum disulphide. The composition allows for excellent performance and pumpability in high- and low-temperature applications.

Benefits

  • Excellent rust and corrosion protection
  • Molybdenum disulphide formula,
  • Protection against shock loading and extreme pressure

Red Guard

SONIC® RED GUARD is a lithium-complex based, heavy-duty grease with superior tack composition. It is formulated with extreme pressure (EP) additives, anti-wear agents and long-lasting corrosion and oxidation inhibitors.

Benefits

  • Ultra-tackifier formula
  • Proven resistance to water washout
  • Protects against external contamination

Poly Extreme

SONIC® POLY EXTREME is a polyurea, non-soap thickened, high-temperature grease. It maintains advantages over conventional soap-thickened grease in longer life, high-temperature and applications.

Benefits

  • Excellent high-temperature performance
  • Extreme pressure and anti-wear properties
  • High dropping point (above 500°F)

Need help choosing the right type of grease for your equipment? Contact your local Fuel Team member for expert advice today.

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