Trimmer Gear Lubrication
Gearbox grease angle grinder Gearbox grease angle grinder prevents wear of gears, protects against vibrations and abnormal noise during operation.
Overview of lubricants for angle grinders
Earlier it was said that there are many types of lubricants from both a foreign manufacturer and a domestic one. A good lubricant for power tool gearboxes is available from Bosh. It is called “Gear Lubricant” and is packaged in tubes of 65 grams. One such tube is enough for several servicing of the angle grinder.
Grease for gearbox angle grinder of various brands
Of the lubricants intended for the gearbox of the angle grinder, produced by a domestic manufacturer, we can recommend the products of Nanotech. It is called “Nanotech MetalPlak Electra” and is intended for tools that work with intense load. And also from domestic lubricants, SHRUS or Tsiatim-221 are widely used, however, they require preliminary preparation and, in fact, are a homemade lubricant.
Gearbox grease angle grinder
Almost all global tool manufacturers require the use of their recommended “own” lubricant, sold under its brand. In principle, this is correct. The lubricant used for the gearbox of the angle grinder is tested at the factory in this case, it guarantees the long-term and correct operation of the angle grinder. However, there are drawbacks here, which are the high price of lubricant from these brands.
In addition to original oils, there are many third-party lubricants on the market, so the question of how exactly to lubricate the gearbox of an angle grinder is not acute.
Russian manufacturers also keep up with foreign ones and offer their products. So, the lubrication of the bevel gearbox is an angle grinder from the Nanotech firm. Of course, such a lubricant for the gearbox is not original and recommended by the manufacturer, therefore, if it is used, the subsequent warranty repair may simply be refused.
Correct grease filling process in angle grinders
After the choice of lubricant for the angle grinder is made, proceed directly to the maintenance of the tool. Correct maintenance of an angle grinder consists of several steps. First you need to open the gearbox, then remove the old lubricant, apply a new one, check the correct application. Removing the old grease is necessary for the reason that mixing with new grease will not allow it to work properly and the entire maintenance procedure will not bring any result.
Lubricant for trimmer gear. How and how to lubricate?
Occasionally, in the midst of an intense mowing operation, your trimmer will make an unpleasant grinding noise. This complains about the lack of lubrication, the gearbox is the most heavily loaded unit of the device. And soon these “warnings” may be followed by a jammed drive.
What kind of lubricant should I use for the trimmer gear?
In the process of operation, the mechanical part of the trimmer is loaded by contact forces on the teeth, resistance reactions from adhering grass (sometimes with dirt), dynamic, shock loads due to constantly changing torque. Lubrication for the trimmer gearbox must fully take into account these features, so the selection of the brand must be strictly individual.
The following factors are taken into account:
- Manufacturer’s brand. Each brand reasonably focuses on its own lubricants (you can talk about cheap Chinese products later). This applies to manufacturers such as Husqvarna, Stihl, Huter, Makita, and others. The only exceptions are domestic-made trimmers: for example, the Caliber in the user manual does not indicate the brand of lubricant at all.
- The viscosity of the lubricant. As you know, all lubricants are divided into three groups. High-viscosity (colloidal systems containing various additives), universal plastic compounds and solid lubricants that soften during operation.
- Good adhesion to the surface of the gearbox parts, as a result of which the grease is not squeezed out into the gaps or out of the unit.
- The rate of grease consumption by the gearbox. Here you have to rely on your own experience and the recommendations of specialists, since some trimmer manufacturers, relying on their own service centers, do not give clear recommendations at all regarding the period of operation of the gearbox between two lubrications.
Lubricant consumption also depends on the temperature at which it retains its lubricity. When the gearbox is heated to 40 ° C, it is considered that its operating conditions are satisfactory, and there is sufficient lubrication.
It is believed that there is no universal lubricant for the trimmer gearbox, but this is not entirely true. In fact, a suitable lubricant will be one that contains the following components:
- Lead-free antiwear additives;
- Solid lubricants with the presence of graphite or molybdenum disulfide (the latter is preferable, since in this case the lubricity is fully retained for a wide range of shaft revolutions);
- Only mineral (inorganic!) Oils, highly refined.
These requirements are fully met by Gear Grease OREGON or Champion EP-0 lithium greases, domestic compositions Oleo-Mas, Litol.24, or Azmol 158, as well as those recommended by the manufacturer of a particular trimmer model.
How to lubricate the trimmer gearbox?
In the upper part of the body, where the gear unit is installed, there is a technological hole, which is plugged with a screw during trimmer operation. This screw is unscrewed, and 1.5. 2 ml of lubricant is injected into the hole using the spout on the tube. If the lubricant was purchased in a different package, then an ordinary disposable medical syringe is also suitable for this operation.
After that, the screw is installed in its original place. This procedure, regardless of the user’s recommendations, should be performed every 10. 15 hours of operation of the trimmer in working mode. Other reasons for updating or replacing the gearbox lubricant are the independent performance of minor routine maintenance (for example, cleaning and flushing the gears of the gearbox before the start of the summer season), repairing the unit, preserving the trimmer for the winter, etc.
If the gear unit is disassembled, it is recommended to completely remove the remnants of the old grease from the surface of the parts, even if it does not show any signs of oxidation and contamination. And only then apply new lubricant. After applying the lubricant, it is recommended to rotate the shaft several times by hand, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed over all parts of the gearbox.
When lubricating, pay particular attention to the following elements:
- Flywheel: as a rule, grass remnants stick to its surface intensively, and thickening grass juice creates additional resistance.
- Pawl of the starter coil, which in the process of turning on the drive constantly contacts the grooves on the flywheel. In this case, not only mechanical wear occurs, but also mechanochemical corrosion of the “flywheel-dog” connection, since the materials of this pair are different (the flywheel is aluminum, and the dog is steel).
- Bearings, if their seals are worn out, and through them, the remaining grease is squeezed out. In this case, the unit begins to vibrate intensively when loaded. This happens with Chinese-made trimmers, so in the long run it is worth thinking about replacing the bearing assembly with a better one, for example, from the Swedish company SKF.
When to change the lubricant in your angle grinder
The timing of the next grease change depends on the load and the intensity of use of the angle grinder. It is usually equal to 12 months. With everyday use, an angle grinder with frequent overheating, the frequency of change is significantly reduced, at least to six months.
To make sure it is necessary to add a new amount of grease, the gearbox must be disassembled by unscrewing the screws on its cover. Inside is a pair of helical gears. The small one is placed on the anchor and is used to drive the large one located on the secondary shaft. A grinding or cutting disc is attached to this shaft.
In the process of operation, the lubricant, when the gearbox moves, scatters along the walls of the housing, drying out over time and forming large lumps. The material used for a long time overheats, becomes liquid and flows out of the housing. Therefore, its volume in the gearbox decreases. If there is only a thin layer of lubricant on the gears, add lubricant.
Gearbox lubrication stage
The gearbox must be filled with such a volume of grease that it completely covers the gears.
The sufficiency of lubrication for the angle grinder gearbox is checked by switching on the angle grinder for a short time. If, within 3-5 minutes of operation, the node temperature has increased and lubricant is leaking out, part of its volume must be removed. To do this, the gearbox is disassembled again, the excess is removed with a rag or rag.
When checking, the opposite situation can be observed, when a noise appears when the angle grinder is turned on. This means that there is not enough lubricant and must be added.
When using an angle grinder, it is necessary to periodically check the adequacy of lubrication of the gearbox elements, the quality of the available lubricant.