Grease the Bearings

Put Bearing Misconceptions to Rest

One of the most common failures that I encounter in my travels is customers often times do not grease the bearings in our vertical series of pumps. Because of this, most of our pump failures involve the lower bearing.

Customers will often grease the upper bearings assuming the grease makes its way down to the lower bearing. This is a false assumption as there is a huge cavity in between the bearings. There is a grease zert found near the baseplate for the bottom bearing. If this bearing is not greased the pump will soon lock up and if not caught in time can cause serious damage to the bearing housing.

The proper grease to be used can be found in the manual provided with the pump. The amount of grease can be determined by using a formula written by SKF, a well-known bearing supplier:

                 G = (D x B) / 10 

        
            G– Amount of grease in ounces

            D– Outer diameter of bearing in inches

            B– Bearing width in inches

Calculating greasing intervals is a bit more complex. It is based on temperature, speed of the equipment, hours in operation per week, and the type of bearing used. There are formulas on the SKF website for calculating the greasing interval.  SKF Grease Interval 

Learn about the industrial pumps that Hevvy Pumps has to offer your project:

• centrifugal pumps
• heavy duty slurry pump
• dredging pumps
• dredging pumps
• agitator pump
• slurry pump

Read the Slurry pump maintenance guide to learn how to maintain your slurry pump for optimal performance.

Talk to Hevvy Pumps now for more information.

Above I have included a picture I took at Lewis Falls, Yellowstone Park during a stay in Wyoming. If you ever get a chance to visit Yellowstone Park, I highly recommend planning a time to see the falls in person!

Travel Safe.

Jerry Morrow