Need a new grease gun, options?

[GirlnAgarage]

I need recommendations for a new grease gun please. The must have is that I need to be able to reload a new cartridge with one hand without performing a circus trick. I'm standing in the carport and out of anger tossed this pos auto store off the shelf mini grease gun because I'm tired of losing half the grease out the new tube wrestling to screw the handle back on. I'm so mad rn that I couldn't use strong enough curse words to convey how fed up I am.

I do have a good stack of machines to keep greases, I'm not opposed to a flex hose attachment but keep in mind I'm one-handed so I need to be able to get the fitting to stick to a zerk in a weird spot and still pump the grease.

Help me out guys, I've got no experience with any new grease gun options. Thanks.

 

[Rt jam]

The reload is a muscular task since the piston that pushes the grease forward must be strong.

Find something to hold the gun, like a small post. Then you only need to pull back on the piston puller.

I use both Lincoln and Alemite. Both require a pretty good pull to load.

 

[humpty]

This is a tough one, I am thinking of all the grease guns I have or have used and thinking if I could load one single handed.
The only one I can think of is I have a LockNLube mini gun that I think I could manage single handed but it doesn't have a big capacity.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I have the milwauke & dewalt battery guns & they both work great! Another area where a battery tool excels.

 

[AJHD]

Do you have any battery tool platforms, ie. Milwaukee, Dewalt, etc.? If so, I'd suggest getting a battery powered option.
I've been using my M18 grease gun for a few months now at work (heavy equipment shop) and it has served me well. Much easier than squeezing a manual grease gun or dealing with an air hose and the barrel of grease, especially when working outside.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

For battery platforms I've got Dewalt 20v and Milwaukee M12 and M18.

 

[dchawk81]

I love my M18 grease gun.

I don't know of any that could be a one handed change though.

 

[jmdirk]

Maybe Lube Shuttle is what you're looking for?

I've never used one, but seems kind of what you might be looking for

 

[Schurkey]

One-handed?

Lock 'n' Lube coupler to attach to the zerk. Flex hose to get that coupler where it needs to be.

Pistol-grip grease gun, needs one hand to support and squirt grease. That gets us to this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SVGHNPV/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Changing cartridges? Fabricate a fixture to hold the grease-gun while you pull the rod that compresses the spring, and unscrew the cap. If you're careful, that could be the pipe-jaws of a vice clamped onto the tube of the grease-gun. That or, DON'T use cartridges, fill the gun with bulk grease from the bulk-load fitting on the head of the gun instead--but the bulk-grease machine would cost enormously more than paying a neighbor a beer to put a cartridge in the grease-gun now and then.

For the record--if you're using bulk grease filled from the bulk fill port, the rubber seal that would slide into the grease cartridge has to be flipped "backwards".

 

[rockinacummins]

I bought a 20v Dewalt and I’ll never go back to a manual. Cartridge is pretty easy to change and it self primes better than any other grease gun I’ve used.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Maybe Lube Shuttle is what you're looking for?

I've never used one, but seems kind of what you might be looking for

One-handed?

Lock 'n' Lube coupler to attach to the zerk. Flex hose to get that coupler where it needs to be.

Pistol-grip grease gun, needs one hand to support and squirt grease. That gets us to this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SVGHNPV/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Changing cartridges? Fabricate a fixture to hold the grease-gun while you pull the rod that compresses the spring, and unscrew the cap. If you're careful, that could be the pipe-jaws of a vice clamped onto the tube of the grease-gun. That or, DON'T use cartridges, fill the gun with bulk grease from the bulk-load fitting on the head of the gun instead--but the bulk-grease machine would cost enormously more than paying a neighbor a beer to put a cartridge in the grease-gun now and then.

For the record--if you're using bulk grease filled from the bulk fill port, the rubber seal that would slide into the grease cartridge has to be flipped "backwards".

I bought a 20v Dewalt and I’ll never go back to a manual. Cartridge is pretty easy to change and it self primes better than any other grease gun I’ve used.

Gentlemen, thank yall for the options. I looked up each and decided to order the Lube Shuttle. It looks as if it operates and reloads as I need. Based on that I'm willing to work with the proprietary grease.

The LockNLube looked like a good option too, lots of configurations. Part of me wants to order a second gun/kit just because.

For battery powered options, the Dewalt and Milwalkee seemed bulky and still used the plunger system I was trying to get away from. If I was working with large machinery more often I could see these options possibly swinging the pendulum.

I appreciate the guidance, I'll report back with my thoughts when the Lube Shuttle arrives.

 

[anko]

I sold my M18 gun this winter and bought a pair of Lube Shuttle guns.
To me - a battery gun is great if you're constantly greasing big, heavy machinery with a ton of zerks. Most of my greasing is my midsize tractor and implements, maybe 50hrs usage / year. I am no slower with the Lube Shuttle, no mess reloading grease, and most importantly the Lube Shuttle guns store much nicer on the wall.

 

[finn]

I use the Dewalt 20v.

Also have a Lincoln or Alemite air gun (don’t recall which since I never got around to using it before I got the Dewalt).

Having said that, the local HF is clearancing their air grease guns for something like $3 or $4. Someone might like that deal.

 

[RAYJAY]

power grease gun with lock in lube tip on flex hose then to load use a 5 gallon bucket and pump might even be able to use a lock and load tip for the fill ..

 

[laser3kw]

Lock & lube. air operated just won't quit. get the L&L gun, longest whip and the L&L tip. Never had a problem priming either.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Alrighty! This bad boy just arrived, perfect timing.


I'm putting on the LocknLube swivel and locking coupler. I looked at locking coupler reviews and the LockNLube got better reviews and seemed like it attached as you expected it to.

Now, the moment of truth, loading it.



And it was clean and uneventful, real snooze-fest. Nothing on my hands, no grease on my clothes, wth? Gave the handle squeezes and greased flowed out the coupler as it should.

Shoot, I'll go grease my stuff now. I'm not even mad Thank yall again for the recommendations. They really improved the process of my chores. Thanks guys, cheers.

 

[ecotec]

I always make a mess loading my grease guns… I need this…

 

[cvairwerks]

At least you didn't have an idiot reload your gun like we did at work. Don't know how long it took him to scrape all the grease out of the tube and pack it into the gun with the plunger fully in. Then it wouldn't pump any out so they tagged it as broken. I pulled the plunger back out over the next half hour or so, and it worked fine, other than every inch of the gun was covered in grease. Took a while to clean it up to....

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I always make a mess loading my grease guns… I need this…

I think you'll like it if you get it.

 

[Firebrick43]

Alrighty! This bad boy just arrived, perfect timing.


I'm putting on the LocknLube swivel and locking coupler. I looked at locking coupler reviews and the LockNLube got better reviews and seemed like it attached as you expected it to.

Now, the moment of truth, loading it.



And it was clean and uneventful, real snooze-fest. Nothing on my hands, no grease on my clothes, wth? Gave the handle squeezes and greased flowed out the coupler as it should.

Shoot, I'll go grease my stuff now. I'm not even mad Thank yall again for the recommendations. They really improved the process of my chores. Thanks guys, cheers.

Any updates?

Further revelations after half a year of use?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Any updates?

Further revelations after half a year of use?

Hello! Yes I suppose an update would be fair right?

Let's see, after I just using it on anything with a grease zerk, it spent most of it's time being in the way. You know, not having a good spot to hang it, store it, etc. The classic "How do you store your grease gun?" thread kind of situation. Well, that was good to have because what I saw was that the gun didn't leak. At least, not with the type of grease it has in it. It did not separate either. Eventually I got my pegboard up over my workbench and hung it there so now it has a place. Since I saw that it wouldn't leak, I felt more comfortable hanging it up in a main tool area vs having to find a suitable place that wouldn't be ruined by leaked grease, or come up with a drip catch for it.

The next observation as I went to use the gun on the mower last week, after a couple pumps of grease it started pumping air, nothing! Hmm weird. So I unscrewed the tube and saw that the grease in the tube had retracted and the main bulk of it wasn't being fed into the pickup. So, stuck the end of a long screwdriver up there to gently push the follower up to squeeze up the grease. It's the same action the directions state when loading a new cartridge...gently press the follower and expose a 1/4" of grease when you load it it reaches the pick-up and you don't **** air. Well it was much easier than I anticipated, pressed too hard and pushed out a giant column of grease So there I was, the easiest grease gun to use and I managed to still get grease all over the place. Total user error, but now I know that if the gun has sat for a while, especially through hot-cold seasons, cracked the tube loose DON'T REMOVE IT, press the follower from the bottom a little bit and ensure the grease is up at the pickup.

And now I know the grease gun acts after a year I will take it any day and twice on Sundays over a basic grease gun.

As for the hose and LocknLube coupler, they work great, no complains. The hose swivel attachment, which may not come to mind at all for anyone, makes a world of difference for gun maneuverability and ease of use. I would suggest it on any grease gun. I placed my swivel between the gun and the hose so the entire hose swivels. It gives me much more control over the coupler end both in use and in storage.

As far as grease use, I almost went through an entire tube from when I bought it to when I had my grease volcano last week. I wasn't able to circus trick my way into getting the grease back into the tube, then it fell on the floor and got dirty, I just opened up a fresh tube. And looking at their website now, LubeShuttle shows a 2pk of grease for 33.38, breaks down to $13and change per tube before shipping. So, I guess $13-16 per tube per season for my use. I'm ok with that. Plus if the grease lasts and doesn't leak or separate, that should help longevity, long as I don't waste it on the floor

 

[Hohn]

I forgot to update this with my Lock n lube pneumatic GG. So far it's a winner. The yellow color makes sure I don't lose it .

I find myself using that small little Astro GG the most though. Just a little shot of grease in things like die grinder heads and such. Super handy.
For reference, here are the two particulars:

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-101-Grease-Needle-Nozzle/dp/B000FMK7FG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/LockNLube-Pneumatic-Grease-Single-Continuous/dp/B0931Y9MDR/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The pneumatic gun was worth it just to take some pain off my stiff hands.