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Repost: How does an Alemite Grease Gun work?

SaintPanzer

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Jul 28, 2014
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I'm going to re-post this here, because it had 60 views in the general tools forum, but no responses. Perhaps the right person who understands old tools will see it here.

Specifically, how does it build pressure?

OK, full disclosure. This is not a grease problem, but I need to modify a gun, and I don't want to break it.

In this specific problem, I have a sailboat that has a small leak between the ballast keel and the keel/keelson. I've spoken with my boat builder, and he has solved this problem in the past with a modified Alemite gun filled with 3M 5200.

His gun is modified as below. His recommendation is to drill a small hole where the keelson meets the keel, thread the gun into the hole, and then "pump like crazy". The 5200 will fill any small areas under pressure, and prevent further water ingress.

grease gun.jpeg

I have two Alemites I'd like to modify. More correctly, I will modify one of the two. The first is an Alemite 6057, which is similar, but has a grease/zerk type fitting that appears to be sweated/brazed to a ****** on the gun. I do not know what (if any) springs are in the fitting, and don't want to cut the fitting off if it's integral to building pressure.

The second is an Alemite 6056. It's a little larger, and has a "pipe" with a "normal looking" grease fitting on the pipe. When I unscrewed the fitting from the gun, there was some sort of spring arrangement "inside" the gun. I didn't get a good look at this, because it was caked with a bunch of 50 or so years old grease, so I need to do some cleaning there.

That leaves the "normal looking" (i.e. looks the same as any other grease gun fitting I've ever seen) that I could simply cut off, and then thread the end (assuming the fitting is not already threaded in).

I have scraped the internet to find instruction manuals for the 6057 and 6056, and both are "so old" the information is NLA. That's why I'm hoping someone here might know how these things work.

Finally, there is the "more expensive" plan than the total $40 I've spent on these two guns: A brand new Alemite 600 is about $100... and has no fitting... you need to screw one of several fittings into the gun. Again, is that final fitting (where it plugs into the zerk) required for pressure building? Or is that simply a good way to hold on to the gun as the grease is forced out?
 
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Provincial

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I don't have specific knowledge, but the Alemite guns like that would have a ball check valve installed to prevent leakage when there is not pressure applied. In other words, if the screw is backed off, the ball check seals off the reservoir so it doesn't leak.

For your use, the ball check should not interfere with pumping the sealant. If you don't clean out the gun afterward, the sealant will harden in the check valve and make the gun inoperable in the future.

The Alemite gun is a very simple design. The screw moves a piston down the tube, forcing the grease out the ******. Sort of a screw-driven hypodermic. The screw allows a pretty high pressure to be applied to the grease/sealant.
 

slowtwitch73

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I don't think an Alemite gun is critical to what you are trying do.. probably what the guy had on hand so he used one.

There are quite a few better options out there for what you are trying to do. For starters, any grease gun would work...could even get a powered one.
 
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SaintPanzer

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I don't think an Alemite gun is critical to what you are trying do.. probably what the guy had on hand so he used one.

There are quite a few better options out there for what you are trying to do. For starters, any grease gun would work...could even get a powered one.
Thanks. I have thought a lot about a powered one.

The guy using this method specifically said that a "pump handle" or one with a hose would not work. I think that might be because you couldn't tap the end of the pipe, and it's critical that the pipe be screwed in. Another possibility is there simply wouldn't be enough space in the bilge for a larger gun. The photo shows a block plane for scale, the Alemite 600 is a little smaller than that.

At this point, I am leaning towards buying a new Alemite 600, with the appropriate solid pipe fitting. The "shorter" fitting is only 6 inches, and it looks like the grease fitting unscrews. If that's still too long, I can cut/thread the pipe. Specs for the new indicate 1/8th inch NPT.

Thanks for the advice.
 

PCustoms

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Seeing as how 5200 isn't structural, this entire project seems ill advised.

-how do you know the void is dry?
-how do you ensure the full void is filled?
-what about the structural integrity?

I'd be looking at a liquid epoxy at minimum
 

RoninB4

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-A full set of details might net better replies here. The boat make/model and several photos of the leak location (close ups too) would provide better info for a better reply. In casual conversation with someone well versed in boat construction there was some doubt expressed concerning the repair sequence/steps. There are probably also some actual builders here that would have far more experience than I could provide from a casual conversation with my source.
 
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SaintPanzer

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-In casual conversation with someone well versed in boat construction there was some doubt expressed concerning the repair sequence/steps. There are probably also some actual builders here that would have far more experience than I could provide from a casual conversation with my source.
In this case, the person recommending is the guy who built the boat. Additionally, he is one of the best wooden boat builders in Maine. I trust him implicitly.

The boat is a custom design.
IMG_2507.JPGNoe 36 005.jpgAnnapolis.jpg

the leak is a trickle, where the keelson meets the hull, near a frame, just aft the mast step. The hose in the upper right of the photo is a shop vac. I know it's dry because it has been on the hard all winter. I'm sure of the structural integrity, because it's fairly new. Additionally, flow does not increase when the boat is hard on the wind. The purpose of the 5200 is not to improve the structure, it's to squeeze into a space that may have a void where the bedding sits between the lead and the wood. Epoxy could help, but the builder has successfully used 5200 in the past.
keelson.jpg
 

yhprum

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I have an old alemite grease gun that looks similar to the one in the photo. With mine the end is threaded. You turn it clockwise to thread it in. Inside on the end of the threaded bar is a leather cup washer. So you have to start with the threaded rod fully extended aft. You fill the inside of the gun with grease. Screw the end cover with the threaded rod on. Turn clockwise to push the cup washer into the grease, pumping it out the other end.
Can you unscrew that end cover and show us what’s inside?

Edit, I just found this, may answer some e questions how they work.
 
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scooby074

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3m5200 is available in a caulking gun cartridge. Nothing to modify. Stick it in a caulking gun and start squeezing the handle.

I think the concern is injection pressure. The grease gun will generate more pressure. Plus, if you try to use standard caulking guns to inject, many times youll blow out past the piston (bottom of the caulking tube) from within the cartage if you can generate enough force on the squeeze handle. Its a heck of a mess (from experience). A grease gun seals all that pressure at the pump section
 
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