> How in the everloving hell do you load a grease gun?
Mark, one thing to consider is : Does your gun work right ? I've been through
three brand new guns before I found one that didn't have a clear problem, and
I'm still not especially happy with the gun I use now.
> It worked for a short while (maybe ten shots of grease), then stopped,
> with the lever having no resistance. There's a plunger style thing on the
> bottom of the gun. Near as I can tell, that's there to make you think you
> can use it for something, but in reality it doesn't do anything. Moving
> it in and out there's no resistance, nothing.
The rod on the bottom should be coupled to a spring-loaded piston inside the
gun, that pushes the grease towards the pump. Typically, there is some way to
lock the rod in the extended position, so it holds the piston at the bottom
against the spring. Again typically, the rod will only pull on the piston, so
you can push the rod in fully after the gun is loaded.
One one of the guns I bought and discarded as defective, the piston would bind
inside the cardboard of the cartridge and try to crush it rather than pushing
the grease through. That caused exactly the symptom you describe.
On another, the piston didn't seal tightly to the cardboard tube and eventually
pushed it's way through the grease.
> Seems like I need to do this once every 15 years. And I have a dim
> recollection that it sucked to do the last time too. But I don't have any
> idea what the heck I did.
Blow-by-blow :
1) Pull the rod out fully and lock it. Some have tabs where you turn the rod
1/4 turn to lock it, others have a slot and a notch.
2) Unscrew the pump from the housing. Remove and discard the old cartridge.
3) Pry out the seal on the metal end of the new cartridge and remove it
entirely. (Chain nose pliers work well.) Remove the plastic cap from the other
end.
4) Drop the new cartridge into the tube, large open end first.
5) At this point, I like to release the rod, letting it move in gently until it
pushes the cartridge out, then push the cartridge back in until I get a blob of
grease out of the cartridge, maybe 1/4" high. That will help fill the air space
when you screw the head back on. Then pull the rod back and lock it again,
which should pull the cartridge into the gun.
6) Screw the head on a few turns.
7) Release the rod, and push it into the gun.
8) Now tighten the head fully. This will also help release trapped air.
9) Now try the pump a few times, squirting grease into the trash. You can
quickly see & feel when all the air is worked out.
10) Wipe the gun off as necessary, and go grease something.
Another way to deal with trapped air (if you don't have that bulk dispensing
pump I mentioned before) is to buy a purpose-made relief valve that screws in,
in place of the bulk fill fitting. But I found it didn't help much, the above
steps work almost as well.
Yet another trick that will sometimes get the pump started is to pull the rod
out fully, and let it snap back in. I've also been known to unscrew the outlet
tube, so air can escape easier. IMO, a quality pump will move enough air to
push grease out the end, but mine won't.
Randall
|