Whitepaper
How to avoid over-lubrication
Summary
Over-lubrication of bearings causes many problems. Many factories have difficulties in keeping grease in bearings.
Overgreasing bearings is not only a waste of grease. It can also drastically shorten bearing life. Lubrication should never be
guesswork. It should always be undertaken with a professional, even scientific, mindset.
The problems that over-lubrication causes can be many. They can snowball into new problems that cost extra to fix. The
situation is easy to avoid if your employees have the proper training and experience.
It has been found that by using handy hardware devices like grease guns, the use of lubricants can be smarter, more
effective and more efficient. Whether you are greasing a new bearing with a brush or even a finger, using our handy tube
dispenser makes a big difference. By using a hardware device, this comes out clean, very focused and in the right amount.
By using handy hardware devices, the use of lubricants can be smarter
We recommend that lubrication duties be clear and assigned to specific individuals within your organization. Also, keep
careful lubrication records. With a digital calibration device, these records can be uploaded to a computer, where they can
be analyzed, stored, and shared. Lubrication should be treated as a pro-active, precision task that is required for the proper
and efficient use of any and all machinery in your plant.
When thinking of changing to a new lubrication regime in a busy factory it is important to identify first your most
problematic machine or process, i.e. the one that breaks down the most or costs you the most money. Interflon can help
your business to avoid over-lubrication, save money, and improve performance. Once you have seen the Interflon solutions
and the major difference Interflon makes, you have a very strong case to bring to your purchasing director or other decision
makers.
Introduction
40 percent of bearings never live to their engineered life cycle. Bad lubrication practices are the leading cause of this
mortality. Most people know the problems that result from under lubrication. Many do not realize that over-lubrication can
cause the same problems, or a different set of problems with similar consequences. This whitepaper will explain exactly
what problems result from over-lubrication and how to avoid them.
An overlubricated bearing
The main problems are possible equipment failure, resulting in expensive maintenance, replacement, and downtime.
The increased friction and pressure from too much grease raises the temperature inside the bearing. Excess heat could
decrease the effectiveness of the lubricant causing the oil to separate from the thickener.
Problem description
Over-lubrication of bearings causes many problems. Overgreasing bearings is not only a waste of grease. It can also
drastically shorten bearing life. Lubrication should never be guesswork, It should always be undertaken with a professional,
even scientific, mindset. Too much grease builds pressure, pushing the rolling elements through the fluid film and against
the outer race. The bearing now has to work much harder to push the rolling elements through a mud bog of grease.
Your lubricant might be offering little or no protection resulting in possible equipment failure, expensive maintenance,
replacement, and downtime. The application can suffer from many problems, lower pressure and electric motor failure.
Little or no protection
Many people believe that if some lubricant is good, then more must be better. In fact, excess lubricant requires a machine
to produce extra torque in order to move bearings or gears at the required speed. Extra torque results in the generation of
excess heat, and heat destroys lubricants before their time.
Every 10°C (18°F) rise in temperature above 65°C (150°F) cuts the service life of lubricant in half. This means lubricant that
would normally last one month at 150°F will last only two weeks at about 168°, one week at 186°, and just three or four
days at 204° before it needs to be replaced or rejuvenated. If an application is unknowingly over-lubricated, your lubricant
might be offering little or no protection for days or weeks without you even knowing about it. The result: possible
equipment failure, resulting in expensive maintenance, replacement, and downtime.
Major problems for your application
Just how does excess heat destroy lubricant? One way is to cause the oil to begin to separate from the thickener, which
results in runout of the oil and hardening of the thickener that remains.
Grease is oil with thickener added. The majority of lubrication (depending on the type of thickener) is done by the oil.
Imagine the oil running out, carbonizing, or evaporating, leaving a stiff thickener behind. Lack of lubrication from the base
oil, plus the presence of the stiff thickener, will cause major problems for your application. Imagine chunks of solid matter
knocking around inside your bearing, clogging up the track, and you will get the idea.
Seal failure
Traditional wisdom has always been to apply grease from a gun until you see it start to emerge from the other end of the
application, or when you feel the pressure pushing back too hard to add any more.
Grease drips from an overlubricated bearing
In fact, this method practically ensures over-lubrication. In addition to the above-mentioned issues, the pressure generated
by too much grease can cause seals on bearings to rupture, which in turn causes leakage, and ultimately failure due to
lubricant starvation. Grease guns produce 2,000 psi or more, with high-pressure grease guns delivering as much as 15,000
psi. The typical seal, meanwhile, ruptures at a much lower pressure.
Electric motor failure
Electric motor bearing cavities are subject to the same vulnerabilities as other bearings. Excess heat will cause separation,
thickening, and runout. In addition to this, the excess grease will end up between the stator and rotor of the electric motor.
There is simply no room for the excess grease to leave the motor, which will cause damage.
Larger motors will have a purge hole opposite the grease nipple. Make sure you check these holes and remove any
protective cap.
Solutions
In order to avoid over-lubrication, lubrication should not be thought of as simply slapping some grease onto an application
until it stops making noise. Lubrication should be thought of as a precision, pro-active task that is essential to the proper
functioning of the production equipment in any facility. In addition to the correct amount of lubricant, it is critical to choose
the correct lubricant. It requires training and experience to make the correct recommendation. The following techniques
for avoiding over-lubrication are recommended:
Calibrate your grease guns
Knowledge is power. The first thing you should do is make sure you know just how much grease each gun emits per pump.
You can do this by simply measuring the amount of grease that comes out. If you want to take an average, you can do ten
pumps into a container and then divide the result by ten. You can measure either by mass (weight) or volume, but ideally
you will do both.
For future applications, apply only the recommended amount of lubricant, rather than simply adding until you cannot add
any more. Your machine manual will likely tell you just how much lubricant is required per application. Since you know how
much each gun produces per pump, you have removed the guesswork and greatly reduced the likelihood of over-
lubrication.
Keep lubrication records
It can be time-consuming to make notes on every single thing you do all day, especially when you are running from machine
to machine with hardly enough time for a lunch break. But this is a really important step, so it should not be overlooked. Do
not forget, the end result is actually going to make your life easier, not harder. It is recommended to set aside a segment of
time for lubrication checks, during which you focus exclusively on this task. Carry a clipboard with you and record
lubrication data as you go. Keep your clipboard by your lube cabinet, and make sure all maintenance or lube techs at your
workplace know they must use it.
Use a vibration analyzer
The use of analyzers that measure both heat and noise to gauge whether an application has been suitably lubricated is
recommended. These precision instruments can tell immediately when your lubrication has reached the optimum level,
and provide you with instant feedback so you know when to stop pumping. You can also use these tools to measure current
lubrication levels, so it’s easy to tell whether you need more lube or if you can hold off on this round of scheduled
lubrication. This is the most scientific and precise way to avoid over-lubrication, so the expense of the analyzer is quickly
offset by how much money you will be saving on bearing replacements and lost production.
Use condition-based maintenance techniques
Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is part of predictive maintenance (PdM), and is a method of decision-making that
relies on real-time performance data, rather than a fixed timetable.
Although CBM is a much older method than PdM, it lends itself very well to new technologies. Sometimes CBM refers to
monitoring rather than maintenance. It is more scientific than reactive maintenance (fixing things when they break) or
preventive maintenance (trying to guess when it will break and fixing it beforehand). There is necessarily some overlap
between CBM and PdM.
Use Math
The following formula can also be used to determine just how much grease your bearing application requires:
Imperial (ounces):
G = 0.114 x D x B
G = amount of grease in ounces
D = bore diameter in inches
B = bearing width in inches
Metric (grams):
G = 0.005 x D x B
It is recommended to have lubrication duties clear and assigned to specific individuals within your organization. Careful
lubrication records are to be kept. With a digital calibration device, these records can be uploaded to a computer, where
they can be analyzed, stored, and shared. When thinking of changing to a new lubrication regime in a busy factory it is
important to identify first your most problematic machine or process, i.e. the one that breaks down the most or costs you
the most money.
About Interflon
Interflon manufactures high performance lubricants with MicPol®, cleaners and hardware. MicPol®, our unique lubricant
technology, provides the lowest possible friction, repels water and particles, and possesses outstanding penetrating
abilities. We offer you lubricants with exceptionally good performance for industrial and food processing equipment
maintenance purposes. Our lubricants last up to ten times longer than ordinary lubricants, and are known to increase chain
and bearing life by many times.
With expertise in a wide range of industries in more than 50 countries and 40 years of experience as a lubrication partner,
Interflon is offering you integrated solutions. Our technical advisors, application engineers and lubrication consultants make
use of more than 2.400 best lubrication practices to help you to move forward in a constantly evolving world,
supplemented with training programs, consultancy, software and hardware equipment. Interflon helps companies to
reduce their maintenance and energy costs, at the same time reducing down-time. We employ 400 skilled Technical
Advisors worldwide to assist our customers on-site in optimizing their processes and implementing the selected Interflon
lubricants converting them into real cost saving solutions. Combined with our MicPol® technology, our solutions allow your
company to reach your goals and the highest possible standards in safety, efficiency and emissions.
To find out how Interflon can help your business to avoid over-lubrication, save money and improve performance, please
contact us. We will be pleased to connect you with a Technical Advisor who can meet your needs in your country/area. We
look forward to advise you.
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