What Grease To Lubricate The Gearbox Angle Grinder

Gearbox grease angle grinder Gearbox grease angle grinder prevents wear of gears, protects against vibrations and abnormal noise during operation.

How much grease should be used when replacing the gearbox angle grinder

The amount of lubricant put into the gearbox must be such that the oblique teeth of the gears are completely covered by it. An excess will cause it to be squeezed out from under the cover, and an insufficient amount will not ensure proper operation of the gearbox.

In this regard, it is better to put a little more and check the correct distribution of the lubricant after turning on the angle grinder. In general, the amount of lubricant is usually around 3050% of the full capacity of the gearbox.

When to change the lubricant in an angle grinder

The frequency of changing the lubricant depends on how often and under what load the tool is used. Typically, this interval is about a year. In the case of intensive use with frequent overheating, the replacement frequency is reduced to six months, sometimes more often.

After removing the cover, you can see two bevel helical gears: a large and a small gear. The small gear is anchored and drives the large gear. The large, in turn, is planted on the secondary shaft, to which the cutting or grinding disc is attached.

Gearbox grease angle grinder

The guarantee of a long life of any hand tool consists in its correct periodic maintenance. Of course, you can give it to special service centers for maintenance and diagnostics, but, as they say, if you want to do it well, do everything yourself. Therefore, it is worth figuring out how to independently service such a popular tool among home craftsmen as an angle grinder or an angle grinder in the common people.

The movable parts of the angle grinder are most susceptible to wear. These are the bearings of the armature, gears, as well as the gears themselves, which are in the gearbox. The lubricant (or lubricant) put in by the manufacturer ages over time, its properties are lost, all this leads to greater wear of the gears in the gearbox and, as a consequence, to increased vibration and the appearance of extraneous noise during operation. Periodic maintenance and replacement of the lubricant in the angle grinder gearbox must be carried out at least once a year.

Lubricant for trimmer gear. How and how to lubricate?

Occasionally, in the midst of an intense mowing operation, your trimmer will make an unpleasant grinding noise. This complains about the lack of lubrication, the gearbox is the most heavily loaded unit of the device. And soon, these warnings can be followed by a jammed drive.

What kind of lubricant should I use for the trimmer gear?

In the process of operation, the mechanical part of the trimmer is loaded by contact forces on the teeth, resistance reactions from adhering grass (sometimes with dirt), dynamic, shock loads due to constantly changing torque. Lubrication for the trimmer gearbox must fully take into account these features, so the selection of the brand must be strictly individual.

The following factors are taken into account:

1. Manufacturer’s brand. Each brand reasonably focuses on its own lubricants (you can talk about cheap Chinese products later). This applies to manufacturers such as Husqvarna, Stihl, Huter, Makita, etc. The only exceptions are trimmers of domestic production: for example, the Caliber in the user manual does not indicate the brand of lubricant at all
2. The viscosity of the lubricant. As you know, all lubricants are divided into three groups of high-viscosity (colloidal systems containing various additives), plastic compounds for universal use and solid lubricants that soften during operation.
3. Good adhesion to the surface of the gearbox parts, as a result of which the grease is not squeezed out into the gaps or out of the unit.
4. The rate of grease consumption by the gearbox. Here you have to rely on your own experience and the recommendations of specialists, since some trimmer manufacturers, relying on their own service centers, do not give clear recommendations at all regarding the period of operation of the gearbox between two lubrications.

Lubricant consumption also depends on the temperature at which it retains its lubricity. When the gearbox is heated to 40C, it is considered that its operating conditions are satisfactory, and there is sufficient lubrication.

It is believed that there is no universal lubricant for the trimmer gearbox, but this is not entirely true. In fact, a suitable lubricant will be one that contains the following components:

• Lead-free antiwear additives;
• Solid lubricants with the presence of graphite or molybdenum disulfide (the latter is preferable, since in this case the lubricity is fully retained for a wide range of shaft revolutions);
• Only mineral (inorganic!) Oils, highly refined.

These requirements are fully met by Gear Grease OREGON or Champion EP-0 lithium greases, domestic compositions Oleo-Mas, Litol.24, or Azmol 158, as well as those recommended by the manufacturer of a particular trimmer model.

How to lubricate the trimmer gearbox?

In the upper part of the body, where the gear unit is installed, there is a technological hole, which is plugged with a screw during trimmer operation. This screw is unscrewed, and 1.52 ml of lubricant is injected into the hole using the spout on the tube. If the lubricant was purchased in a different package, then an ordinary disposable medical syringe is also suitable for this operation.

After that, the screw is installed in its original place. This procedure, regardless of the user’s recommendations, should be performed every 1015 hours of operation of the trimmer in working mode. Other reasons for updating or replacing the gearbox lubricant are the independent performance of minor routine maintenance (for example, cleaning and flushing the gears of the gearbox before the start of the summer season), repairing the unit, preserving the trimmer for the winter, etc.

If the gear unit is disassembled, it is recommended to completely remove the remnants of the old grease from the surface of the parts, even if it does not show any signs of oxidation and contamination. And only then apply new lubricant. After applying the lubricant, it is recommended to rotate the shaft several times by hand, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed over all parts of the gearbox.

When lubricating, pay particular attention to the following elements:

1. Flywheel: as a rule, grass remnants stick to its surface intensively, and thickening grass juice creates additional resistance.
2. Pawl of the starter coil, which in the process of turning on the drive constantly contacts the grooves on the flywheel. In this case, not only mechanical wear occurs, but also mechanochemical corrosion of the flywheel-dog connection, since the materials of this pair are different (the flywheel is aluminum, and the dog is steel).
3. Bearings, if their seals are worn out, and through them, the remaining grease is squeezed out. In this case, the unit begins to vibrate intensively when loaded. This happens with Chinese-made trimmers, so in the long run it is worth thinking about replacing the bearing assembly with a better one, for example, from the Swedish company SKF.

How much grease is required to replace

Therefore, it is better to first put in a little more material than required, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed after the gears of the reducer are activated. The generally accepted norm is to fill with lubricant about 40% of the volume of the gearbox.

How to properly lubricate an angle grinder

• The use of expensive special lubricants for gearboxes from well-known brands;
• The use of universal compounds suitable for any power tool;
• Gear lubrication with lithol or grease;
• Using a self-made lubricant.

Application of special materials is the best solution. When choosing a lubricant for a gearbox, it is recommended to give preference to formulations produced under the same brand as the angle grinder itself. For example, if the machine is of the AEG brand, then the lubricant must be purchased from the same brand.

When using specialized products, the service life of the angle grinder is significantly increased, since the manufacturer takes into account all the features and nuances of operating its own equipment. The disadvantage of using branded materials is their high cost, which can affect the family budget.

The most unfavorable solution is the use of lithol or solid oil, since both of these materials are not designed for lubrication of friction units heated to high temperatures. Some owners of grinders use only these formulations, which is why their machines cannot last for the lifetime declared by the manufacturer. In an effort to benefit from the here and now, they do not factor in future spending on a new tool or replacement of expensive parts.

Old grease removal phase

Removing used grease is the first step in gearbox maintenance. It is necessary to remove the old layer for several reasons:

• The spent lubricant is not able to perform its functions;
• It contains small particles formed during the wear of the rubbing elements;
• The old grease will mix with the new one, because of this, the unit will not work properly, replacement will not bring any results.

Removal of waste is carried out using disposable paper towels, rags or a piece of tissue at hand. The removed parts of the gearbox should be thoroughly washed in thinner or gasoline, and dried before installation. Residues from cleaning materials can also mix with the new grease and change its consistency, resulting in poor performance.

How much grease is required to replace

Therefore, it is better to first put in a little more material than required, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed after the gears of the reducer are activated. The generally accepted norm is to fill with lubricant about 40% of the volume of the gearbox.