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Learn how to improve oil cleanliness and extend machine life at Effective Contamination Control. April 4-6, Minneapolis, MN. Taught by Jim Fitch.

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Book Bits: Synthetics Improve Fuel Economy

From the book "The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication"

A heavy truck fleet was experiencing high fuel costs in combination with what it felt was premature differential gear and bearings, using a good-quality 80W/90 gear lubricant. Field testing with a semisynthetic gear lubricant with a wider viscosity range of 75W/90 reduced the failure rate and provided a fuel economy improvement of over 3 percent.

More information about the book "The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication"

Test your knowledge and prepare for ICML lubrication and oil analysis certification.

Question: What do cutting wear particles look like?

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"Our typical method of lubricating a bearing is to pump in the grease until new grease comes out of the bearing. Is this the correct procedure for lubricating with a grease gun?"

Pumping grease into a well-sealed bearing until you see the grease leaving at the seal compromises the seal and assures that you have too much grease in the bearing.

The proper method for lubricating a bearing is to determine the ideal volume, frequency and product type and then put precisely what you require in the bearing and adjust your frequency based on environmental considerations.

A reasonable volume model to use is:

V = D*B*.114, where V = Ounces per cycle, D = Bearing OD and B = Bearing width.

Remember, grease gun output will vary from model to model. You need to calculate the number of shots necessary to achieve the desired volume per bearing.

Mike Johnson, Noria Corporation

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