When running lube lines to out-of-reach bearings, run tubing of 3/8-inch diameterinstead of 1/4-inch. It requires less pressure on your grease gun to push the grease through a larger opening than a smaller one. You are also less likely to overpressurize the tubing. Before making your final connection to the bearings, purge your line with the specified grease of lubricant beforehand. Then connect the fitting to your bearings.

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From the book "Plant and Machinery Failure Prevention":

In ball bearings adjacent to or inside gearboxes, the gear lubricant may find its way into the bearings. If the gear lubricant is a heavy bituminous compound and it enters the ball bearing, failure is certain. Effective seals must be provided to keep the gear lubricant out of the bearing housing.

In such situations, bearings must be opened periodically and examined carefully to check on the effectiveness of the seals, at least initially. Contamination could be due to seal failure and bearing failure would only be consequential damage.

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"We have several vented gearboxes mounted in a steamy environment, and water keeps getting into them. To prevent gearbox failures, we flush the oil out of the gearboxes once a month. With the price of oil, this is getting expensive. What is the best way to correct this problem?"

Assuming the water is coming through the vent due to the humid environment in which these gearboxes are working rather than through the seal or due to the effects of wash down, there are several options to consider. The first is to pipe out the vent to a less humid environment and use a water-removal or exclusion breather such as a standard desiccant breather.

If this is not possible, the best option is to use an expansion chamber, combination expansion/desiccating breather or membrane-style water exclusion breather so that water cannot enter the gearbox through the breather/vent. In addition, regular, routine visual inspections should be performed to look for signs of water ingression.

If water is observed, it may not always be necessary to change oil. You may be able to remove the water using a water-removing filter element or dialysis-style water-removal system. Depending on the size and criticality of these gearboxes, you may elect to use quick-connects to allow a portable unit to be periodically hooked-up, or if they are large enough, a dedicated offline water removal and particle filter system may be justifiable for each gearbox.

Bob Scott, Noria Corporation

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