Adding High Temperature Red Grease to a gearbox motor. - Amazing!

[Don2222]

Hello
The St Croix gearbox versa motor very similar to an auger motor but a more compact gearbox has always came from the factory with a high quality grease fitting. This used one I have hear was making quite a noise. Therefore I added the grease and it quieted right down! Amazing!

See vids below. Should all gearbox motors have a zerk grease fitting?
Part 1 - of 2 - Noise before adding grease

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Part 2 of 2 - Now see how quiet it is after adding grease - Amazing

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[heat seeker]

Cool!

Another thing that will make that motor noisy is if the VersaGrate bushings need lube. If not lubed, both front and back bushings, they put a strain on the motor and gear train, and it makes a noticeable noise. Mine was noisy, and after I lubed the bushings, it's very quiet. I never connected the two events until I did the routine maintenance on the Versa bushings.

I don't know if my Versa motor is original (I doubt it), but it has no grease fitting. I did open it up a few years ago and put some high temp grease in it. Opening it up takes care - there are a lot of small parts that can fall out, so if you try this at home, be very careful!

 

[Don2222]

Cool!

Another thing that will make that motor noisy is if the VersaGrate bushings need lube. If not lubed, both front and back bushings, they put a strain on the motor and gear train, and it makes a noticeable noise. Mine was noisy, and after I lubed the bushings, it's very quiet. I never connected the two events until I did the routine maintenance on the Versa bushings.

I don't know if my Versa motor is original (I doubt it), but it has no grease fitting. I did open it up a few years ago and put some high temp grease in it. Opening it up takes care - there are a lot of small parts that can fall out, so if you try this at home, be very careful!

You can easily add a zerk fitting if it does not have one.

 

[tlc1976]

Sounds like a good idea for the application.

Typically a gearbox will only have as much grease as needed, because if it’s packed with grease and it runs continuously it can heat up more, also lose efficiency. And it will end up leaking out wherever it can and making a mess. But an auger is intermittent so it should probably be fine. It might ever so slightly reduce the pellet feed, but probably not even noticeable compared to other variances.

I had this cheap ATV winch I used on a snowplow and I packed it with grease. Made a big difference in noise. It also didn’t coast down by itself anymore which was a good thing.

 

[Don2222]

Sounds like a good idea for the application.

Typically a gearbox will only have as much grease as needed, because if it’s packed with grease and it runs continuously it can heat up more, also lose efficiency. And it will end up leaking out wherever it can and making a mess. But an auger is intermittent so it should probably be fine. It might ever so slightly reduce the pellet feed, but probably not even noticeable compared to other variances.

I had this cheap ATV winch I used on a snowplow and I packed it with grease. Made a big difference in noise. It also didn’t coast down by itself anymore which was a good thing.

Hi TLC1976
I have a cheap winch that works ok, but noisy as heck! Where did you add the grease????

 

[tlc1976]

Hi TLC1976
I have a cheap winch that works ok, but noisy as heck! Where did you add the grease????

I pulled it apart. Cleaned up everything including emery cloth on the commutator. Then I greased it all. The box between the motor armature and winch drum should contain a planetary gearset which you can pack some grease in too. I’m sure thats the main source of the noise but my main concern was the plow drifting down. I also put some rubber washers to better seal the electrical posts because water had leaked inside and started rusting the innards.

 

[zrock]

Gotta watch using a automotive grease on electrical motors and gears. It will put added resistance on the gears and transfer back to the motor you can strip out the gears or burn out the motor.. They were designed to use a thin grease like white grease or a thin grease.

 

[Don2222]

Gotta watch using a automotive grease on electrical motors and gears. It will put added resistance on the gears and transfer back to the motor you can strip out the gears or burn out the motor.. They were designed to use a thin grease like white grease or a thin grease.

Hi
This auger motor is noisy as heck, I can hear the gears clicking away. This grease from the factory seems too thick or hard! Here is a pic of the grease they use. It seems so thick it is not lubricating? Do you Know what kind it is?
It says here different types are used for gear lubrication

Lubrication of Gears | KHK

Lubrication of Gears is a page to explain how to lubricate gears. Lubrication is necessary to use the gears properly and avoid the damage of gears.

khkgears.net

See pic

 

[zrock]

Looks like Vaseline to me... I always use white grease or a grease with a EPA 0 rating its much thinner than wheel bearing grease and is used on gears and such in larger equipment and such where a normal grease is to thick to work its way into the gears. Even my winch when i do maint on every year is white grease. I used automotive grease once and it basically made the winch useless the gears would not unlock for free spool and if it was cold out would slow the winch down... Last winch was 5 years old and still going strong with a lot of hard pulls on it...

 

[Don2222]

Looks like Vaseline to me... I always use white grease or a grease with a EPA 0 rating its much thinner than wheel bearing grease and is used on gears and such in larger equipment and such where a normal grease is to thick to work its way into the gears. Even my winch when i do maint on every year is white grease. I used automotive grease once and it basically made the winch useless the gears would not unlock for free spool and if it was cold out would slow the winch down... Last winch was 5 years old and still going strong with a lot of hard pulls on it...

Yes that is good to know. A couple of my customers used automotive grease on their auger bearings in their Englander pellet stoves because they have zerk fittings. But automotive grease is to thick and it gums up the bearings and the pellets do not feed right. So I put in new bearings with red high temperature grease which never gets to thick no matter what temperature it is.

 

[zrock]

Sounds similar to the synth grease im using now on my veh and toys. Its a fairly thin consistency but stays put to where ever its used i was even able to get it into fittings that i thought i was going to have to change out. Originally bought it for my ATV since it marine grade as well and will not contaminate the areas i ride. Even with my discount its more expensive but worth it... I used to use red n tacky but boy is that stuff thick and it seemed to contaminate easily with water

 

[SpaceBus]

Sounds similar to the synth grease im using now on my veh and toys. Its a fairly thin consistency but stays put to where ever its used i was even able to get it into fittings that i thought i was going to have to change out. Originally bought it for my ATV since it marine grade as well and will not contaminate the areas i ride. Even with my discount its more expensive but worth it... I used to use red n tacky but boy is that stuff thick and it seemed to contaminate easily with water

Sounds like good stuff, do you have a name or link?

 

[Don2222]

Sounds similar to the synth grease im using now on my veh and toys. Its a fairly thin consistency but stays put to where ever its used i was even able to get it into fittings that i thought i was going to have to change out. Originally bought it for my ATV since it marine grade as well and will not contaminate the areas i ride. Even with my discount its more expensive but worth it... I used to use red n tacky but boy is that stuff thick and it seemed to contaminate easily with water

Is it Super Tech ??

Robot or human?

Or
Amsoil ??

Synthetic Water Resistant Grease

Shop Synthetic Water Resistant Grease at AMSOIL. Find premium synthetic oil, filters and more online. Fast, free shipping available.

www.amsoil.com

Or
Lucas??

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lucas-Oil-Products-14-oz-Marine-Grease/50353742?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-hdw-_-google-_-lia-_-214-_-tools-lubricants-_-50353742-_-0&placeholder=null&gclid=CjwKCAjw34n5BRA9EiwA2u9k3_-Dzp__yOMjVvCZgQoryfcCLFEU7x99i0YRyGeaEuSbkGCN8yYMuBoCudgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I hear they do not mix with other grease so you have to remove all the old grease??

 

[Don2222]

Hi
Maybe this is it? Looks like the best grease out there?

High Temp Service – Tom-Pac Online Store USA

tompaclubricants.com

 

[zrock]

This is the stuff i switched to...

Environmental Greases from Lubri-Lab Inc.

Lubri-Lab BC carries environmental greases that are food approved, high temperature greases which perform well in environmentally sensitive applications.

lubrilabbc.com

 

[SpaceBus]

This is the stuff i switched to...

Environmental Greases from Lubri-Lab Inc.

Lubri-Lab BC carries environmental greases that are food approved, high temperature greases which perform well in environmentally sensitive applications.

lubrilabbc.com

Thanks for the link. I found an online retailer and ordered five tubes of the Top5. I love that it's safe for the environment since I'm fairly certain all the grease that goes into my tractor is going to end up in the ground water some how.

 

[zrock]

Thats one of the reasons im using it as well... I do alot of creek crossings that are fish bearing so the less of a foot print i leave their the better...

 

[Don2222]

Hi
Thanks
From all the technical info I read, it looks like the very best too!