| 1. GREASEMAX - description 2. ADVANTAGES 2.1 Cost savings 2.2 Maintenance advantages 2.3 Safety & Environment 2.4 Design 3. OPERATION OF GREASEMAX 4. INSTALLATION 4.1 GreaseMax discharge rates 4.2 Output pressure of GreaseMax 4.3 Affect of bearing and grease way pressure 4.4 Installation with extension lines 4.5 Oil units 5. CHANGING GREASEMAX 6. LUBRICANTS | 7. IDENTIFICATION OF GREASEMAX 8. WHICH GREASEMAX SHOULD BE USED? 9. SHELF LIFE 10. SAFETY 11. THE ENVIRONMENT & DISPOSAL 12. QUALITY 13. COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT GREASEMAX |
GreaseMax is a chemically operated automatic lubricator.
It is designed to be screwed into the bearing grease nipple seating, or onto an extension line, and to feed lubricant at a CONSTANT RATE for a SET PERIOD of time.
GreaseMax is designed to operate for a set period of time. There are 5 operating periods; 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. After the service time has elapsed, the unit is replaced with a new unit.
Because it is self regulating it should be used in conjunction with the plant maintenance scheduling. Therefore changeovers of the GreaseMax can be planned and carried out at set periods.
GreaseMax operation is simple and trouble free. Quite frequently its capabilities are not at first appreciated because of it's simplicity.
GreaseMax can be used anywhere; on most applications, both large and small, even underwater.
Importantly, GreaseMax has no electrical or mechanical components and has only one moving part, which is the piston. For this reason GreaseMax is extremely reliable.
2.1 Cost savings:
• Direct cost savings over manual greasing.
• Direct cost savings by reducing the necessity to stop machinery and production for lubrication.
• Indirect cost saving with reduced maintenance and down time from bearing failures caused by incorrect or missed lubrication.
2.2 Maintenance advantages
• Lubrication occurs when the plant is in operation, when it is of the most benefit.
• Constant replenishment of new grease, which minimises bearing wear.
• The bearing is sealed while GreaseMax is in use.
• Dust and moisture are prevented from entering the bearing.
• The lubrication is fully automated and changeovers can be programmed into the plant maintenance schedule.
• GreaseMax ensures that as a warm or hot bearing cools, the slight vacuum normally created does not draw in foreign material.
• A continuous supply of fresh lubricant flushes out any foreign matter, moisture or harmful chemical substances which may otherwise accumulate in the bearing if it is unused for some time.
• A constant grease supply ensures that seals are lubricated and more effective in preventing contamination. This is particularly the case with labyrinth seals.
• GreaseMax change-overs can be programmed with plant maintenance schedules
• Problems of manual lubrication
• excess lubrication
• insufficient lubrication
• application of incorrect lubricant
are overcome
• The main problems causing lubrication related failure in ball and roller bearings are overcome:
• solid contamination 20%
• unsuitable lubricant 20%
• insufficient lubricant 15%
• liquid contamination 5%
• aged lubricant 20%
• other causes 20%
*click to enlarge.
2.3 Safety & Environment
• Lubrication is cleaner and environmentally responsible; there is no excess lubricant affecting either plant cleanliness or the environment.
• Safety is improved as operators are not required to lubricate hazardous areas
2.4 Design
GreaseMax is activated by screwing in the colour coded plastic starter cap. The colour coding of this cap should match the colour coding of the plastic activating screw in the base of GreaseMax, (into which this cap is screwed).
When the starter cap is screwed in, a controlling element located internally in GreaseMax is forced into a reagent, contained in a neoprene expansion diaphragm. When this occurs a galvanic reaction commences, and gas is produced. The gas expands the diaphragm and as it does so a steel piston (located between the diaphragm and the lubricant) is pushed down and the lubricant is forced out.
GreaseMax requires a minimum of approximately 8 hours for a type 1 unit to approximately 40 hours for a type 12 unit to develop sufficient internal pressure to commence discharging lubricant. This period is normally not a problem for well maintained bearings however if lubrication is required in less than the start up period then activate GreaseMax in advance.
GreaseMax has NO INTERNAL PRESSURE prior to activation. Pressure is developed, and the lubricant discharge pressure is virtually in equilibrium with bearing or grease line resistance.
The chemical reaction is so designed as to give a CONSTANT rate of reaction, over the whole life of the unit. This results in a CONSTANT lubricant output. The GreaseMax discharge rate is not affected by bearing or seal condition, movement, vibration, etc.
It is often assumed that GreaseMax has some sort of pre-loaded internal pressure. This is NOT the case. If it were, GreaseMax could not operate as a truly self regulating automatic lubricator as it would then rely on bearing and line resistance to control its operation.
The starter caps are colour coded. Ensure that the colour of the starter cap matches the colour of the activator screw in the base of the GreaseMax, into which the starter cap will be screwed.
- Screw the starter cap in hand tight. (While the starter cap is being turned down, the seals will be heard to break. Continue to turn the starter cap in until it is tight).
- Then use a screw driver or similar with a shank size of 8mm - 10mm to tighten the cap FIRMLY (approximately 1/4 of a turn more). This is essential to ensure a gas and liquid tight seal.
Do not loosen the starter cap or attempt to remove it.
When this has occurred GreaseMax is operational. Allow the following minimum starting times: 1 month units - 8 hours, 3 month units - 24 hours, 6 month units - 30 hours, 12 month units - 40 hours, for lubricant discharge to commence. (see "Operation of GreaseMax").
Pre grease with a grease gun before the first installation. The short time delay will not adversely affect bearings which have been properly pre greased before the installation of GreaseMax. For subsequent installations, pre greasing is not necessary as prior use of GreaseMax will have ensured that there is adequate grease in the bearings.
Pre-greasing before the first installation of GreaseMax is also important to ensure that all grease ways are free of old hard grease which can block completely the grease ways.
GreaseMax is designed to operate in most conditions. It will operate satisfactorily in:
• Areas of severe vibration. (If this includes high shock loading, to prevent long term failure of the plastic mounting points, use mounting brackets and flexible feed lines, supplied by DIS.
• Underwater or wet installations.
• GreaseMax is not affected by large daily temperature cycles which can cause condensation problems with some types of equipment.
• Heat and cold (see discharge table below for discharge rate variations)
• GreaseMax units with grease may be mounted in any position. Movement is OK but brackets may be required to support the unit. For oil filled units see section 4.5.
4.1 GreaseMax discharge rates
• GreaseMax is designed to operate at an average environmental temperature of 250C. The discharge rates and operating period of GreaseMax will be different if the average temperature is different. The following tables gives details.
*click to enlarge.
Temperature variations above or below 250C over a short period of time will have little or no affect on the overall life of GreaseMax. For example, periods of exceptionally hot or cold days.
4.2 Output pressure of GreaseMax
GreaseMax can develop a maximum discharge pressure of approximately 150 psi. In practice, the operating pressure is much lower than this as the pressure required to move grease into a rotating bearing, with the grease nipple removed, is not great. GreaseMax holds the output pressure virtually in equilibrium with grease way resistance.
A grease gun needs high pressure, principally to overcome the resistance of the grease nipple. It also has to get grease into a stationary bearing, which can require a lot of pressure in some instances.
GreaseMax has enough pressure to move grease through 2 metres of extension line. See below for details.
4.3 Affect of bearing and grease way pressure
GreaseMax builds up discharge pressure to the point where fundamentally a balance exists between the resistance of the grease way and the output pressure of the GreaseMax. For example, if GreaseMax is activated and allowed to discharge without
being placed on a bearing, the full operating period will be taken before the unit is empty. If GreaseMax is activated and placed on a grease-way requiring pressure GreaseMax will build up to this pressure and then discharge according to its’ normal operating period. GreaseMax adjusts to grease way resistance, but does not rely on this resistance to control its' operation.
GreaseMax will maintain the pressure balance. If something occurs to change the grease way resistance then GreaseMax will automatically adjust its' discharge pressure to accommodate this change.
4.4 Installation with extension lines
GreaseMax may be used with extension lines supplied by DIS for remote positioning. Extension lines are also useful for installations where extreme movement or shock loadings may be applied to the GreaseMax. In this case, mount the GreaseMax firmly in a bracket (which DIS can supply) and feed the lubricant into the bearing via tubing.
Note: It is possible to install GreaseMax on longer feed lines than the above. For proposed installations outside these limits consult DIS for specialist advice.
All extension lines MUST be pre-filled with lubricant. We recommend only nylon extension lines, so that the condition of the lubricant can always be observed.
4.5 Oil units
GreaseMax can be used with a variety of oils for lubrication of bushes, slides, chains, conveyors, -for example to lubricate the undersides of steel slat type conveyors used in applications such as bottle manufacturing and so on.
GreaseMax oil units should be mounted with the outlet upwards or preferably used with a control valve (Part Number GF16000) to prevent the oil draining out if the outlet is downwards or if the GreaseMax oil unit is feeding an extension line, particularly if the extension line feeds vertically upwards.
Chain lubrication: GreaseMax can efficiently and economically lubricate chains of all types. You will need to use 115 oil which has special tacky additives for use on chains, slides etc. and some fittings: a control valve, a bracket, a brush and possibly a flexible extension line. A full list of GreaseMax product codes and fittings is on the Fittings page.
Ideally GreaseMax should be used in conjunction with the plant maintenance schedule. This minimises the time taken for lubrication and ensures that an orderly change over of expired units takes place.
GreaseMax are designed to have a small service life overrun to prevent damage to bearings if the changeover date is not accurately kept. For example, a type 3 unit, at normal temperature, will operate for 100 days, which is of course 9 days more than the 91 day average for 3 consecutive months.
We recommend that time is not spent checking for the piston to appear in the cone of the unit after expiry of the scheduled time. It is far more economical to change the units on a fixed schedule, even if a small amount of grease remains. In any event the costs and savings are calculated on set time periods, and the cost in time of attempting to exceed these periods with the resulting requirement for very regular checking is more than the value of the small amount of lubricant remaining.
GreaseMax is designed so that the piston will first become visible as a silver ring in the plastic end cone when there is approximately 10% of lubricant remaining. This is to give a visual forward warning of expiry. GreaseMax will continue to operate until all lubricant is expelled. At this point all of the piston is visible.
Caution: When using Moly grease in GreaseMax the piston may not be visible at expiry. (This is due to the opacity of the grease).
GreaseMax uses only very high grade lubricants chosen for their performance and suitability for use in GreaseMax.
A full range of greases and oils is available to cover all applications. Delta is able to assist customers with special lubrication requirements.
GreaseMax standard lubricants:
Full lubricant specification sheets are available on request.
An identification code for the grease type and production batch is impressed into the GreaseMax label. The activating cap is colour coded according to the operating period.
- Lubricant type: GreaseMax has a 3 digit numeric code, which corresponds with the lubricant code (see table above).
- The other 2 letter group is a production code (month and year as mmyy).
- Operating Period: The GreaseMax activator screw (in the base of the
There are no hard and fast rules for selecting the type of GreaseMax to be used on any given application. Every bearing is different, the variety of operating conditions is unlimited and other factors need to be taken into account such as wear, seal condition, moisture presence, heat, etc. However the following can be taken as a guide:
• For shaft sizes greater than 160mm, use one or more GreaseMax coupled together.
• If moisture, severe dirt or dust, wear, heavy vibration or other factors are present, consideration should be given to using a quicker acting GreaseMax.
Additionally, the following "rule of thumb" may prove helpful:
In terms of strokes per day from a small hand grease gun, output approx. 0.6cc per stroke, the GreaseMax discharge is roughly equivalent to:
GreaseMax and the lubricants used in it have a shelf life of 2 years. The units should be installed within this period to ensure optimum performance. A date of manufacture appears on the side of GreaseMax as a 4 digit number representing month and year as mmyy.
GreaseMax will improve plant personnel safety by reducing the need to visit hazardous plant and equipment to lubricate. When properly installed, it is possible to change GreaseMax without stopping moving machinery, saving on down time.
GreaseMax, made in Germany, is a safe product. Both the production and the GreaseMax unit have safety certification from the German and world wide TüV safety organisation. The following TüV certification symbols are licenced for use on GreaseMax:
GreaseMax has been tested as required by all the relevant statutory German Safety Authorities and approved for both manufacturing and mining, including underground coal mining, without restriction. Further details are available on request.
GreaseMax uses a small quantity of 28% solution of potassium hydroxide as part of its operation. For this reason it is important that the activating cap is not loosened or removed after the GreaseMax is placed in service. The screw cap is designed to prevent liquid under pressure exiting the unit. If this does occur wash any affected skin areas with water and refer to the MSDS. Note that it is not possible for the liquid to escape unless the unit is deliberately cut open or opened as above. Internally the steel piston has rubber seals so that in the unlikely event that the neoprene diaphragm is damaged the liquid cannot escape into the lubricant .
GreaseMax is designed to partially release the plastic cone from the metal body when discharge pressure exceeds 150 psi. This is to prevent continued pressure build up to dangerous levels.
Should a GreaseMax be observed in this state immediate maintenance is required as this situation is generally caused by blockages of the grease ways by old grease.
Expired GreaseMax should placed in the industrial waste or recycled. Pressure is retained for a period after the service life is completed and this, combined with good housekeeping, means they should not be left lying around. GreaseMax does not contain any item which precludes burial in land fill either according to law or according to good environmental practice. They may be recycled but the method should be chosen with care as GreaseMax should not be opened because of the residual pressure that remains for a period after expiry and as they contain a small quantity of caustic solution.
GreaseMax is manufactured to the highest quality standards. The manufacturer as well as Delta is committed to providing the best product of this type together with the best technical support and training of personnel. As part of this commitment we will not introduce any element into the design of GreaseMax which can contribute to unreliability, such as electrical or mechanical components, plastic bodies, or by reducing components or using cheaper material including lubricants, to save on production costs.
1 How do I know GreaseMax is working, when the position of the piston can't be seen?
The GreaseMax design is fail safe; the starter cap cannot be screwed in without turning the activator screw down, which in turn can only break the seals and release the controlling element into the chemicals. The only possible result then is the production of gas which must push the piston forward and the lubricant out. The gas is retained in a gas tight neoprene bag and also as part of the fail safe design by the gas tight seals on the piston and the double O-rings on the starter cap.
However, to be assured, check the following:
• Simply feel the bearing temperature if safe to do so, or use a thermometer.
• A fresh discharge of grease around the seals will be visible when GreaseMax is operating.
2 If I have a worn bearing will GreaseMax discharge faster?
3 Does the orifice size affect the discharge rate?
4 Is a 12 month GreaseMax larger than a 1 month?
5 The plant is regularly stopped, for example at the week end. Will this create a problem with over greasing?
GreaseMax is able to maintain a fine balance of pressure and if the plant is stopped for short periods, for instance at the week end, the resistance of the grease way is increased. This will temporarily stop GreaseMax. When the plant starts again, the grease will be released into the moving bearing. (Eventually GreaseMax would build enough pressure to move grease into the stopped bearing).
6 Will the 120 grams of grease in the GreaseMax be enough?
Providing the correct GreaseMax is chosen to begin with, the output will be sufficient. An additional benefit is that the plant will remain much cleaner!
7 For our application, GreaseMax output is not sufficient, even with a 1 month unit.
8 Can we use one GreaseMax to feed two or more lines?
9 We took the unit off and nothing came out!
This is the most common "complaint" or misunderstanding with this product.
If GreaseMax is applied to a bearing with little or no grease way resistance (which is common) and GreaseMax is unscrewed, nothing should come out, except at A VERY SLOW RATE. Remember, GreaseMax operates in equilibrium with resistance.
If GreaseMax is operating under a lot of pressure, when removed this pressure will be lost.
(Note: when first installed there is no problem with the time taken to accumulate pressure as the internal volume in the expansion diaphragm is fully taken up with liquid so pressure develops quickly).
11 Why doesn't GreaseMax have a transparent body?
The disadvantage of course is that the progress of the piston can’t be seen but the advantages in terms of the performance and reliability of the unit far outweigh the disadvantages.
12 We think it is better to manually inspect the bearings while greasing
13 Why isn’t GreaseMax adjustable?
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*click photo for details.
