Types of Grease Gun

The basic duty of a grease gun is to help apply grease or lubricant into components quickly and easily. However, various models handle the task differently. So what are the types of grease guns? How do they work? Learning the information can help you get the most suitable grease gun type to enjoy a satisfying experience.

We have covered extensive information on cordless grease gun in this guide, including, usage of grease guns, types of grease guns, and their working ways of comparing each other. So, reading the article will help you pick the right type of grease gun.

What are Grease Guns?

Grease guns are a handy device for hobbyists, mechanics, and engineers that are used to apply grease to different moving parts. It is also used to lubricate many mechanical parts. It is mainly designed to produce lubricant under pressure in a tight place it would be trickier to reach without disassembly.

5 Different Types of Grease Guns

Pneumatic Grease Guns

It’s also known as an air pressure grease gun or pneumatic grease pump. This type of grease gun can quickly and easily deliver lubricant to bearings and a variety of mechanisms. Its unique feature is the gun gets pressure from an air compressor required to force lubricant into a bearing.

Using an air compressor, the operator needs to feed air pressure to the tools instead of depending on manual effort. That’s why the pneumatic grease gun is referred to as an automatic grease gun.

The pneumatic grease guns need to be connected to the air compressor via an air hose where one end of the hose remains attached to the grease gun and the other end connects with the compressor. After that, the pressure grease moves into the opening of the bearing void via the outlet nozzle.

This type of grease gun can deliver lubricant or grease with higher pressure than its manual or hand pump counterparts. Thus, the user can enjoy easier and quicker grease applications. However, the operator should be experienced in using such air tools, as operating the pneumatic tool incorrectly can cause component damage or injury.

Manual Grease Guns

Operating a manual grease gun is incredibly easier than using pneumatic grease guns. The reason is manual grease can be operated without connecting any external devices, like an air compressor to get pressure. This type of grease gun is also known as a lever grease gun. To operate this grease gun, the user needs to squeeze a piston or handle continuously to pass the lubricant out via the nozzle of the device.

The speed and level of pressure of lubrication depend on the force that the user applies through the handle. Thus, the operator won’t have the extreme pressure to flow lubricant compared to the pneumatic grease gun, making the grease gun time-consuming.

Hand Pump Grease Guns

Considering the operating system, both the hand pump grease gun and manual grease gun are pretty similar. But the key difference is the hand pump grease gun’s design, which has an additional trigger system. Especially the feature used to unlock the grease flow once the gun gets enough pressure via manual pumping. That is why hand pump guns are also preferred as pistol grip grease guns.

With this type of grease gun, the operator needs to work the piston lever to build up pressure, similar to the typical hand pump. After reaching the desired level of pressure, it needs to pull another trigger to convert the pressure into lubricant flow. It means you can have greater force using this hand pump type grease gun compared to the squeezing strength of people’s hands. Thus, many people consider this pistol grip grease gun over the manual or automatic type grease gun.

Battery-powered grease guns

The working system of battery-powered grease guns is quite the same as the other type of grease gun discussed above. The main difference is that it has onboard batteries that generate the necessary pressure to allow lubricant or grease to flow.

The working field of grease gun

Applying a grease gun to lubricate a bearing or joint ensures better accuracy. It also helps control the pressure and flow of a certain machine. The most common applying area of the grease gun is non-sealed bearings which need frequent lubricating.

A grease gun is also a common tool for various industries, including:

Auto maintenance
Factory, plant, and processing systems
Agricultural vehicles and equipment
Gardening and landscaping

Final words

A grease gun is a useful addition to the toolbox of any seasonal or professional enthusiast. So learning what are the types of grease guns can help get the most desired one and make the investment worthwhile. Throughout the guide, we have explained different types of grease guns and their working ways to help you get the most suitable one. I hope you find the information helpful.

See Also: