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4 reasons over-lubrication of bearings is

bad
by InterflonUSA | May 15, 2019 | Industrial Lubrication | 0 comments

…and 5 ways to avoid it!

Mae West famously said, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”
Although we don’t know just what she was referring to, chances are pretty
good it wasn’t lubrication of bearings, because in this case, too much is just as
bad as not enough.

Over-lubrication of bearings is dangerous for a number of reasons. Read on to

learn more!

1. Lubricant churn
Many people believe that if some lubricant is good, then more must be better.
In fact, excess lubricant requires a machine to produce extra torque in order
to move bearings or gears at the required speed. (Why is this? Ask yourself
which is easier: walking through mud up to your ankles, or up to your knees?)
Extra torque results in the generation of excess heat, and heat destroys
lubricants before their time.

Every 10°C (18°F) rise in temperature above 65°C (150°F) cuts the service
life of lubricant in half. This means lubricant that would normally last one
month at 150°F will last only two weeks at about 168°, one week at 186°, and
just three or four days at 204° before it needs to be replaced or rejuvenated.
If an application is unknowingly over-lubricated, this means your lubricant
might be offering little or no protection for days or weeks without you even
knowing about it. The result: possible equipment failure, resulting in
expensive maintenance, replacement, and downtime.

1. Separation
Just how does excess heat destroy lubricant? One way is to cause the oil to
begin to separate from the thickener, which results in runout of the oil and
hardening of the thickener that remains.

As we explained in our article “What is the difference between oil and

grease?”, grease is oil with thickener added. The majority of lubrication
(depending on the type of thickener) is done by the oil. Imagine the oil running
out, carbonizing, or evaporating, leaving a stiff thickener behind. Lack of
lubrication from the base oil, plus the presence of the stiff thickener, will
cause major problems for your application. Imagine chunks of solid matter
knocking around inside your bearing, clogging up the track, and you’ll get the
idea.

1. Seal failure
Traditional wisdom has always been to apply grease from a gun until you see
it start to emerge from the other end of the application, or when you feel the
pressure pushing back too hard to add any more. In fact, this method
practically ensures over-lubrication. In addition to the above-mentioned
issues, the pressure generated by too much grease can cause seals on
bearings to rupture, which in turn causes leakage, and ultimately failure due
to lubricant starvation. Grease guns produce 2,000 psi or more, with high-
pressure grease guns delivering as much as 15,000 psi. The typical seal,
meanwhile, ruptures at a much lower pressure.

1. Electric motor failure

Electric motor bearing cavities are subject to the same vulnerabilities as
other bearings. Excess heat will cause separation, thickening, and runout. In
addition to this, the excess grease will end up between the stator and rotor of
the electric motor. There is simply no room for the excess grease to leave the
motor, which will cause damage.
Larger motors will have a purge hole opposite the grease nipple. Make sure
you check these holes and remove any protective cap.

So, how to avoid over-lubrication? We recommend the following techniques:

1. Calibrate your grease guns
Knowledge is power. The first thing you should do is make sure you know just
how much grease each gun emits per pump. You can do this by simply
measuring the amount of grease that comes out. If you want to take an
average, you can do ten pumps into a container and then divide the result by
ten. You can measure either by mass (weight) or volume, but ideally you will
do both.

For future applications, apply only the recommended amount of lubricant,

rather than simply adding until you can’t add any more. Your machine manual
will likely tell you just how much lubricant is required per application. Since
you know how much each gun produces per pump, you have removed the
guesswork and greatly reduced the likelihood of over-lubrication.

1. Keep lubrication records

It can be time-consuming to make notes on every single thing you do all day,
especially when you’re running from machine to machine with hardly enough
time for a lunch break. But this is a really important step, so it shouldn’t be
overlooked… and don’t forget, the end result is actually going to make your
life easier, not harder. We recommend that you set aside a segment of time
for lubrication checks, during which you focus exclusively on this task. Carry a
clipboard with you and record lubrication data as you go. Keep your clipboard
by your lube cabinet, and make sure all maintenance or lube techs at your
workplace know they must use it.

If you don’t have time to create your own lubrication log, just download ours
and print out as many copies as you need.

1. Use a vibration analyzer

Interflon USA recommends the use of analyzers that measure both heat and
noise to gauge whether an application has been suitably lubricated. These
precision instruments can tell immediately when your lubrication has reached
the optimum level, and provide you with instant feedback so you know when
to stop pumping. You can also use these tools to measure current lubrication
levels, so it’s easy to tell whether you need more lube or if you can hold off on
this round of scheduled lubrication. This is the most scientific and precise way
to avoid over-lubrication, so the expense of the analyzer is quickly offset by
how much money you’ll be saving on bearing replacements and lost
production.

For more information on our vibration analyzers, please call us at 877-FIN-

LUBE. We’ll be happy to connect you with a Technical Advisor who can meet
your needs in this area.

1. Use condition-based maintenance techniques

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is part of predictive maintenance
(PdM), and is a method of decision-making that relies on real-time
performance data, rather than a fixed timetable. Although CBM is a much
older method than PdM, it lends itself very well to new technologies.
Sometimes CBM refers to monitoring rather than maintenance. It is more
scientific than reactive maintenance (fixing things when they break) or
preventive maintenance (trying to guess when it will break and fixing it
beforehand). There is necessarily some overlap between CBM and PdM.

To learn more about how PdM works, check out our post called “What is
Predictive Maintenance?”

1. Use Math
The following formula can also be used to determine just how much grease
your bearing application requires:

Imperial (ounces):

G = 0.114 x D x B
G = amount of grease in ounces
D = bore diameter in inches
B = bearing width in inches

Metric (grams):

G = 0.005 x D x B

If you don’t care to crunch the numbers yourself, use this handy calculator
from Machinery Lubrication.

How can Interflon help?

Interflon manufactures high-performance lubricants with MicPol®, our
unique lubricant technology that provides the lowest possible friction, repels
water and particles, and possesses outstanding penetration. Our lubricants
last up to ten times longer than ordinary lubricants, and are known to
increase chain and bearing life by many times. This is no idle boast… check out
our case studies! Interflon products reduce your costs for lubrication,
maintenance, replacement, downtime, and energy.

To find out how Interflon can help your business save money and improve
performance, contact a Technical Advisor in your area or call us at (877) FIN-
LUBE.

For more reading:

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28664/dangers-of-
overgreasing-
https://www.maintworld.com/Applications/The-Three-Mistakes-of-Bearing-
Lubrication
https://www.bearingsinc.info/bearing-failure-due-to-over-lubrication.html
https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30520/understanding-
lubricant-churning
https://www.techenomics.net/2017/10/dangers-of-over-greasing/
 Search

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