bearing grease

MH Hawker

Vice Admiral
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Jul 13, 2011
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I may as well ask what kind of grease ever one uses. I have been using the marine grade stuff from advance auto simply because the store is with in walking distance and I also use it on the motor grease points, so far no problems with that or their something better.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Re: bearing grease

I'm sure any quality water proof wheel bearing grease will work on boat trailer bearings. I've never had any problems my self...
 

bigdee

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Jul 27, 2006
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Re: bearing grease

Your fine. I use #2 white food grade aluminium complex industrial grease. At $20 a cartridge it is overkill but I have access to it for free.
 

ondarvr

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Apr 6, 2005
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Re: bearing grease

Your fine. I use #2 white food grade aluminium complex industrial grease. At $20 a cartridge it is overkill but I have access to it for free.



Food grade means little, we have products that are tested for similar applications (food contact ) and all it means is that it went through expensive testing and certification to show they didn’t have certain toxic ingredients. It just so happens they are identical to the normal products, but have added costs due to the testing.
 

bigdee

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Re: bearing grease

Food grade means little, we have products that are tested for similar applications (food contact ) and all it means is that it went through expensive testing and certification to show they didn?t have certain toxic ingredients. It just so happens they are identical to the normal products, but have added costs due to the testing.

Non-toxic is good for wildlife. Seriously though, I only use it it because it is available. The exposure and work load that a simple trailer bearing gets is miniscule compared to some of the applications that I have seen in industry. In the food industry it is amazing to see a unprotected, 3 phase,480 volt motor running while submerged under water or machinery being routinely sprayed with caustic chemicals and then rinsed off with high pressure water.
 

Frank Acampora

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Jan 19, 2007
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12,004
Re: bearing grease

Yep, Dee. I was in the food industry for years and the cleaning regimen (in good plants) is way beyond what you would do at home. Even with all stainless equipment and excellent maintenance, equipment failure is a common and expected occurrence.

Personally, I had picked up a case of industrial extreme duty grease for free. Believe it or not, I was walking past a truck depot and there it was just laying in the road.

When that ran out, I started buying Wal-Mart marine grade.
 

Bondo

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Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,468
Re: bearing grease

I'm sure any quality water proof wheel bearing grease will work on boat trailer bearings. I've never had any problems my self...

Ayuh,.... See Below,.... Grease, by it's very nature is pretty waterproof...
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ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
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Re: bearing grease

The reason food grade means little, is that it does not mean its better or needs to meet a performance standard, it only means that the ingredients probably don't contain high levels of certain potentially harmful products. The item, in this case grease, could be terrible without those key ingredients, but that is of no concern to the agency certifying the product, they only regulate what can be used in the product, not performance.
 

bigdee

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2,665
Re: bearing grease

The reason food grade means little, is that it does not mean its better or needs to meet a performance standard, it only means that the ingredients probably don't contain high levels of certain potentially harmful products. The item, in this case grease, could be terrible without those key ingredients, but that is of no concern to the agency certifying the product, they only regulate what can be used in the product, not performance.

Partly true....it depends on what you are buying.
After side by side comparisons for over 30 years I can document with P.M. data that the food grade grease out performed conventional grease in wet locations in the areas that were not required to be food grade. If it had not we would not have continued to use it. Ours was formulated to perform a certain criteria.
 

ondarvr

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11,527
Re: bearing grease

Yes , it depends on the product, there could be greases every bit as good, or better, than what was purchased for both of those applications, it depends on the criteria used to determine the correct product for that application.

Like any lubricant, the exact grease used can vary a great deal in performance and meet different performance specs as needed. Comparing lubricants by an ingredient based spec (limiting them) would have no bearing on its actual performance in the field, you are only saying what can't be in it.

So saying that all food grade products are better than "normal" products would be false, it has no bearing on performance.
 

90stingray

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Oct 26, 2010
Messages
1,162
Re: bearing grease

I use the "green grease" <-- that's what it is called and the color. Great, sticky, tacky, synthetic, waterproof stuff. I get it at Advance Auto Parts.
 

Bondo

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Re: bearing grease

So saying that all food grade products are better than "normal" products would be false, it has no bearing on performance.

Ayuh,...... ;)
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oldjeep

Admiral
Joined
May 17, 2010
Messages
6,455
Re: bearing grease

I use the red Marine grease that they sell at O'Reilly. Don't remember the brand, but I like it because it is pretty obvious if you get any contaminants in it.
 

BoatNoobie

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
314
Re: bearing grease

My hubs come prefilled with Lucas Marine Grease. Seems to work ok.
 
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