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  • It’s important that you pay attention to the grease you are using in an application. Grease is made of three main components: Oil, Thickener and Additives. Greases are manufactured using several viscosities of Oil depending on the application it’s designed for such as high or low speed, heavily loaded applications or extreme shock loads. Since 80-90% of a cartridge of grease is oil, it’s critical to select a grease with the right base oil.

    We stock greases with base oils ranging from ISO 32 all the way up to ISO 680. Thickeners give grease the “stay put” characteristic and help hold the oil in suspension. The most common thickeners are Lithium Complex, Calcium Sulfonate, Aluminum Complex or Polyurea based. Some of these thickeners do not mix well including two of the most popular…Lithium and Polyurea Conventional. Mixing these two greases will result in a softening effect.

    Historically, Lithium greases were the choice of most bearing manufacturers and still is for some. However, most manufacturers have changed to Polyurea Shear Stable based greases. Polyurea Shear Stable is very compatible with other thickeners.

    Additives are added to enhance greases. Anti Wear (AW) and Extreme Pressure (EP) are two of the most common additives added to grease. These additives are put in place in the event the film strength of the oil is compromised. If you have questions about what grease is in a particular bearing, ask us!

    To help you from making these errors, we have a Grease Compatibility Chart on our website www.trywhisler.com which you can access or download. Go to the Resources page and look under Technical. You may also get a chart at our office. If you have any further questions, please call us at (303) 377-3444 or e-mail us at sales@trywhisler.com

    With Dan O’Brien, District Manager, Lubriplate