Air grease gun

Anyone had an experience with air operated grease guns? I've been using a hand operated one for many years, and a few weeks ago decided to try out the air one. Makes sense-you have less work to do and let the air do it for you. So I tried a "cheap" one at Harbor Freight. Knowing fully there's a wide range from pretty good stuff to absolute crap at that store, and you have to know what you're getting, or it'll turn out to be those "use-it once" tool and it either breaks or is too flimsy to spend time on it. Well, the gun might have been in the latter category. I played around with it for a couple of hours, trying to get it to work. After taking it apart and analyzing how it worked, I concluded the rubber "plunger" did not want to slide inside the cardboard section of the tube of grease. So I cleaned it up and returned the unit.

Just recently I decided to try a more "expensive" one, so picked up Sear's best, with the "continuous flow" feature. (Yea, right). Anyway, same deal here, the plunger just would not go inside the cartridge tube to push the grease into the air pumper part. Yet, on my hand operated one it does. Weird. So I return that one as well. I read both directions on both units on priming, etc, but still no good.

So am I missing something, or is there a trick?

Reply to
wa7ycp
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Hi, Even tho I have a good compressor, air grease gun is something I am hesitant to own. It can blow seals on delicate work. I use manual one.

73, Tony, VE6CGX
Reply to
Tony Hwang

Could your grease tubes be a non-standard size?

I really can't think of any other reason for both failures.

Maybe some one else can help us both here.

Reply to
Colbyt

Reply to
Don Young

I think you forgot to break the seal to the gease tube spout. But then you had been using hand operated grease guns for years. Any liklihood of the seal thingy? I don't have any problem using my $20 pneumatic applicatior to apply silicone seal.

Reply to
PaPaPeng

To me the only advantage of an air-powered one is they are usually one-handed. Maybe try a pistol-grip manual gun, they let you hold the hose on the fitting with one hand and operate the gun with the other.

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Reply to
RayV

Don, I can't image putting the tube in backwards, in the fact the

*only* way the plunger will slide in is from the "raw" end with the pull-off cap. If you put in the pull tab towards the plunger it would never "clear" that, because the metal "ring" is smaller than the "raw" end. Also the metal ring end is what "seals" against the "top" end so the grease doesn't uz out. In fact on my hand gun, that's the way you prime it. Apon screwing the unit back together, you don't tighten it all the way; there's a little air hole at the top; letting the air out, while the plunger works it's way up the tupe. Then when there's grease coming out the little hole, then you tighten up the tube, and that metal end "squishes" against the inside top end and seals it. If you reverse the tube that "raw" cardboard end would crush.

Oh another trick and observation, lots of times a new tube will have a ding or two on the metal part and needed a good seal (at discribed above) I "smooth" the rim with a blunt object, such as the butt end of a screwdrive (handle). BTW the metal end's normally aluminum, so I assume it's suppost to squish for that reason (for the seal).

I forgot to mention I accually have two manual guns, one's that 'old famialir big lever on the side, and the other one's a hand grip, both which work fine over the years.

Keep 'em coming.

Reply to
wa7ycp

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