Choosing the right grease for your industrial application can optimise equipment resistance to friction and wear, increase component lifespans, reduce downtime and save significant operational costs. But how do you choose the right grease for your industrial application?
At Oil & Energy, we design consolidated solutions for a variety of industry applications – including yours. We’re here to help you understand how to choose the right grease for your industry and equipment.
Matching the grease for the application
When choosing your grease, you’ll need to consider:
Operating temperature
Excessive temperatures can affect the grease’s structure, making it soften and flow away from bearing surfaces. High temperatures can lower resistance to oxidation and carbonisation.
Speed
Usually, high-speed bearings have low loads and require low viscosity. When viscosity is too high, it’ll result in excess internal heat generation and an increased consumption of energy.
Load
When operating under high loads, it’s crucial to choose a grease able to provide an adequate protective layer to support bearings. Typically for high load, low-speed applications, a higher viscosity base oil is needed.
Exposure to corrosive environments
The right grease will protect bearing surfaces from deterioration and help to prevent corrosion and contamination. When choosing the grease for your industrial application, consider how corrosive the operational environment will be.
Maintenance intervals
Over time, base oils and additives can deplete and reduce protection for bearing surfaces. When matching a grease to your application, it’s important to consider the required maintenance intervals to replenish the grease.
Cleanliness requirements
For particular industries (particularly pharmaceutical and food industries), equipment must satisfy certain requirements that are enforced by regulatory agencies. When selecting your grease, it’s important to consider whether it will abide by those requirements.
Common types of grease:
Lithium grease
Lithium grease is the most commonly used grease across the globe, due to its suitability for a multitude of applications. It’s best for conditions when operating temperatures and loads are moderate, and is used widely for wheel bearings and chassis, compressors, fans, pumps and electric products. At Oil & Energy, we’re proud providers of premium Phillips 66 lithium greases, suitable for a range of industrial applications.
Lithium complex soap greases
When compared to traditional lithium grease, lithium complex greases have improved properties, resulting in enhanced pumpability and thermal stability. Lithium complex greases, like the Phillips 66 Multiplex 600, are suitable for use across a wide range of temperatures and loads. We stock a wide range of Phillips 66 lithium complex greases, which you can shop here.
Calcium sulfonate soap grease
Compared to most multi-purpose greases, calcium sulfonate soap greases have excellent thermal stability, water resistance and load-carrying capabilities. Calcium sulfonate greases also have impressive corrosion protection in both fresh and salt-water environments. Oil & Energy are suppliers of a range of Phillips 66 Calcium Sulfonate greases, used across a range of automotive, agricultural, food, mining and steel mill applications – you can view the whole range here.
Polyurea based greases
Due to its excellent thermal and shear stability, polyurea greases are most commonly used in high-speed applications for electric motor bearings. These greases have lower load carrying capabilities and reduced corrosion protection, however – making them unsuitable as a multi-purpose grease. If your application requires a grease capable of performing under high speeds, we stock a range of premium Phillips 66 Polyurea greases.
Aluminium complex soap greases
With excellent oxidation and water resistance, aluminium complex soap greases are most commonly used for food-grade applications – however, they do have low thermal resistance, so aren’t ideal across all industries. Oil & Energy are preferred dealers of the new Phillips 66 Food Machinery Grease – you can view the range here.
Molybdenum grease
Molybdenum grease contains molybdenum disulfide as an additive. This grease is an ideal option for industrial and speciality applications that involve a lot of oscillating movement and frequent starting and stopping. Oil & Energy stocks the new Phillips 66 Moly Low Temp Grease for its suitability for specialty applications.
Bentonite clay thickened grease
Bentonite grease performs impressively for applications that involve very high temperatures, and is capable of retaining its structure when traditional multi-purpose greases would melt and fail. Bentonite grease does, however, have poor resistance to corrosion and low speed performance, which limits its suitability across applications.
While there is a lot to consider when choosing the right grease for your application, doing so will save your business in terms of downtime, money and maintenance. Let Oil & Energy find a solution for you – reach out to our consultant team today on 1800 015 580 or get in touch here.
