Does the colour of grease matter? It's generally accepted that oil lubricates better than grease. So, why use grease? Most of the time we want to use grease because unlike oil - it stays in place! So, what kind of qualities should we be looking for in our grease?
Grease Qualities
Grease should be able to provide lubrication and reduce friction to prevent mechanical wear. It should protect the metal against rust and corrosion, and act as a barrier to seal out water and dirt. Grease should resist leakage and throw off, and during the course of useful life it should not stiffen or harden to resist motion. Grease needs to be compatible with seals and elastomers, and other construction material. As well as all these things, in specialized situations you could require your grease to be water resistant or perform in extreme pressure conditions.
Grease Colour
The colour of a grease does not matter. Grease colour does not contribute to any performance properties. The colour is a dye added during the blending process to ensure that the product has a consistent appearance from one batch to another.
We consistently see our customers remember and recognize grease based on its colour. This is great if the grease is meeting the requirements their equipment needs but this can make it difficult for people to try a new grease if it's not the colour they are used to.
Grease Components
So what gives grease the ability to do all that you need?
There are three main components in grease:
- Base oil (70%-90%)
- Thickener (5%-20%)
- Additives (0%-15%)
The thickener is the part that determines what type of grease you will have, ex: Lithium Complex, Calcium Sulfonate, or Polyurea.
These three components are varied depending on what types of properties you are looking for. For example to meet Caterpillar (CAT) requirements a grease should be formed from an ISO 220 base oil, with a calcium sulfonate thickener, with extreme pressure (EP) additives such as moly.
It's important to choose a grease that will work for the job you want to do.
If you ever have any questions about grease please call 1.800.463.0354 and speak to our Technical Specialist - Corey Foy.
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| HDEQ Moly EP Grease | Premium Plus Industrial | HI-LO Synthetic Blend | XPG-15 Synthetic HPM+LT |