2/9/2021 Step-by-Step Grease Selection

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Step-by-Step Grease Selection

Noria Corporation

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How do you know if you’re using the right grease? You might be using a high-quality grease.

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2/9/2021 Step-by-Step Grease Selection

You may have put a lot of effort and money into selecting the best quality grease in the pursuit of
lubrication excellence. But don’t confuse the quality of the lubricant with the quality of the
speci cation.

Considering this lubricating oil analogy, the best quality turbine oil would most likely not make a good
engine oil.

Most users are aware of the importance of selecting the right lubricant for a given application. When it
comes to selecting lubricating oils for manufactured equipment, it’s easy to determine which products
meet the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) requirements.

OEM speci cations for a lubricating oil normally include viscosity at operating or ambient temperature,
additive requirements, base oil type and even special considerations for different environmental
conditions. Grease speci cations, on the other hand, often lack the detail necessary to make a proper
selection, leaving it up to the lubrication engineer to create the speci cation.

A common OEM grease speci cation might be to use an NLGI (National Lubrication Grease Institute)
No. 2 lithium grease of good quality. Using this information alone, one could select the right
consistency and thickener type. A similar speci cation for an oil-lubricated application would be to use
a “good quality lubricating oil.” What?!

Due to the lack of speci city in most grease recommendations, it is important to learn how to properly
select greases for each application in the plant.

Proper grease speci cation requires all of the components of oil selection and more. Other special
considerations for grease selection include thickener type and concentration, consistency, dropping
point and operating temperature range, worked stability, oxidation stability, wear resistance, etc.

Understanding the need and the methods for appropriate grease selection will go a long way toward
improving lubrication programs and the reliability of lubricated machinery. Let’s walk through the
grease selection process step by step, starting with the most important property.

Base Oil Viscosity

The most important property of any lubricant is viscosity. A common mistake when selecting a grease
is to confuse the grease consistency with the base oil viscosity. Because the majority of grease-
lubricated applications are element bearings, one should consider viscosity selection for those
applications.

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While most would not use an EP 220 gear oil for an oil-lubricated electric motor bearing, many people
will use a grease containing that same oil for an identical grease-lubricated bearing. There are several
common methods for determining minimum and optimum viscosity requirements for element
bearings, most of which use speed factors, commonly denoted as DN or NDm.

Speed factors account for the surface speed of the bearing elements and are determined by the
following formulas:

DN = (rpm) * (bearing bore) and

NDm = rpm * (( bearing bore + outside diameter) / 2)

The NDm value uses pitch diameter rather than bore diameter because not all bearings of a given bore
have the same element diameter, and thus have different surface speeds. Knowing the speed factor
value and likely operating temperature, the minimum viscosity requirement can be read directly from
charts like Figure 1.

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Figure 1. (Courtesy of ExxonMobil)

Figure 1 assumes the base oils’ viscosity index. To be more precise, one would need to use a chart
that identi es the viscosity at operating temperature, then determine the viscosity grade from a
viscosity/temperature chart for a given lubricant.

Additives and Base Oil Type

Once the appropriate viscosity has been determined, it’s time to consider additives. The additive and
base oil types are other components of grease that should be selected in a fashion similar to that
used for oil-lubricated applications. For instance, a lightly loaded high-speed element bearing does not
require extreme pressure (EP) additives or tackifying agents, while a heavily loaded open gear set
does.

Most performance-enhancing additives found in lubricating oils are also used in grease formulation
and should be chosen according to the demands of the application. Figure 2 shows some common
additive requirements by application. Most greases are formulated using API Group I and II mineral oil
base stocks, which are appropriate for most applications.

However, there are applications that might bene t from the use of a synthetic base oil. Such
applications include high or low operating temperatures, a wide ambient temperature range, or any
application where extended relubrication intervals are desired.

Additive Journal Bearings Ball Bearings Thrust Bearings Roller BearingsNeedle Bearings
We
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Antifoam Agents • • • • •
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Antiwear/EP   • • • •
Rust Inhibitors • • • • -
Extreme Pressure     - -  
Demulsibility • • • • -
VI Improvers - - - - •
Corrosion Inhibitors • • • • •
• Required, - Depends on application
Figure 2

Grease Consistency and Thickener Type

Now for that extra step: The consistency of grease is controlled by the thickener concentration,
thickener type and the viscosity of the base oil. Even though base oil viscosity affects consistency, it is
important to note that a grease can have a high consistency and a low base oil viscosity or vice versa.

The NLGI has established a scale to indicate grease consistency which ranges from grades 000
(semi uid) to 6 (block grease). The most common NLGI grade is two and is recommended for most
applications.

For bearings, speed factor and operating temperature can be used to determine the best consistency
or NLGI grade for a given application. It may seem counterintuitive, but higher speed factors require
higher consistency greases. Table 1 provides a general guide to selecting NLGI grade based on speed
factor and operating temperature.

Operating
DN (Speed Factor) NLGI No.*
Temperature
0 - 75,000 1
-30 to 100°F 75,00 - 150,000 2
150,000 - 300,000 2
0 - 75,000 2
0 to 150°F 75,00 - 150,000 2
150,000 - 300,000 3
0 - 75,000 2
100 to 275°F 75,00 - 150,000 3
150,000 - 300,000 3
*Depends on other factors as well, including bearing type, thickener type, base oil viscosity and base
oil type
Table 1
Numerous types of grease thickeners are currently in use, each with its own pros and cons. The most
common types are simple lithium soaps, lithium complex and polyurea. Simple lithium soaps are often
used in low-cost general-purpose greases and perform relatively well in most performance categories
at moderate temperatures.

Complex greases such as lithium complex provide improved performance particularly at higher
We encourage
operating temperatures. you upper
A common to read our updated
operating Privacy
temperature limit for aPolicy Hidegrease
simple lithium
might be 250°F, while that for a lithium complex grease might be 350°F. Another thickener type that is
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becoming more popular is polyurea.

Like lithium complex, polyurea has good high-temperature performance as well as high oxidation
stability and bleed resistance. Thickener type should be selected based on performance requirements
as well as compatibility when considering changing product types.

Performance Properties
Once the appropriate base oil viscosity, additive requirements and consistency have been determined,
the remaining criteria to consider are the performance properties.

This is where the grease quality factors in. Grease performance properties include many of the same
properties used for lubricating oils, as well as others exclusive to grease. Properties exclusive to
grease include dropping point, mechanical stability, water washout, bleed characteristics and
pumpability.

The most important performance properties are determined by the application. If an application
operates continuously at room temperature, properties like dropping and upper operating temperature
limits are not as important.

If an application operates under heavy loads at low speeds, load carrying tests such as four-ball EP or
Timken OK load should be considered. It is important to remember that greases, like oils, have a
careful balance of properties. A product may excel in one category and perform poorly in another.

For this reason, it is important to weigh each property’s signi cance relative to the intended
applications to select the best overall t.

Sometimes while trying to consolidate lubricants, it is easy to overconsolidate. Over time, this can lead
to inaccurate lube speci cations. A generic oil spec, including performance properties, should be
con gured for each lubricated point in the plant.

Armed with this generic speci cation, it is easy to select the right product no matter what brand is
preferred. It is also important to review these speci cations on a periodic basis to guard against
speci cation creep.

While improving a lubrication program can be a tough job, lubricant speci cation is relatively easy.
Armed with a little bit of knowledge and a few widely available tools, it is possible to rest easier
knowing that the right grease is being used.

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