greaseable or not??

[KillerShark]

When considering a new mower... shouldn't you get one with grease fittings on the spindles? There seems to be a lot of new ones that are claiming to be maintenance free (without a way to grease them). So whats the deal? Does it really matter?

[awm]

i think it depends on how long you expect your spindles to last. one lco in this area changes all his every other year
whether they are bad or not.if i was going to do it like that id rather have the ones you didnt have to fool with.
my preference is greasable to try an get as much time out of them as possible.

[geogunn]

but not everyone will agree on this. my lesco 48 belt is old as the hills and has the original spindle bearings. everyday (that I mow) they get a fresh shot of grease.

changing bearings is a pain I would think and there is the chance of the sudden break down with them while they are going down.

by the way--I knew a guy with a new KEES 48 wb and we were discussing that his spindle bearings were non-greasable. he said time was money and I was wasting time greasing mine everyday.

unfortunately for him he found out later that summer that his was the greasable kind also and that the fittings were UNDER the deck. HA!

GEO

[TJLC]

My old Exmark w/b is greaseable and my new one is non-greaseable. It's easier not to have to grease spindles, but I also wonder if this is better. Don't know, I guess time will tell.

[Eric ELM]

I have always thought greaseable spindle bearing were best. I have noticed that when you by new U joints for a car or truck, they are greaseable and they seem to last longer too, as long as you grease them.

[brandy]

Have bobcat ztr with non greasable spindles 2000 hours and haven't had any problems yet. This machine requires matienace every 50 hours which is really a nice feature.

[LeoS818]

I put a set of spindle bearings in one of our choppers last summer, and found they are sealed bearings. Doesen't seem to me that greasing them does much good.

[lawnman_scott]

Go with sealed bearings. evan the most maintanence consious person must forget or be too busy once in a while do keep up on things. Alot of deck bearings are sealed, and i havent had any problems with them.

[jasonp]

The way I look at it is if you grease them they will last if you dont they wont last. This is why I heard that exmark went to sealed bearings instead of greaseable bearings, it was giving them a bad name because people wouldnt grease them when they had grease fittings.So if you will grease them go with the mower that has grease fittings if your not the maitaince type go with the sealed bearings.

[Richard Martin]

Let me throw my opinion into the fray. To my knowledge there have been no reports here on Lawnsite about nongreaseable spindle bearing failures on any commercial machines. My Exmark has them and I haven't had a minute's trouble from them. I wouldn't even let this be a deciding factor in wether or not to buy a mower.

[MJH9]

Depending on your spindles and whether the bearings are sealed, tapered or roller style it will dictate whether you need to grease them or not. If they are not sealed, then you need to grease them. If they are sealed, how do you grease the bearings? Answer - you don't, the only thing you are accomplishing by pumping grease into that housing is preventing moisture condensation from forming. The advantage of a sealed bearing is that they are lube sealed and generally last the expected lifetime of the bearing (whatever that is). Keep in mind that any bearing that isn't sealed is a good candidate for contamination. Grease is just like a magnet and if you can't keep that area sealed from dust and other materials, your wear factor increases greatly.

Mow on

[racerdave]

Sealed spindle bearings are the way to go. Just remember that these bearings are not truly sealed. They will contain the grease inside the race and reduce the chance of dirt and grime contaminating the bearing. But they are not waterproof! If you are powerwashing your mower decks, you should stay clear of the spindles, or you will promote the chance of a bearing failure. From what I understand, most bearings actually fail from contamination or mislubrication, and even misapplication. less than 2% of bearings actually wear out.
david

[JJ Lawn]

To grease, or not to grease.....


Simple solution. Buy a Walker with a 48" GHS deck. Has gear box's that do not need to be greased. No more wasted time.

I have a deck that is 4 yrs old that has never lost a drop of gear oil. I have replaced the oil several times since I have had it, but it has never leaked out. We won't talk about my other deck. :)

Jim

[Grassman]

I prefer the nongreasable type. As for the others, grease or be greased! Russ

[Jason Pallas]

FYI - the sealed bearings are not truely sealed. I've rebuilt hundreds of spindles. Finally I went to a Big 3 OEM supplier for the auto industry and had a long talk with a bearing specialist/engineer. I needed to solve a couple of wear problems. Anyway, if you look at a spindle when you grease it, you'll see grease shoot through the dust cover on the "sealed" bearings - no good! This means that if grease can penetrate the "sealed" bearing's dust cover, so can harmful dirt and dust. Best solution - grease your bearings frequently and here's the biggest tip of the day: When rebuilding spindles, use the sealed bearing style BUT pop the dust cover out of the two inward facing sides of each bearing. This way, the grease penetrates better and can lube more effectively. BTW - those tapered roller bearings are the best style - unfortunately most bearings use the ball style. Hope this info helps.

[skyphoto]

I guess Im from the old school with no formal education on bearings but it seems to me if you can grease them its just gotta be better!!!

[65hoss]

I prefer non greasables. They have out lasted my greasable ones so far.