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c/dredge-operators•wendy131wendy131•1mo ago

That old rule about greasing every 4 hours wrecked my bearings

My uncle Bob who ran a dredge on the Mississippi for 30 years swore by greasing the cutterhead bearings every 4 hours like clockwork. I followed his advice for 6 months straight on a job near Baton Rouge and burned through three sets of bearings. Turns out the manufacturer spec says every 8 hours minimum for our model and overgreasing just blows out the seals. Has anyone else had a old timer give them advice that cost them money?
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3 Comments
evan_green52
Did you check if the seals were the right type for that grease? Some old timers don't realize modern bearings use different grease than what they had back in the 70s.
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wesley_jones
wesley_jones1mo agoMost Upvoted
@evan_green52 nailed it. Most guys don't read the specs anymore.
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thomas_torres
Man that's a great point, a lot of people miss that.
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