Grease..... and not the movie....

[Karl Card]

I have a baldor 7.5HP BALDOR 3450RPM 213T TEFC 1PH MOTOR L3709T

on my table saw. What type of grease should I look for to put grease in the grease or zirk fitting?

[Bill Dufour]

Probably none. Unless you want to remove the endcaps so the old grease can be cleaned away before running the motor. You say it has grease zerks. Does it also have drains/vents to allow the old grease out so it does not flood the centrifugal switch and windings? Often just a screw to remove before grease fill time.
Bill D

[Lisa Starr]

According to various sources, Baldor uses Mobil Polyrex EM grease initially, so
I'd use the same

[Tom M King]

EM is for electric motor

Screw the zerks out and see what it looks like. Probably won’t even need a half pump. You don’t want to put too much in. Best done by feel

[Tom M King]

While you have the zerks out, see if they will pass grease freely. If not, replace them with new ones.

[Jerry Bruette]

I wouldn't bother greasing the bearings unless as Bill said if there's a vent for the old grease to vent out. If the motor has the original bearings they are probably sealed. That doesn't mean you won't get any grease in them it just means you have to pump more in. Then you run the risk of grease getting into the windings and when the motor shorts you can buy a new motor. I don't think it's worth the price to grease them.

When Baldor builds their motors they buy bearings from some manufacturer. Those bearings come with grease in them already and it's he proper amount. You don't want too much grease in a bearing or it causes a condition called slushing. Slushing causes too much heat which breaks down the grease and causes premature failure of the bearing.

If you're still determined to grease the bearings any grease with a designation of EP2 will be good enough. Don't try to determine the type of grease by the color. The color of the grease in the bearing or the grease you buy means nothing. It's nothing more than a dye to make it look pretty.

[Tom M King]

Does the motor even have zerks on it? None of my Baldors do. I have one 1/4 hp Baldor that I bought cheap because the fan on it had been crushed on the TEFC motor. I needed it as a replacement in a 4 foot fan in the barn. Since it's inside the fan I figured there was a good chance it had enough circulation over it to make up for the crushed fan that I cut that part of the bent shaft off. I forget what year I bought it, but that fan gets cut on when it gets hot in the Spring and runs continuously until sometime into the Fall. I had my motor man put new bearings in it when I first picked it up.

I know it's run at least four Summers. It wore out one belt that I replaced but other than that it still runs smoothly.

[Brian Runau]

I have a baldor 7.5HP BALDOR 3450RPM 213T TEFC 1PH MOTOR L3709T

on my table saw. What type of grease should I look for to put grease in the grease or zirk fitting?

Is there a grease zerk on the motor? If yes, you want Baldor to tell you. You don't want to mix greases, this causes grease failure, motor failure. Brian

[Brian Runau]

I wouldn't bother greasing the bearings unless as Bill said if there's a vent for the old grease to vent out. If the motor has the original bearings they are probably sealed. That doesn't mean you won't get any grease in them it just means you have to pump more in. Then you run the risk of grease getting into the windings and when the motor shorts you can buy a new motor. I don't think it's worth the price to grease them.

When Baldor builds their motors they buy bearings from some manufacturer. Those bearings come with grease in them already and it's he proper amount. You don't want too much grease in a bearing or it causes a condition called slushing. Slushing causes too much heat which breaks down the grease and causes premature failure of the bearing.

If you're still determined to grease the bearings any grease with a designation of EP2 will be good enough. Don't try to determine the type of grease by the color. The color of the grease in the bearing or the grease you buy means nothing. It's nothing more than a dye to make it look pretty.

2nd vote slushing, like walking through water up to your knees or up to your chest. Resistance equals heat. Brian

[Alan Lightstone]

And now I can say that today I learned what a zerk is. Ah the things you learn in life.

[Rich Engelhardt]

And now I can say that today I learned what a zerk is. Ah the things you learn in life.

But - did you find out who invented the "Zerk"?


https://www.farmcollector.com/equipm...nufacture%20it.

[Bill Dufour]

Some machines use zerks but they expect you to pump oil into them. Using grease will gum up sliding ways and cause wear. A properly greased bearing has about 30% grease 70% air in the open space.
BilL D

[Jerry Bruette]

And now I can say that today I learned what a zerk is. Ah the things you learn in life.

Alan you've only scratched the surface. There are many types of zerks for different applications.

[Tom M King]

I keep assortments of both SAE and metric zerks in the mechanic shop. They need to be replaced more frequently than it seems like they out to.

[Edward Weber]

A properly greased bearing has about 30% grease 70% air in the open space.
BilL D

That is a very loose rule of thumb for "some" bearings.
There are far too many variables to guess about grease types and quantity. you need to follow the manufacturers specs in each situation.
While over greasing can be bad, it's typically less harmful than under greasing.

Just my 2 cents