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Choose the right auto lube components
Selecting the right components for your auto lube system is essential. Graco has the pumps, metering devices and lubrication controllers to meet the needs of your equipment: small, large, or giant.
An auto lube (automatic lubrication) system, also known as a centralized lubrication system, supplies predetermined volumes of lubricating grease or oil to critical points throughout a piece of equipment. It plays a critical role in keeping all sorts of equipment up and running, from small to massive equipment, from light-duty construction applications to heavy-duty mining applications.
Auto lube systems are made up of a few key components. The three main ones are pumps, metering devices and controllers.
On-vehicle and heavy-equipment automatic oil and grease pumps help to reduce unplanned downtime and maintenance costs. This is because auto lube systems provide consistent lubrication on a more frequent basis than manual techniques. Too little lubrication creates heat and wear. Too much lubrication creates drag, which in turn creates heat and causes wear, as well as damaging seals. Graco grease and oil pumps deliver the right amount of lubricant at the right time.
Selecting the right metering devices will also help keep your equipment running smoothly. They allow you to easily dispense lubricants to every point — you decide where and when. Graco (series progressive) valves and injectors are designed for a wide range of configurations, outlets and dispense volumes to lubricate multiple-sized bearings to help minimize equipment downtime.
By optimizing lubrication intervals with controllers you can take total control of the whole auto lube process. The Graco GLC™ Series of controllers capture and deliver more information, allowing for faster, smarter decisions. Easy to understand and easy to update, this family of automatic lubrication controllers helps increase productivity. Control your system from the palm of your hand with the GLC X Controller and Graco Auto Lube™ app.
How to select an auto lube system per size of equipment
Each type of equipment has different lubrication requirements. So you need to specify an auto lube system that will properly supply the correct amounts of lubricant to each lubrication point at the correct time intervals. Proper machinery lubrication is essential to keeping your operation running smoothly.
Auto lube systems for compact-sized equipment
Smaller equipment such as compact wheel loaders, compact backhoes, skid steers, compact tractors and compact telehandlers benefit from smaller, compact auto lube systems. Space constraints mean that your lubrication system has to be compact enough to mount appropriately on the equipment but powerful enough to supply adequate volumes to critical lubrication points. Smaller series progressive grease divider valves make the perfect fit for compact equipment.
Auto lube systems for medium-sized construction equipment
Equipment such as medium wheel loaders, dump trucks, medium dozers, medium excavators, articulated and rigid frame trucks, and directional drills typically demand a slightly larger than compact system in order to deliver the lubricant most efficiently. So you want to consider an auto lube system with progressive divider valves, and pump reservoirs capable of holding enough grease for the equipment to run an average of 250 hours. Auto lube systems of this size are small enough to fit well into the equipment but powerful enough to meet demanding construction applications. The return on investment is typically fast.
Auto lube systems for large/giant quarry, aggregates and cement equipment
In this category we are talking about equipment such as large excavators, large-wheel loaders, sizeable dozers, off-highway trucks and track drills sized for quarry operations. Not surprisingly, these require larger auto lube system components than typical construction-sized equipment. Make sure you specify a pump capable of holding enough grease in the reservoir to last an average of 250–500 hours. One benefit of large systems like this is their auto-fill shut-off valve attached to the pump so that the reservoir can be filled at ground level, which eliminates the need to climb the equipment. Auto lube systems reduce downtime, which is essential to a profitable quarry operation. The return on investment typically equates to the cost of just one or two pin replacements.
Auto lube systems for mega-sized mining equipment
Mining is a high-contamination application, meaning an auto lubrication system is critical to reduce grease contamination. The biggest category of off-road mobile equipment throughout the world is mining equipment. Equipment in this category includes gigantic and extra-large loaders, super excavators, shovels, mining trucks and blasthole drills. This type of equipment demands the largest heavy-duty auto lube systems in the marketplace. Make sure your pump reservoir can hold enough grease for the machine to run at least 500 hours. Auto-fill shut-off valves are even more essential on mega mining equipment in order to safely fill the grease pump reservoir from the ground, through a remote fill manifold.
Graco keeps your equipment up and running!
As a world-class provider of automatic lubrication equipment, Graco has the pumps, metering devices and lubrication controllers to meet the needs of your equipment, large or small.
To streamline the sales process, we have eliminated system design and created a quick-to-spec, quick-to-quote and quick-to-sell solution. Visit graco.com/yikselector to find an automatic lubrication kit for your piece of heavy equipment.
Free On-Demand Webinar | Why Automatic Lubrication?
Inadequate lubrication significantly increases the risk of machinery failure. In fact, studies show that more than 50% of bearing and equipment failures are the result of improper lubrication -too little or too much grease at inconsistent intervals.
Learn more about the benefits of automatic lubrication and why now is the right time to upgrade your equipment during a 45 minute webinar that covers:
- Lubrication fundamentals
- Increasing your operation’s productivity
- Maintaining operator safety and cost reduction
- How to calculate the ROI of an automatic lubrication system
- Choosing the right system for your operations, markets, etc.
- And lots more
