What Kind of Grease for Mower Fittings?

Basics of Fittings

• Every moving part that needs regular lubrication has a grease fitting, sometimes known as a zerk. The fitting has a ball valve inside of the tip that keeps grease from squirting out; but when a grease gun is used and pressure is applied to the top, grease will squeeze past the ball valve and lubricate the areas beyond it that need to be greased. Your lawnmower has a variety of different grease fittings that can be located by referring to the owner’s manual for your brand of mower.

All-Purpose Grease

• Because most residential lawnmowers are low-speed, low-use vehicles, they do not need high performance grease. Instead, you can use an all-purpose grease readily available at any local home improvement store. This is the same grease used for the gears on bicycles, to help lubricate U-joints in cars and tractors, as well as excavators and other heavy equipment.

High Performance Grease

• Not all greases are created equal; and if you are running a mower that sees high use, such as every day, you may want to use a high performance grease. These are specially designed greases that have additional components to help the grease withstand the higher heat levels of constant friction that heavy use incurs. They are also designed to last longer than all-purpose grease and are more expensive.

Marine Grease

• If you live in an area that experiences heavy moisture and salt water condensation in the air, you will want to use a marine grease rather than an all-purpose grease. It’s not that the all-purpose grease cannot do the job well enough on its own, but rather that marine greases are specifically designed to withstand the presence of salt water and heavy levels of moisture, which naturally create harsher conditions for metal.