Pick and load grease cartridges that prime the first time. Spot cartridge “polarity,” avoid side-stored or heat-slumped tubes, and load your grease gun properly to prevent messy air gaps.
Why do some grease guns prime right away, and others leave you taking apart the head and cleaning grease off your hands? In this short, practical guide, we show precisely how to choose and load grease cartridges so your gun primes on the first pull.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Cartridge polarity explained: which end is “up” and which end goes into the gun (the aluminum pull-tab end is the down end; the plastic slip-off cap is the up end).
Why side-storage and heat cause grease to slump and create an air gap that prevents priming.
A simple loading sequence: remove the tab, insert the tabbed end first, slide the cartridge until it seats in the pump head, follow your gun’s directions — test with one quick pump.
Quick checks you can do at the store or garage to avoid buying or using a bad cartridge.
WHY THIS MATTERS
An air gap between grease and the pump head = air introduced into the pump = a non-priming gun and a messy, time-consuming fix. Do these quick checks and you’ll save time and frustration.
QUICK STEP CHECKLIST
1. Inspect cartridge orientation — find the aluminum pull tab (down). 2. Avoid cartridges stored on their side or left in heat. 3. Remove the pull tab, insert the tabbed end first into the barrel. 4. Slide the cartridge fully until it seats in the pump head. 5. Follow your grease gun instructions and give a test pump — the gun should prime immediately.
We use LockNLube grease guns and accessories. The guns have primed the first time every time, and their proprietary grease coupler grips onto a zerk fitting, freeing up your hand to use the gun with two hands!
Check out our review of their pistol grip LNL153 Pistol Grip Gun here:
LockNLube also offers a lever handle version grease gun, their LNL151. See what we think about it here:
COMING SOON!
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JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from
dirtfrj.com.
You like to take care of your own uh
vehicles and equipment around the place,
including greasing them. But do you know
that there's a little known secret about
the condition of the grease even before
you buy it? Stay tuned and I'll tell you
what it is.
[Music]
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay from dirtfrj.com.
like you, I like taking care of my own
equipment, and I like using, in this
case, I like the red tacky greases, but
you may have your own favorite. But
there's kind of an insider tip that's
important to know to asssure that you
get grease in great condition that will
load properly in your grease gun, and
that is how it is stored. What kind of
difference would that make? Well, let me
just really quickly show you how these
cartridges are oriented in the grease
gun and whether or not it's going to
introduce air when you are priming the
grease gun. So, on these right here, uh
you're always going to have a
convenience cap and you can't really
count on the labeling or the printing to
know what is top and bottom. Although,
in these particular two cases, it's
correct. So, as I read them just like
this, this is the top where the
convenience cap is. And wherever you
have that pull tab, that is the bottom.
And that is the end that's going to go
up into the cartridge or up into the
barrel of the grease gun against the
pump head. Now, why is that important?
Well, if your grease is stored like
this, upside down
like that or on its side, you're going
to end up with a cavity down here at the
end where it's going to go into the
head. And so when it comes time to put
this in and pump it up, you're going to
end up with this cavity in the
background right there that really
causes problems because it injects air
into the head here. And now you end up
having to bleed it or repack the head to
get it to prime. If this is level right
to the top and is just real clean right
there because it's been stowed like
this, you have a very good chance of
having the grease gun primed the first
time out. So, the next time you go to
buy grease at your favorite retailer,
look how they've stored it. If it is
with the tab down, that's probably a
great place to buy the grease. If it's
laying on its side or upside down or in
some other condition, h you might want
to go look elsewhere. Hey, while you're
at it, take a look at this great grease
gun that we reviewed from Lock and Lube.
We really like the grease gun because
it's got an inline swivel. It's got a
grip on the end that allows you just to
clip onto the Xer. It's got also a
bleeder and a great storage nib on the
top. Keeps everything clean. Check it
out and see what you think. We think
you're going to like what you see. and
check out this other video that YouTube
has chosen for you and we think you'll
like it too. Hey, until the next time,
this is Dirt Farmer J from dirtfrj.com.
