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Grease Pumps and Guns: Manual, Air-Operated
and Bulk Kits Compared
Every machine with a grease nipple needs the same thing. What changes is how many nipples, how often, and where.
- Hand Guns
- Air Guns
- Bucket Pumps
- Drum Kits
Grease equipment is chosen by volume. A hand grease gun suits occasional greasing and field work, and a lever or variable stroke gun develops the highest pressure for stubborn nipples. An air operated grease gun gives continuous flow where a workshop already has compressed air. A hand bucket pump loads grease guns cleanly from a 20 kg pail instead of from cartridges. For a workshop that greases every day, an air operated drum kit with a high-ratio pump, a follower plate and a hose or reel delivers grease straight from a 20, 60 or 180 kg drum. The ratio on those pumps tells you how many times the air pressure is multiplied at the outlet.
Most workshops start with a grease gun and a box of cartridges, and many never need anything else. Others grease a fleet every week, change cartridges all day, and lose time and grease to a job that a pump would do faster and cleaner.
This guide compares the options from the hand gun up to the drum kit, explains what the numbers on them mean, and shows where each one earns its place.
450 g The standard grease gun capacity across the ULTRAFLO hand and air guns
50:1 and 58:1 Pump ratios on the RAASM and ULTRAFLO air operated drum kits
1500 g/min Listed output of those drum kits, against a few grams per stroke from a hand gun
20 to 180 kg The pail and drum sizes the bulk kits are built to suit
Hand Guns
Lever, pistol grip and variable stroke
A hand grease gun is a small positive displacement pump. Each stroke pushes a fixed volume of grease out through the coupler, and the shorter the stroke and the longer the lever, the more pressure the operator can develop. That is the trade-off behind every design: pressure or volume per stroke.
| Gun |
How it works |
Listed pressure |
| Standard lever action |
Two hands, short stroke lever. The general purpose workshop gun, with an air bleeder valve and bulk filler |
Up to 4,500 PSI |
| Standard pistol grip |
One hand on the trigger, the other free to hold the coupler on the nipple. Supplied with a 300 mm flexible outlet |
Up to 4,500 PSI |
| Heavy duty variable pistol grip |
One hand, with a variable stroke that switches between high pressure and high volume |
Up to 10,000 PSI |
| ULTRAFLO Speedy |
2.5 cc per shot, listed as twice the pump rate of a traditional gun, with an 800 mm flexible extension and a magnet to park it on the machine |
Up to 800 bar (11,200 PSI) |
For general workshop use, a standard lever or pistol grip gun is enough. Machines with hard to reach or partly blocked nipples, and field work on earthmoving and farm plant, are where the higher pressure guns earn their keep. The full range is under hand operated grease guns.
Air Guns
Continuous flow from the air line
An air operated grease gun replaces the operator's arm with the workshop's compressed air. Instead of stroke by stroke, grease flows continuously while the trigger is held, which is faster on machines with many points and kinder on the hands over a long service.
The ULTRAFLO 450 g air operated grease gun is listed at up to 3,800 PSI, with a 360 degree swivelling body, a rigid outlet and a 4-jaw coupler. It still runs on 450 g cartridges or bulk fill, so it speeds up the greasing but not the refilling. Air versus electric is covered in more general terms in air operated vs electric transfer pumps.
Bucket Pumps
Filling guns without cartridges
Cartridges are convenient, but they cost more per kilogram than bulk grease and leave a bin full of empty tubes. A bucket pump sits on a pail of grease and loads a gun through its bulk filler, so one pail replaces dozens of cartridges.
20 kg pail
Hand bucket pump
The ULTRAFLO 20 kg bucket pump comes with a universal follower plate and loads bulk or combination grease guns.
2.5 kg
Foot operated mini pump
The ULTRAFLO 2.5 kg mini pump is foot operated, with 3 m of high pressure hose and a handpiece, listed at up to 10,000 PSI.
Clean handling
Why it matters
Grease scooped by hand or stick picks up grit, and grit pumped into a bearing is wear on purpose. A closed pump keeps the grease as clean as the pail.
Drum Kits
Air operated pumps and what the ratio means
An air operated grease pump sits in the drum and uses a large air piston to drive a small grease piston. The ratio is the difference in their areas. A 50:1 pump multiplies the air pressure at its inlet by about 50 at the grease outlet, before losses. Feed it 100 PSI from the compressor and the theoretical outlet pressure is around 5,000 PSI. A higher ratio gives more pressure from the same air supply, which helps push thick grease through a long hose.
| Kit |
Drum |
What comes in the box |
| ULTRAFLO 58:1 |
20 kg, with a 180 kg version |
58:1 pump at up to 1500 g/min, follower plate, drum cover, 4 m hose and grease gun with Z swivel |
| RAASM 50:1 |
20, 60 or 180 kg |
50:1 pump at 1500 g/min, follower plate, drum cover, 4 m delivery hose, grease gun and Z swivel |
| ULTRAFLO mobile trolley kit |
180 kg |
58:1 pump on a trolley with a 10 m reel, or with a 4 m dispensing hose, so the drum goes to the machine |
The follower plate does the quiet work
Grease does not flow down to a pump intake the way oil does. The pump draws a hole in the middle and leaves the rest stuck to the drum walls, then starts sucking air. A follower plate sits on top of the grease and is pushed down as the level drops, wiping the walls and keeping the intake fed. It also seals the surface against dirt. Every kit above includes one.
Distribution
Reels, trolleys and fittings
Once the grease is pumped, it has to reach the machine. In a fixed bay, a grease hose reel mounted on a wall or ceiling keeps the line off the floor. The RAASM 430 and 440 series come in 12 and 18 metres of 1/4 inch hose or 15 metres of 3/8 inch, and the 440 series is enclosed and pressure rated to 8,700 PSI. Where the drum needs to move, a mobile grease trolley takes the whole system to the machine. Hose reels compared covers grease reels alongside the others.
The small parts decide how pleasant the job is. Grease gun accessories include quick release couplers, with and without a relief valve, rigid and flexible extensions, metric, imperial and agricultural nipple kits, and a thread tester for identifying a nipple before replacing it.
Choosing
Matching the gear to the greasing
| Situation |
Setup that suits it |
| Occasional greasing, home shed or light vehicles |
Standard lever or pistol grip gun on cartridges |
| Field service on plant and farm machinery |
A high pressure gun such as the heavy duty variable or Speedy, plus a nipple kit |
| Workshop greasing several machines a week |
A hand bucket pump to fill guns from a 20 kg pail, or an air gun where there is compressed air |
| Fleet or heavy vehicle workshop greasing daily |
An air operated 50:1 or 58:1 drum kit, with a reel at each bay |
| Large site where machines cannot come to the bay |
A mobile grease trolley with a reel |
Mistakes
What goes wrong
- Greasing through a dirty nipple. Wipe it first, or the grit goes in with the grease.
- Pumping until it stops. More is not better. Too much grease can damage seals, so follow the machine's service manual for the amount.
- Mixing greases. Different thickeners do not always get on. Keep one gun or one pump per grease type, and label them.
- No follower plate on a drum pump. The pump cavitates and delivers air.
- A worn coupler. If grease squeezes out around the nipple, the coupler jaws are worn and the grease is going on the floor.
- Leaving the pail open. An uncovered pail is a dust collector.
Summary
Buy for the volume you grease
A hand gun covers occasional work, and a high pressure one covers the field. A bucket pump ends the cartridge habit, an air gun saves the operator's arm, and an air operated drum kit turns greasing a fleet into a routine job. Pick by how many nipples you grease and how often, then keep it clean from the drum to the bearing.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a lever and a pistol grip grease gun?
A lever gun is worked with two hands and its long lever develops high pressure. A pistol grip gun is worked with one hand, leaving the other free to hold the coupler on the nipple. Both are general purpose workshop guns, and variable stroke designs combine high pressure and high volume in one gun.
What does 50:1 mean on a grease pump?
It is the pressure ratio. The pump multiplies the air pressure at its inlet by about 50 at the grease outlet, before losses. At 100 PSI of air, a 50:1 pump has a theoretical outlet pressure of around 5,000 PSI.
Is an air operated grease gun better than a manual one?
It is faster and easier where there are many grease points and a compressed air supply, because grease flows continuously while the trigger is held. A manual gun needs no air line and some develop higher pressure, so it remains the better choice for field work.
What is a follower plate on a grease pump?
A plate that sits on top of the grease in the drum and moves down as the level drops. It wipes grease off the drum walls and keeps the pump intake fed, which stops the pump drawing air, and it seals the surface against dirt.
How do I fill a grease gun without a cartridge?
Use a bucket pump. It sits on a pail of bulk grease and loads the gun through its bulk filler fitting, which is cleaner than scooping grease by hand and cheaper per kilogram than cartridges.
What size grease drum kit do I need?
Match the kit to the drum you buy grease in and how fast you use it. Kits in the range suit 20, 60 and 180 kg drums. A smaller drum is used up before the grease sits for long, while a 180 kg drum on a trolley suits a busy fleet workshop.
Can you over-grease a bearing?
Yes. Too much grease can damage seals and cause some bearings to run hot. Follow the machine manufacturer's service manual for how much and how often, rather than pumping until grease appears.
From one gun to a whole workshop
FuelGear stocks the full grease equipment range: hand guns, air guns, bucket pumps and drum kits, reels and accessories. Tell us what you grease and how often, and we will match the setup.