Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

So we just got our first appreciable snowfall and the Ariens 11528 made short work of it.   But last night as the snow was falling I went over the machine to make sure everything was ready to go.  I learned the hard was to always have extra belts, shear pins, springs, spark plugs, etc on hand...so I was prepared for anything it needed.  Went over my service log and saw that it was coming up on 25 hours since I greased the axle.  Removed the shear pins, grabbed the grease gun, locked onto a fitting and gave it a few squeezes before it hit me that I might not be using the right grease...so I stopped.

Here's the question.  I was using John Deere Multi-Purpose SD Polyurea grease.  It has an operating range -15 F to 350 F.  Checked the Ariens Manual and it called for Stens Mix Hi-Temp Grease, or equivalent.  How do you know if a particular grease is equivalent to Stens Mix Hi-Temp?   Does it even matter or is grease grease?

Paul, IMHO It doesn't really matter for that purpose since the grease is there only so the tube and shaft don't rust as one solid piece. Nothing will be spinning with that grease in there.

Thanks.  I'm a bit edgy about co-mingling incompatible things.  I put the wrong anti-freeze in my car once (mixed the orange and green stuff) and my engine didn't like it at all. 

hirschallan wrote:

Couldn't agree more!

Its' also not a bad idea to remove the shear pins after you grease the rakes and spin them once or twice to distribute the grease. In addition my manual lists the proper torque setting for shear pins at 11 ft/lb.

Marc

   For rakes I also think any grease commonly available grease is ok.  Most seem to be made of a few bases that are compatible. 

   For hoping whatever I put in will last I use in marine grease or other water resistant rated greases.  It might be interesting to put both types on a board and leave it outside for a few months.