Bearing grease vs bearing oil has become a complex question for people. Rolling bearings have wide applications in industrial production and they are the basic accessory parts of mechanical equipment. The function of the rolling bearing is to convert the sliding friction between the shaft and the shaft seat into rolling friction. Therefore, during rolling bearing operation, rolling friction will cause the bearing to heat up and wear. And in order to reduce friction and damage, you need to lubricate rolling bearings during operation.

Lubrication method of rolling bearing

Grease lubrication

Oil lubrication

Rolling bearings use grease as the lubricating medium. Because its advantages are that the grease has low fluidity, is not easy to leak. And the formed oil film has good strength, which is more conducive to the sealing use of rolling bearings. At the same time, the use of grease lubrication for rolling bearings can extend the lubrication maintenance time, making bearing maintenance easier. 

Lubricate rolling bearings grease also has disadvantages. Compared with lubricating oil, the friction torque is larger. However, the applicability of rolling bearings that require high-speed operation is low. In addition, the cooling performance of grease lubrication is poor. If you add too much grease to the rolling bearing, the rolling bearing will overheat due to the stirring of the lubricant. 

Use bearing oil to lubricate bearings. Lubricating oil can achieve good cooling and cooling effects.  And it is especially suitable for rolling bearings with relatively high operating temperatures. The viscosity of lubricating oil required for rolling bearings is about 0.12 to 0.2cm/s. If the rolling bearing load and working temperature is high, choose a high-viscosity lubricant. However, rolling bearings with fast speeds are suitable for low-viscosity lubricants.

The disadvantage of using oil lubrication for rolling bearings is that oil lubrication requires the bearings to maintain a good sealing state to avoid leakage of lubricating oil. In addition, oil lubrication requires a more complicated oil supply device. It is not as convenient as grease in operation and use, which increases the maintenance workload of rolling bearings.