Absolute genius automatic lubricator

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Very few things impress me as much as this did. It has taken a clever idea to the next level of simplicity. I was expecting something similar to the one AvE took apart, but this one is completely different.
I'm not sure if the cells are custom made or if they are standard zinc air cells, but the way they've been used is extraordinary. Do standard zinc air cells liberate gas when discharged slowly without a ready source of oxygen?
A search for suitable keywords brought up a patent:-
patents.google...
A notable excerpt from that is the following:-
"U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,105,830 to Kordesch and 4,189,526 to Cretzmeyer both describe "air depolarized" oxygen consuming "zinc air cells" but do not describe cells for the "evolution" of gases. Due to the teaching of the present invention it would be hindsight from the description of these cells to conclude that these cells contrary to their disclosures may be used as "hydrogen evolving cells" by simultaneously excluding oxygen from their cathodes and forcing electric currents to flow through the cells."
In this case the oxygen exclusion may be simply leaving the storage labels that block the air vents in place (You activate zinc-air cells by removing the label.), and the forced current may be a simple resistor across the cell.
I specifically avoid using intrusive mid-run video adverts, which means I don't earn as much from my content as other RU-vidrs.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar or two for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
/ bigclive
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This also keeps the channel independent of RU-vid's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
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#ElectronicsCreators

Опубликовано:

25 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 1,4 тыс.

@keithmiller5042 2 года назад

At last - a circuit diagram that I can follow!

@BobWidlefish 2 года назад

You and me both, brother. ;)

@nicholas4839 2 года назад

Me too

@tomtheplummer7322 2 года назад

Even fixing a doorbell may challenge some folks 😏

@Slikx666 2 года назад

Was it -- or ---- for + on the cells?

@Chrazzari 2 года назад

@@Slikx666 the longer one is positive +

@andrewfraser2760 2 года назад

As an engineer, the simpler the way something is done the more respect you have for the people that designed it.

@jimmymcjimmyvich9052 2 года назад

As a non engineer, There was very little wrong an AK 47 or a 303 or old style ignition points too)) I don't have much respect for new things that are disposable. Bird can make a nest nice and cosy for many years now)) He/she can often reuse materials too)) Respect Andrew.

@madichelp0 2 года назад

"An idiot admires complexity, a genius admires simplicity." -Terry A. Davis

@808bigisland 2 года назад

My daily drive is a well worn and weary 1954 Chevy truck. Adding those oilers would make owning my truck even easier. Adding simplicity is something I really love to engineer.

@TechyBen 2 года назад

Robust cheap *and* fast. You just need the engineering knowledge to do it. :)

@rhodexa 2 года назад

but the more boring it is to watch and disassemble

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

The difficulty with this kind of "simple" system isn't just designing it - it's being able to manufacture every element with enough accuracy that it will work reliably and at a consistent speed.

@mezmerizer0266 2 года назад

Fast, cheap, good. Pick two.

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

@@mezmerizer0266 - With electronics, you get all 3. ;-)

@pnjunction5689 2 года назад

@@RFC-3514 As long as you're able to buy electronic components...

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

@@pnjunction5689 - You can recover lots of components from broken appliances, etc.. But you have internet access, and most components can be ordered online for a few cents (well, a few dollars / euros / pounds in some cases, now). It's certainly cheaper and easier than woodworking, motorboat racing, or launching space telescopes. 😉

@pnjunction5689 2 года назад

@@RFC-3514 I was talking about the current component shortage. It hit our industry pretty hard. Sure, for one off projects you can salvage parts, but not on an industrial scale.

@elijahwatson8119 2 года назад

I honestly thought this was going to be a, uh, different kind of automatic lubricator. A personal one, if you will. This channel can really go either way with product tear downs.

@Shrek_Has_Covid19 2 года назад

🥵

@keiouji1629 2 года назад

Dirty minds think.... er... something... the design of this thing was REALLY good.

@teebosaurusyou 2 года назад

The pump action manual greaser has a certain appeal......

@StreakyP 2 года назад

It is tapping the M10 thread for fitment that is the sod

@CANAL_FY 2 года назад

me too haha I already was going to order

@gusmartin6053 2 года назад

I have some zinc air 9 volt batteries that are sealed inside an aluminized bag. They have been sitting around for about 5 years and the bags swelled up and were pressurized. The batteries are just button cells in series inside a 9 volt battery sized case. I guess this chemistry can generate a lot of gas. This is a really clever application! Someone was seriously thinking outside the box when they came up with this one.

@psirvent8 2 года назад

Aren't you talking about electric fence batteries that are non-rechargeable and look pretty much like a smaller car battery ?

@gusmartin6053 2 года назад

@@psirvent8 The batteries are Duracell Procell zinc air medical batteries. They are standard 9 volt battery dimensions with the standard terminals, and their output voltage comes to rest around 9 volts a few minutes after opening the package. Not sure what the intended application is but based on the name, some sort of medical equipment.

@TechyBen 2 года назад

"A lot of gas." Aluminium rockets are one proposal for refuelling insitu from the moon by mining the materials. I assume Zinc batteries are a similar method of "outgassing". Lol.

@terieffo8 Год назад

There really are some very bright people out there. Pity none are in our government.

@jasonkuehl639 2 года назад

When I worked in a factory that built mining equipment, we tried using auto-greasers, but had to go back to having employees do the greasing because the auto-greasers would get broken when parts would bump them. Lubricator jobs were highly coveted, and almost never came up for bid. Since it was a really well paying job that you rode around on a cart with a dozen different greases and oils, following a schedule, it became a short-timer job that people would use to pad out their last few years with the company.

@rkan2 2 года назад

sounds like the grease fittings needed some welding :P

@ravenbarsrepairs5594 2 года назад

@@rkan2 Maybe just removal and insert a small metal disk under the fitting....

@rkan2 2 года назад

@@ravenbarsrepairs5594 I was thinking like protective cage to take the hit

@wobblysauce 2 года назад

Knowing what to put where and when... Some don't get it and can bring it all to a grinding halt.

@jasonkuehl639 2 года назад

@@rkan2 that would be a massive cage! When I built brakes, a completed brake pack for one wheel could weigh upward of 2000 lbs, and were considered small parts. A completed machine always had a shipping instruction label on the frame, and it wasn't uncommon to see 60,000 to 70,000 lbs shipping weight, and those were our smaller pieces (anything bigger would be shipped as modular units, assembled at their respective mining site). When that much weight starts swinging on a crane, you just get out of the way! Our largest products were the 797 (400 ton payload truck), 24 grader (cutting edge width 24 to 32 feet), 994 loader (loads 100 tons of material per bucket), and 657 scraper (50 cubic yard capacity, with dual engines, hydraulic elevator, and specialty hitches to be able to run multiple units in a push-pull tandem). In the factory vernacular, the 777 trucks (100 ton payload) and smaller machines were lovingly called the "lawn and garden department". 😄 But, I do agree, a cage would have protected against minor taps and would absolutely have reduced the number of broken auto-greasers! 🙂

@RLFWE1 2 года назад

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

@hauglien 2 года назад

As a maintenance engineer, it's also important to remember that the daily maintenance with cleaning and lubrication is also an inspection of the machine. When the operator is performing routine maintenance, small leaks or other issues can be detected early, preventing larger issues if dealt with early enough. I have no doubt that automatic lubricators are useful in the right place, though.

@RPekka78 2 года назад

We have these on tunnel ventilation fans. The shop we bought the new ones told that most go to lifts/elevators in houses so these are used for devices that "just run" most of the time.

@adamcousins2459 4 месяца назад

Unfortunately, I've yet to meet an owner who is dollar wise and penny dumb, it's always the other way around. The main goal is always cutting costs(aka corners).

@artoheino7315 2 года назад

As a previous SKF sales person for many years, it was great to see your presentation, great work.

@RexMods 2 года назад

I remember taking one of these SKF SYSTEM 24 cartridges apart a few years ago. The old ones uses discrete SMD resistors in series and a PCB inside instead of that carbon wiper. Never figured out how they worked back then, but this video answers pretty much everything! Pretty impressive that those two tiny cells can generate enough gas to push so much grease out.

@rogerborg 2 года назад

They give their lives so that other machinery may live.

@ehsnils 2 года назад

I'm mostly amazed by the fact that the gas don't escape from the canister given that it's intended to work for a year. That in it self is a remarkable feat of engineering and choice of materials.

@Don.Challenger 2 года назад

@@ehsnils Not exactly like a tire with a slow leak that if accidentally abused ruptures releasing the entire remaining stored contents in one go, these release their self generating gas only on demand - quite a tidy process.

@ehsnils 2 года назад

@@Don.Challenger I'm more considering the complete lubrication canister that if there's just a small leak the pressure pushing out the grease would never build up and it wouldn't work at all. Even a microscopic leak would make it fail.

@chriswalford4161 2 года назад

It’s also pretty amazing that the seals work well enough not to loose the tiny volume of gases evolved; my guess is that the sealing surfaces took quite a lot of design care.

@BRUXXUS 2 года назад

Who on earth came up with this idea? Such an elegant system.

@BarryRowlingsonBaz 2 года назад

Might be a patent number somewhere on the packaging....

@johndododoe1411 2 года назад

@@BarryRowlingsonBaz It's in the video description!

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

First done by a Switzerland company called Simatec, they are a hydrogen producing cell,

@endymallorn 2 года назад

This is definitely proof that a great deal of genius lies in simplicity. A basic electrochemical reaction that's been around forever, used to generate constant, steady pressure. It's really an awesome design, and I applaud the team that came up with it.

@arduinoversusevil2025 2 года назад

Devilishly simple!

@arduinoversusevil2025 2 года назад

I'm hitting the lathe to make a skookum re-fillable version.

@arduinoversusevil2025 2 года назад

Even simpler: fill pipe with grease, toss in zinc coin cell with resistor bridge, seal and cap.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

Yeah, lobbing in a cell or two with fixed resistors and capping it should have the same effect. I've got some cells on order to see if they do indeed produce gas. The tab has to stay on to prevent the cell from activating with ambient air, which messes up the use with a simple cell holder. But technically speaking, a 3D printed holder with suitable connections and resistor could be made.

@oasntet 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom I wonder what the temperature threshold is for zinc-air; maybe you could just solder the leads directly to the battery. Or if you can't get the heat up to flow it well, a spot-welder?

@kempy666999 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom I'm going to try that idea: 3D printed holder - with external connections to try different resistor values and well sealed to a syringe (to measure gas production). FYI there seems to be two common zinc air battery sizes: 312 & 675. The 675 should give more bang (gas) for your buck as it is the larger of the two (675: 11.6mm X 5.4mm, 312: 7.9mm X 3.6mm).

@devjon123 2 года назад

I worked for a company that repaired / rewound Electric Motors. We had a local customer who called us in to look at a motor bearing that was noisy. It was an old Brook Imperial frame Crompton Parkinson motor, only about 20HP but built like a tank. They employed an old boy to go around and grease the motor bearings once a week. There was a grease nipple on each of the bearing housings and also a bolt on the the bottom of the housing. You were supposed to undo the bolt and let the old grease ooze out the bottom as the fresh grease went in the top. I don't think he's ever done that, as when we took the end shields off they were completely filled with grease ( there was a pressed metal dome insert in the end shields to direct the air from the cooling fan ) We easily filled two large grease tins from the stuff in the compacted end shields.

@BitTwisted1 3 месяца назад

Happens, I remember production complaining that the bearings were leaking huge amounts of grease, we had a look and maintenance had pumped in litres of grease over the last two years, and litres of old grease had squeezed out the other side and was falling of the crane in slabs...

@ultimatehandyman 2 года назад

I installed these on a few machines on site, but never knew how they worked or took one to pieces. Grease is wonderful stuff, apart from when it’s used on motor bearings. We used to get a job method on site, which would tell you to grease the bearings on some motors. The motors could weigh 300KG+ and had a bearing at the front and rear, the only problem was that if you did pump grease into the grease nipple, the grease would often enter the motor and short out the windings, then the motor would fail. The worst motor failure I ever saw was when a large motor with a 2” diameter output shaft failed. The front bearing seized, causing the output shaft to become very hot, so that that the shaft bent like a piece of rubber, this then caused all the mounting bolts on the motor to shear and the coupling to disintegrate. If you had been near it when this happened, you would have needed a change of underwear for sure 😂

@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse 2 года назад

Ive seen smaller drive shafts in conveyors with ceased bearings simply snap the shaft, they looked just like they have been cleanly cut across the shaft.

@JAMESWUERTELE 2 года назад

Most have the plug you need to pull out and let the old Grease come out.

@APF3LKUCH3NLP 2 года назад

Wouldn't just.. using dielectric grease solve this?

@MrShwaggins 2 года назад

Can I ask why alternators and some motors have ingress points? Do they really get that hot? I wonder if people have played around with a nonconductive material to act as a heatsink? Just talking out my gas hole because I only know power equals turny

@soundspark 2 года назад

Did the grease itself cause short circuits, or did it degrade the insulation on the windings causing them to short together?

@zh84 2 года назад

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Einstein "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry This doesn't quite eliminate the need for maintenance, as someone still has to go round replacing the lubrication syringes when they reach the end of their lives, but it's damn close!

@Zadster 2 года назад

Not Einstein. Commonly called Ockham's Razor. William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347) but not invented by him, derived from many other philosopher's works.

@michaeltempsch5282 2 года назад

You still usually need to do other periodical maintenance, but if you can get rid of regreasings between those times, and instead apply a new/refill an automatic lubricator just at those times, it's a win

@covoeus 2 года назад

@@Zadster The quote is a summary/simplification of one of Einstein's lectures: “It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.” The razor you refer to is slightly different: "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity": Given two solutions, the simpler one is usually better / Given two explanations to an event, the simpler one is more likely the correct one.

@stuartmcconnachie 2 года назад

Should only be one battery then ;)

@tncorgi92 2 года назад

I kind of envisioned a full-time position with the manufacturer where someone goes from one shop to another, keeping the units up to date and checking for inadvertent damage. For a nominal fee, like a service contract.

@pev_ 2 года назад

Wow! I would never have guessed that the gas release from such small things can be controlled so precisely and over such a long time!

@RavenLuni 2 года назад

Whoever developed that must have been an expert in the battery technology having alot of knowledge about the gas release and pressures involved.

@phils4634 2 года назад

The great thing about the spring based / refillable automatic lubricators is that a) they are so very durable, and b) you can choose your lubricant. I've got a VERY early glass / brass design which dates from 1902, ,and is still fully functional (although the ?nitrile? O-Ring is showing its age!

@sixstringedthing 2 года назад

From the date of 1902, I'd guess that the o-ring material is vulcanized natural rubber (also called "India rubber") made from natural latex found in the sap of various tree species. Industrial processes for the creation of synthetic rubbers (of which Nitrile is one) didn't come along until 1909.

@phils4634 2 года назад

@@sixstringedthing Thanks for that insight! I don't know whether the O-ring is the original, but it certainly seems rather cracked / perished, which might imply a natural rather than synthetic product.

@McManus667 2 года назад

with the SKF ones you can buy different grease fills to suit your application

@matt45540 3 месяца назад

Disposable stuff sucks I agree. If you're buying one of these you're going to keep meeting them. So by the one or the correct spring pressure and it will just live there forever.

@sachadc 2 года назад

The way that they've exploited the characteristics of a standard zinc-air battery to do the gas generation is absolutely amazing.

@ianbutler1983 2 года назад

Hi Clive, I know a little about zinc-air batteries. Camera light meters used to use mercury batteries because they emit a very constant voltage until they die, and they then suddenly drop to zero. This was obviously very important for metering, especially with simple light meters. When mercury cells were outlawed, the recommended replacements were zinc-air cells because they have the same flat-discharge curve as mercury cells. That fits your thought about the voltage not dropping off.

@vhfgamer 2 года назад

Oh hey! I had no idea these cells could replace those mercury cells in light meters! Thanks! I was wondering what to do for my old SLR cameras!

@lobsterbark 2 года назад

@@vhfgamer Its worth noting that its not quite as flat, there is a bit of a slope at the end where it appears to be good, but has a lower voltage. Also the voltage is different. You can get little cases that go over commonly available silver cells that have voltage regulators that make them put out the right voltage for vintage cameras. They are a tad expensive, but it saves the cost of paying someone to recalibrate the meter for newer batteries.

@ianbutler1983 2 года назад

@@vhfgamer Sure. If you are mechanically inclined (or brave) there is a small Potentiometer that can be turned with a small screwdriver somewhere under the outer shell of the camera. I don't take cameras apart though. I used to just find the exposure compensation dial and with a little trial and error figure out where to set it.Practically, unless you are using slide film, there is enough latitude in the film exposure to just use it as is, in my experience.

@Coxeysbodgering 2 года назад

One of the recycling clients I work for uses these on most of their machines, thank you I didn't know how they worked. The only fault they have is when someone knocks them as often they end up sticking away from the bearing housing

@jothain 2 года назад

They're indeed quite easy to rotate in their original install sleeve accessory. These days I usually install them with grease line to prevent ie. Chain lubricators to turn easily, if location needs it.

@ravenbarsrepairs5594 2 года назад

As someone that works in a recycling facility, these things sound like a hassle. Things getting wrapped on shafts next to bearing houseings need constant cleaning, or else plasic melting heat(and bearing failure) rapidly ensues. Nothing like hacking through 3" or wrapped up cassette and VHS tape, bale twine, random wires, and even purple lace dresses, to pull out a melted plastic ring from inside, where friction caused heat. Easy enough for a grease gun to be used when doing this other maintenance.

@johanmetreus1268 2 года назад

@@ravenbarsrepairs5594 You indeed work at a recycling facility! Friday was the cleaning day at our place, getting rid of everything that wrapped around the rollers for the conveyor belt. Fun times with clippers ;)

@ravenbarsrepairs5594 2 года назад

@@johanmetreus1268 At one point I had the safety guy make me get rid of "Martha Stewarts Knife Collection". I've found that serrated steak knives and dikes are the best tools to attack.

@johanmetreus1268 2 года назад

@@ravenbarsrepairs5594 UK?

@dogie61 2 года назад

The thing that I love about Clive and AvE is that they are very intelligent but they don't pretend to know everything. They have a style that encourage us to learn together. Thank you and keep it up!

@Mmouse_ 2 года назад

How you know Clive is a spark... All of the stuff he has, particularly the grease gun and hose isn't absolutely caked in grease and shit. Edit: being a spark is a part of my job too lol, I'm lucky to see many sides of engineering, wasn't a dig big man, I love ya.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

It's a shiny new one.

@Reman1975 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom Yeah, but sparky's tools stay shiny and new a lot longer than mechanical engineers kit. :D

@rpdom 2 года назад

Genius design. Now I want to know how much gas is generated over a fixed time. Seal one of the cells inside a balloon with a fixed resistor across it and leave for a few days?

@stepheneyles2198 2 года назад

You might find that the gas leaks out through the walls of the balloon faster than the cell generates it!

@MadScientist267 2 года назад

There's no gas evolution from a normal zinc air cell...

@frankowalker4662 2 года назад

@@stepheneyles2198 Would a condom work any better ?

@johnfurr8779 2 года назад

@@stepheneyles2198 agreed. Seal it in a small chamber with a pressure gauge, chart pressure rise at regular intervals and then use universal gas laws to calculate subsequent volumes and use as basis for any further calculations you need. It would seem the release of gas is linear in nature in relation to increase in resistance so no need for plotting at many different resistances once you confirm that

@Alacritous 2 года назад

@@stepheneyles2198 Anything that could leak through the walls of a balloon is going to walk right past that rubber O ring and not touch either side.

@_..-.._..-.._ 4 месяца назад

I’ve seen air fresheners that work on the electro-chemical system. One is called “TCELL” by Rubbermaid. It uses a button cell to pressurize the fragrance and push it onto a wick. I was fascinated with these for a year. Amazing tech.

@_..-.._..-.._ 4 месяца назад

I just saw that you have a video on the Rubbermaid fresheners! 😊

@Dex99SS 2 года назад

That's insane, I never would have imagined it to be SO SIMPLE, yet so brilliant at the same time. To even think of this, and see it as a possibility. Wow.

@SOURADEEPBISWAS 2 года назад

Thanks BigClive. I wanted to see a teardown of SKF System 24 since 2015. Finally now I got the genius engineering behind it.

@elitearbor 2 года назад

Fascinating! I can think of quite a few uses for this sort of device, to include long-term fertilization of gardens, additives for outdoor ponds, perhaps even things such as a gradual dispensing of a camphor-containing compound for assured rust prevention on tooling? I'm sure I'll think of other uses.

@KeritechElectronics 2 года назад

Very interesting, yet so simple and brilliant! All of them. By the way, it's not exactly a potentiometer, but a variable resistor. It has two terminals instead of three.

@jdlech 2 года назад

I've always called it a carbon film variable resistor.

@securitycamera8776 2 года назад

Back in my day it was a rheostat.

@oresteszoupanos 2 года назад

@@securitycamera8776 "Rheostat" from the Greek ρωή (flow) and στάση (stopping). Nice word that explains what the component does (flow-stopper)

@krashd 2 года назад

I was taught variable resistor.

@johndododoe1411 2 года назад

I always knew it as a potentiometer, just using only some of the 3 pins. In this device it's entirely custom, not a standard type mounted into the circuit.

@Smidge204 2 года назад

Propose an experiment to confirm: Solder a resistor across the batteries and stuff them into a balloon so see if/how much the balloon inflates. Would be neat to have an idea how much gas they actually produce.

@psirvent8 2 года назад

I think I'll do it right now given how ridiculously simple it looks. One caveat though is standard alkaline batteries don't have breathing or vent holes, therefore the excess pressure will fatigue the rubber gaskets and potentially make them fail, releasing battery electrolyte... Inside the balloon. Maybe not such a big deal after all...

@PainterVierax 2 года назад

as said under another comment about this idea, a rubber balloon is far from a perfect sealed barrier and it leaks excessive pressure over time.

@ianbertenshaw4350 2 года назад

Or a vacuum sealed bag as it is airtight

@igrim4777 4 месяца назад

The volume of that piston looks to be only a few cubic centimetres with a minimum production time of a month which is the setting for maximum production rate. Normal rubber balloons can leak hundreds of times that volume that in a few days. You're probably better off eating a bag of crisps then heat sealing the edge with a kitchen vacuum resealer as the metalised foil is much more air resistant than latex.

@jezkendall1893 2 года назад

Thanks Clive, "Just incase anybody has ever had any problem doing that" - Thanks for the tip - you learn something new everyday . Might injure myself less next time I grease those trunions!

@aaronholmes8568 2 года назад

We used these on conveyor belt bearings around the recycling plant I worked in, saved us a lot of hassle with the bearing that weren't readily accessible (I'm talking belts 50' in the air that needed a cherry picker to access).

@gregorythomas333 2 года назад

That was rather unexpected! I thought there would be a motor or something...but batteries & nothing else...very kewl beans :D

@manuellongo4365 2 года назад

How interesting and also simple - I wonder how the designer came up with it.....brillant! High five to Clive - always opening things and then carefully explaining how they work.

@SystemX1983 2 года назад

I guess, like many, if not most inventions, it was found by accident 😁 or the designer had a hearing aid, found a battery in its packaging blown up and went investigating 😉

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

It's just an "evolution" of older systems, like the one with the chemical tablet. They're using a battery and a variable resistance to do the same as the tablets with different gas release rates.

@SystemX1983 2 года назад

@@RFC-3514 if the button cell itself wouldn't produce the gas, I'd have expected some heating element for example. The simplicity of this design is the button cells have two functons: power supply & gas generator at the same time.

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

@@SystemX1983 - Power supply?

@SystemX1983 2 года назад

@@RFC-3514 the batteries deliver the power to produce the gas by itself, regulated by the "potentiometer" it produces more or less gas. But at some point that gassing will stop because the battery is empty, either from chemical view or electrical view.

@Maddin1313 2 года назад

We use these all over the machines we make. I never had a chance to find a broken/empty one to take apart. And one of our CNC centers has a big one (size of a toilet paper roll), uses 2 AA batteries, and the timer is set via DIP switches. It uses a nitrogen gas tank.

@psirvent8 2 года назад

What the nitrogen tank looks like ? Is it all contained within the unit or attached next to it and connected via a hose ?

@RobertSzasz 2 года назад

I think those actually use electrolysis of urea

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

If it has 2 AA batteries it is an electro mechanical unit not gas

@RobertSzasz 2 года назад

@@mrbumcraic5046 pretty sure AvE took apart one that was a gas generator based around urea and it had 2 AA sized batteries

@RobertSzasz 2 года назад

@@mrbumcraic5046 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ydhndNX_8KI.html

@Mr.M1STER 2 года назад

For a product that carries out a task that sounds so simple it really is interesting to see the inner workings of it. Clever stuff. I also love how calmly you applied "unreasonable force" at 5:14 lol

@cameradoctor205 2 года назад

We used to sell Zinc-Air batteries as a replacement for NLA Mercury 1.35v cells in vintage cameras. However, we had issues with corrosion forming while the batteries were still in their packaging with the seal attached. I wonder if SKF have found a better quality battery than the ones we were being supplied ;)

@rkan2 2 года назад

Who made your zinc-air batteries? :P

@johndododoe1411 2 года назад

Actually, they power their device entirely from the problem!

@max19970 3 месяца назад

After the you showed all "automatic" system with coils, I was 100% sure this would just be a coil with adjustable pretension. So glad I was wrong. This system is so simple, must be so cheap to manucfature. Insane

@user56 2 года назад

i always suspected the batteries release the gas in these things. that was interesting to see everything up close, thanks! ALSO: they are really not that accurate, it highly depends on the altitude they are used in.

@Dan-mu5oy 2 года назад

and the operating temperature

@RFC-3514 2 года назад

And the internal friction of the machine being lubricated. But it's just a matter of adjusting to each location.

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

Temperature does make a small difference, if you use the Simalube version (the originals) they are infinitely adjustable between 1 and 12 months and a slight tweak can make them very precise

@McManus667 2 года назад

SKF have a calculator that includes things like operating temperature, and a bunch of other variables to decide what setting to put the greasers onto

@randybb 2 года назад

I worked for them as supplier a long time ago when they bought Lincoln Lubrication. I have seen their complex lubrication systems with plenty of tubes all over huge machines, but never thought they do such small, and smart, lubricators.

@RoGi797 2 года назад

A few years ago I regularly used a motorized/battery powered one with replacable Batteries and lubricant cartridges in an industrial paintline for its conveyors Ball bearings. It had a push button to prefill the lubricant line at install and a dip switch or maybe a potentiometer (not sure anymore) to control the timing.

@willmcgo8288 2 года назад

At my work we have a couple of those motorized auto-lubricators with dip switches for setting the dispensing period. Since it was the only machine with the auto-lubers, and the batteries need periodic replacing, the auto-lubers were eventually removed, and the machine is manually lubricated like everything else!

@russianotter 2 года назад

I rebuild cars and engines for fun as a hobby. I cannot believe, over the 100s of hours of car RU-vidrs I've watched, YOU are the first person to show how to properly remove a grease gun from a zerk. My man!

@tiredoldmechanic1791 2 года назад

I had difficulty convincing management that it would be beneficial to install these, especially in locations that were difficult to get to that were seldom, if ever, greased. I was able to get them to do it after showing them a bearing that had to be replaced on a 2 year old conveyor that still had the paint on the grease Zerk. I added steel brake lines to keep them out of harms way.

@JohnSmith-yv6eq 2 года назад

And there is the answer...install remote grease zerks/nipples in a combined location which is easy to reach so the greae gunner can lubricate the bearings with little effort or danger. Labels with the number of pumps on each zerk....

@tiredoldmechanic1791 2 года назад

@@JohnSmith-yv6eq Remote greasing comes with it's own problems. The farther away you get from the greasing point, the more chance there is that the remote lines could be damaged. It's best if someone actually looks at the bearing that's being greased. When it's -20F it can be difficult to get grease to go through longer lines.

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

@@tiredoldmechanic1791 A manual grease gun can deliver up to 10,000 psi, these gas units will only do about 50 psi

@MD4564 2 года назад

i never even heard of ZInc-Air batteries, just button batteries, you learn something new every day!

@jothain 2 года назад

I use these a lot at work. Good things. I use these in various different grease and oil grades. Been planning to buy the smaller ones for few places. I'd bet they have single cell inside as the diameter and the top end looks absolutely identical on all of them 🙂

@ArmyCop 2 года назад

How is the timing accuracy? Do they actually last for the amount of time they're supposed to?

@jothain 2 года назад

@@ArmyCop accuracy is incredibly good. Max two weeks deviation is what I've seen. Considering the amount for period ratio, in my books that's about perfect. Also can't recall seeing them get empty earlier than set or at least it happens very seldom. Though it could be that it's because I usually install these with small amount of grease line which creates obviously some resistance always.

@Toby_Q 2 года назад

I can't believe I watched this whole video. As you say at the end, it's all summed up in a few words... but you milked 14 minutes of my life away about a device with two batteries and a resistor. Bravo... Well done, sir!

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

A very unusual use of 2 batteries and a resistor.

@Toby_Q 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom Yes, very unusual indeed. But when we mostly come here for electronics and your ability to break down the schematic, and you start off with "Let me show you the schematic, you're not going to be impressed" that just had me cracking up. And then I realized that wow... we all really watched a guy with a great knowledge of electronics, talk to us for 14 minutes about two batteries and a resistor. AND NOW you've also got me wasting more time replying. Damn you.

@christastic100 2 года назад

Never knew that they existed. Very interesting and incredible design .

@davidb3172 2 года назад

The Sidel bottle blowers at work use auto greasers with a replacement battery pack. The joys of working in a soft drinks factory. A very informative video.

@hedydd2 2 года назад

Looks like an ideal fitting on many combine harvester bearings, remote mounted with a flexible pipe between the bearing and the grease unit. Set for two or three months in the UK, depending on the expected harvest length. it would seem to be the ideal size and indeed an ideal disposable maintenance solution. Just check every couple of days that the grease is getting to the bearing and replace annually.

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

The limitations are the 5 bar max output pressure which won’t push most greases through hoses more than a meter long

@jmackmcneill 2 года назад

From what I can see, the waste product of the zinc+air+elctrolyte reaction is water, which can then react corrosively with the zinc, releasing Hydrogen. So in effect, gradually replacing the O2 in the plunger with H2.

@SpydersByte 2 года назад

wow, Im amazed that those tiny batteries can actually produce that amount of gas and pressure, pretty crazy! The chemical one was also very interesting

@FunctionFIVE 4 месяца назад

Man, I love solid and smart engineering

@jerryluce3035 2 года назад

I love when you don't preopen stuff so you are surprised as me.

@TC_here 2 года назад

Simple tech so very little to go wrong .. ideal for environment where you dont want to be accessing it often.. Genius

@tmcoleman999 2 года назад

we use lots of these in our feed pelleting mill, mostly on conveyors of raw materials. These cartridges do save a lot of time and effort for maintenence, but we've found them unsuitable for high temperature areas as the grease dries out and turns into a wax like consistency.

@shadowsimjk 2 года назад

Is the high temperature area small or large? If it's small, some plumbing to get the cartridge placed further away where it's cool could help. We have maybe 500 grease points, and it takes around 2 hours for a person to go through them all with a pneumaticly powered grease gun. We had cartridges like that on some machines that were bought second hand, the cartridges all discharged while the machine was in storage, creating somewhat of a mess. We have central lubrication systems where you have one tank and plunger, and various distribution methods, plus lots and lots of plumbing. The good thing is that they don't pump alot of grease all over if the machine is at a standstill for a month or two. The disadvantage is that grease tends to dry out, and you have no real insight into whether a lubrication point is getting lubed or not. A "Grease monkey" with a manual grease gun will be able to tell if a nipple is blocked or not. Automatics, as commonly installed, don't seem to provide the same feedback. Your feedback is when the bearing fails.

@4bSix86f61 4 месяца назад

Can't wait for big Clive to do a video on his Aliexpress search history

@Nubbie 2 года назад

We sell the SKF automatic lubricator on a regular basis, it's such a simple and cheap way to lubricate constantly and efficiently even the hardest-to-reach places

@questionablebackyardmeows 2 года назад

Heh heh

@anthimatter 2 года назад

I used to work for an engineering supply company and sold all these from time to time. I always found them fascinating but never saw inside or knew exactly how they worked. Thank you for enlightening me Clive!

@Marcin_Kwidzinski 2 года назад

Shorted zinc-air battery without oxygen will produce hydrogen (~0,3 H2 liter at normal pressure per gram of ideal zinc water mixture, because of casing, additives etc. in practice probably more like 0,1 H2 liter per gram of battery if there is sufficient amout of water) I see here some explosion potential, maybe worth trying?

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

Experiments are in progress.

@alanm8932 3 месяца назад

@@bigclivedotcomhow did the experiment go? I'd hate to have to try it myself!

@alanm8932 3 месяца назад

Thank you Marcin. The amount of comments I had to go through, with nobody even asking what the gas was!

@wolfblade 2 года назад

Amazing! I love seeing the elegant simplicity of a great design like this. Hopefully someone got a bonus for developing this one. It is brilliant.

@jimmymcjimmyvich9052 2 года назад

Ah yes Mr. Clive. At last something I know a bit about. I do know its limitations. If you chose this and do away with the Greaser employee then bear in mind. It lets you down frequently in the real world especially by melting its small plastic thread if it fails to deliver the correct quantity. It is a dark art setting them. If it is not linked to feed back tech then buyer beware. I have seen these melted and lying on the ground still squirting their grease while the machine slowly kills itself. Vibration and a term describing a ''bearing wanting a drink'' and cracking under strong sunlight are some of its enemy's. Nice idea. But if you value your machine be careful.

@nicklowery2680 Год назад

Had a few if these at a factory I used to work at. Drove me nuts trying to figure out how it worked. Never could get ahold of an old one to take apart and was always told they worked by "magic". Finally I understand how that pesky skf automatic greaser works...thanks clive!

@Lazy_Tim 2 года назад

I use to work in a steel mill as a break down electrician. These auto geezers were a new thing back then (20 years ago). I do remember an adjustable version even back then. The adjustment was made by turning a dial the full diameter of the geeezer. I wonder is it was the same tech?

@jothain 2 года назад

Most likely. There are couple of manufacturer of similar products.

@Backroad_Junkie 2 года назад

I saw auto geezers and thought "old car guys", lol...

@pheakay 2 года назад

What I like about the channel is that I have no practical reason to watch these but I'm happy that I do. Thanks for makin great content

@a1fliema1fie 2 года назад

its begging for a 1 month timelapse! are you up for it?👍👍👍

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I had this unit sitting here slowly extruding it's schmoo like a Mr Whippy ice cream.

@d00L1e 2 года назад

The ones with a bulb on the top to display when theyre empty are a god send for things up a height

@ecc84 2 года назад

Anne summers is watching with interest lol

@Le_Petit_Lapin 2 года назад

Wont ask why you were searching for automatic lubricators big man. Thats a class wee system they've come up with.

@mikeselectricstuff 2 года назад

Is there a particular reason to think these are zinc-air rather that some other custom chemistry?

@Adderkleet 2 года назад

Probably that they exist and are "standard". No need to invest the wheel if there's an off-the-shelf battery you can buy/use.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

They may be custom, but the patent linked in the description seems to hint at zinc air cells exhibiting this effect. I have some cells on order to test.

@sootikins 2 года назад

I'm fairly certain that zinc air cells, at least when operating as intended, do not evolve any gas. Something odd is going on in this device.

@NOWThatsRichy 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom The only use I've previously heard Zinc-air cells used for is hearing aids.

@Morkvonork 2 года назад

@@sootikins I think they charge one of the zink cells with the other zink cell. This would release the gas from zink oxide.

@mattmurphy1065 2 года назад

You had me at absolute, lost me at genius, but pulled me back in at lubricator.

@jdlech 2 года назад

In the fabrication shop I used to work at, it usually took 2 guys about 4 hours to grease 12 machines, twice a year. So that's about $50 x 4 hours x 2 per year, or about $400. Compare that to $37 per unit x 12 or about $444, assuming each machine needs only one unit. The older machines often needed grease in multiple locations.

@OleksandrDiedov 2 года назад

You dont factor cost of grease and equipment for 2 guys to grease those 12 machines)

@spagamoto 2 года назад

Side benefit - those 2 folks will be doing other things during those 4 hours!

@mrbumcraic5046 2 года назад

These are single point only lubricators 1 unit to replace 1 grease nipple

@NiallBoggins 3 месяца назад

I like the spring one best. No over engineering with goofy gasses and seals, just a clear tube with a spring. You can see how much is left, and it's refillable!

@jamespotter3334 2 года назад

Good stuff! I've often seen these empty canisters discarded by the side of the railway and wondered what they were. I'd assume they are used for lubricating points. You do also get the huge grease pots that are activated by trains as they roll over them and the wheels hit a little plunger.

@jeremywilliams5107 2 года назад

Aren't they for anti-squeal use in curves? I thunk the points have other lubrication means..

@jamespotter3334 2 года назад

@@jeremywilliams5107 the big yellow ones are yes. I'm going to assume that these ones go inside the point motors.

@hannahranga 2 года назад

The RR I work for uses them to lubricate external locking mechanism for point machines. They mostly work well but in some locations the vibration from trains snaps them off.

@jamespotter3334 2 года назад

@@hannahranga yeah can't imagine the plastic does well under UV light exposure. Probably goes very brittle

@chrissavage5966 2 года назад

Genius! I love things like this where clearly, the designer has a truly deep knowledge of their topic, or can at least use Google ;). Now we need the video on the chemistry please Clive.

@oasntet 2 года назад

Huh. Do zinc-air batteries not need fresh air as they run? Or is there enough in the chamber at the start of the run? Or enough diffuses through the plastic housing?

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

It appears to be the process of blocking air that may make them generate hydrogen gas.

@straightpipediesel 2 года назад

I think what's going on is there's not enough oxygen, so the reaction is ripping the O off the water in the electrolyte, releasing H2.

@kelleysimonds5945 2 года назад

Very simple and therefore very sophisticated. I love finding out about this kind of engineering.

@stepheneyles2198 2 года назад

12:30 - Big Clive mistakenly reveals his RU-vid income: 2.65k per month!

@jdhtyler 2 года назад

He is paid in Ohms.

@BozesanVlad 2 года назад

Genius is defined by simplicity that make anyone say: "I could've thought of this, it is so simple "

@barrieshepherd7694 2 года назад

I've never thought about it but if you shorted the cell would the rate of gas production cause an explosion? (Gets containment dish ready)

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I doubt it would generate it that fast.

@robertlapointe4093 2 года назад

@@bigclivedotcom I think this would be worth trying, although you're right, the explosion containment pie dish shouldn't be necessary. If the gas output is linear with load, then a 1 ohm load should get the device to shoot its wad (a grease cup's worth of gas) in about 17 minutes. Maybe wire it up to a low resistance load and drop it into some distilled water to see the bubbles.

@jothain 2 года назад

Iirc correctly they're actually atex rated. I could be wrong, but that's what gotten into my head.. 🤔

@straightpipediesel 2 года назад

@@jothain I mean if you already got an explosive atmosphere, a little more hydrogen isn't going to hurt...

@nickyborrisino 2 года назад

I got super excited about this video up until the point I realized the lubricator is not for personal use.

@marcusmerrin192 2 года назад

I'm pretty sure it's not a conventional Zn-air cell here. In the absence of O2, those cells don't do anything, far less generate substantial amounts of gas. My guess is it's a Zn-air type cell with some added magic ingredient such that when the battery is shorted (or partially so) it generates enough oxygen to activate the cell, and the charge is then used to liberate gas from some other substance (e.g. maybe Al/HCl which generates hydrogen?)

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

See the description.

@jaylittleton1 2 года назад

Nice! "Sophisticated" does not automatically require exotic or complex execution. Thanks for this, Clive.

@TopEndSpoonie 2 года назад

Imagine how long it would have taken to develop that. Wow. 👍

@CubbyTech 2 года назад

I'd guess the ones that 'drop in' the pill into the liquid gave them the idea, as it's kind-of a 'battery'

@jothain 2 года назад

@@CubbyTech yeah and ones with spring that are way harder to control precisely.

@randomviewer896 2 года назад

I'm very surprised those cells put out that much gas. I would have thought it would only be four or five times their actual volume. Very impressive and ingenious solution.

@keithfulkerson 2 года назад

Wtf happened to your hand?

@radarmusen 2 года назад

I would be baffled if was opened it and just found this, very clever design and good research from you.

@Electronics-Rocks 2 года назад

As in the say KISS Keep It Simple Stupid. This makes sure it is repeatable every time

@Clarks-Adventure 2 года назад

I'm adding a shaft support bearing to my sailboat. I'm just deciding on how to lube it and this video came up. Thanks for your timing Clive. Enjoy your videos. Our channel is quite DIY as well but with a different focus.

@christopherdesbaux5950 2 года назад

I need a t-shirt with Clive brandishing a multimeter, with a delightfully simple auto-luber ambushing him... "Clever Girl'

@isaacplaysbass8568 2 года назад

The simplicity is stunning. I'm in awe. Thank you Clive.

@erikdevries9208 2 года назад

We have these, but larger in the trucking industry. There's a pot of about half a gallon of grease affixed to the truck chassis, lines to every non rotary grease fitting. We don't measure in months, but hours. I had mine set for grease every 6 hours, which is excellent in winter for pushing water out of steering joints and suspension bushings. All run by a small electric motor and a small piston pump. You can even buy a kit to auto-grease the 5th wheel. Very handy indeed.

@wiseoldfool 2 года назад

Elegant simplicity! In most applications the gas is a by-product of the process, here the gas IS the process. SKF are a well respected bearing manufacturer, so not altogether surprising they have lubrication solutions. What a schematic!

@jasonshulme 2 года назад

There is beauty in the pure simplicity of this device. This is one of the things where you can imagine some person thinking "how can I make this better?," Then all of a sudden a light bulb turns on in their mind. This is definitely a true case of thinking outside the box. Kudos to the designer.

@goodbye8995 2 года назад

Kudos to the chemist who cooked that engineer's LSD.

@antibrevity 2 года назад

This is what great engineering looks like. It's simple, effective, offers a range of output speeds from a single unit, and is inexpensive to manufacture relative to other options.

@s.i.m.c.a 2 года назад

but it is one time use thing which will try to pull out content if it needed or not. So while it is simple, it have a long list of cons.

@donaldasayers 2 года назад

Wymark have been producing their Greasomatic for over 50 years. They use a chemical gas generator based on metal dissolving in acid (I think) generating hydrogen, to force the grease out. The little capsule that contains the metal is programmed before it's release, by turning an external knob which opens or closes an orifice that allows the acid into the casule. Greasomatics are totally sealed. They have nice cut away diagrams on their website.

@bigclivedotcom 2 года назад

I almost bought one of those. I thought it might have been a potentiometer being set on a module before being released.

@HotelPapa100 4 месяца назад

The basis of this design is not the grease pump but the Stauffer bushing. Filled with grease, the mechanic would occasionally go by and give the screw-on cover a twist to supply a helping of grease to the bearing. I used a version of this with a gear motor that can be controlled digitally. (Not for lubrication, but for dispersal of a contaminant in a test configuration)

@danielemanuelsson4233 2 года назад

The Skf model I have used for 10 years lubricates bearings excellently. works very well. Sometimes getting someone gas-powered from England is often rubbish rarely working.

@gordonlawrence1448 2 года назад

Splunge has now supplanted my favorite word from the Oxtail English dictionary (which was "sleeb" - the wheel on a shopping trolley that looks like the other 3 but renders it totally uncontrollable).