Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

Looking Good! I like the oilers. They work upside down? Spring loaded?

Technically they are greasers.
I'm starting with a #1 grease rather than the most common #2

Sorry, YES, spring loaded.

We used similar spring-loaded greasers when I worked at the cement plant. They worked great...until they didn't. They increase the time needed between service, but if one of them failed, it took a while to find. Sometimes by the time you found it you were replacing the bearing as well as the automatic greaser. Funny though, most of ours broke like they had been hit with a baseball bat. I'm sure we had them fail from natural causes, but most of our failures I would attribute to disgruntled or negligent employees.

Beautiful site. Hope you get many years of enjoyment out of it.

I can actually see how they are doing at any time using a spotting scope.

I'm like a kid in a candy factory, truth be know I gaze at it too much.
I placed it so I can be at my computer and just look out the window to my right.
OK, I know TMI.

Greg, I almost suggested using binoculars to check on them. Sounds like you've already got that squared away. Just keep an eye on them. If they ever plug up for whatever reason, they can be full of grease and not be able to push it where you need it.

And I won't judge you for admiring. I've had a tower stood up in the yard for almost 10 years. Just the tower mind you. I can't tell you how many hours I've stared at that. I can't wait to finish rebuilding my mill so I'll actually have something to stare at.

I am been around automatic oiler's and greaser's from semi trucks to farm equipment to equipment running in factory's. If set right and maintained they work pretty well.

I can set in my chair , look out at my Hummer Model E and get and idea how windy it is. When I get my windcharger up it will also be in my line of site.

How do you get the grease to run the full length of the bearing?

Each arm has a forward and back bearing.
The space between acts as a reservoir for grease.
And with the lubricators now in place a slight pressure is held to force the grease along the bearings.
For this proof of concept period I purchased #1 grease which is soft, more like tomato paste.
As the wear begins, (hopefully very slowly) the grease will search out the void left by the wear.