Air Grease Pumps
An air grease pump puts a pneumatic motor on top of a piston pump that rides inside the lubricant container. Shop air at 6 bar drives the motor; the pump multiplies that pressure by its ratio — a 50:1 unit delivers roughly 300 bar at the grease outlet — enough to push NLGI 2 grease through long pipe runs, hose reels and meter valves without bogging down.
IsoHiTech catalogs pneumatic grease pumps by the container they serve: 5-gallon pail pumps, 16-gallon and 120 lb keg pumps, and 55-gallon drum pumps from 50:1 up to 70:1. Around the pumps sit the parts that finish a drum station — follower plates, triple swivel joints, high-pressure control handles — plus the steel drums themselves and brand cross pages for Graco Fire-Ball and Alemite 7786 equipment.
In use the pump stays mounted: air line in, grease line out to a reel. Plants usually standardize one pump per container size, so the grease room never mixes hardware. Where these pumps overlap with pail and farm rounds, the same units are also cataloged under bucket pumps and tractor grease pumps; the SM and K2000 families also appear under Bijur lubrication pumps.
Choosing by Container and Ratio
| Your grease supply | Right pump | Working note |
|---|---|---|
| 5-gallon pails | 35 lb / 5-gallon pail pump | Clamps the pail rim; light workshop duty |
| 16-gallon / 120 lb kegs | 50:1 keg pump | The common workshop size; trolley options |
| 55-gallon drums | 50:1–70:1 drum pump + follower plate | Bulk service; plate keeps the pump primed |
| Mobile rounds | Trolley-mounted pneumatic units | Pump and reel rolled to the machines |
Cataloged Models and Families
| Catalog page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 5-Gallon Pneumatic Grease Pump | 50:1 pail-mount dispensing system |
| 35 lb (5-Gallon) Air-Operated Pump | Pail greasing, bench-side |
| 120L / 16 Gallon Pneumatic Pump | Keg service; also under bucket pumps |
| 120 lb Air-Operated Pump – 50:1 | High-pressure keg transfer |
| 55-Gallon Air-Operated Pump | Full-drum lubrication; also under tractor pages |
| Pneumatic Pump 40:1–70:1 | 7,000 PSI bulk grease transfer systems |
| Graco Fire-Ball 300 / 425 / LD | Brand-equivalent pneumatic pumps |
| Alemite 7786 | Heavy-duty brand cross reference |
| SM SUREMATIC 18:1 | Small 2-liter reservoir piston pump |
| Sure 881 | Compact air grease pump |
| K2000 2–3 MPa | 4L reservoir, adjustable discharge; also under Bijur pumps |
| Air Greaser | Pneumatic grease gun and drum pump system |
| Follower plate | Drum accessory; prevents grease tunneling |
| Triple swivel joint 1/4″ | 350 bar, 3-axis rotation; kills hose kinks |
| Control handle 5500 PSI | Variable-flow trigger with 4-jaw coupler |
The steel containers themselves — 120 lb, 20 kg and 180 kg drums — are cataloged as container pages for pump systems and appear in the grid above.
Air Grease Pump FAQ
What does a 50:1 ratio actually mean?
Multiply incoming air pressure by the first number: 6 bar of shop air through a 50:1 pump gives roughly 300 bar of grease pressure, minus friction losses. Higher ratios exist for stiff grease and long distribution lines; a pail pump on short hoses does not need them. If your grease barely moves at 50:1, the answer is usually warmer grease and shorter lines before a bigger ratio.
What shop air supply do these pumps need?
Standard 6–8 bar plant air through an FRL unit. The volume requirement is modest — these are piston pumps, not continuous motors — but water in the line is the real enemy: it washes grease off the piston and rusts the air motor. Drain the receiver and the filter bowl on a schedule, not on failure.
Pail, keg or drum pump — what decides it?
The container your grease is purchased in, nothing else. Pail pumps clamp the rim; keg pumps drop through the bung with a short suction tube; drum pumps need full-length tube and, for NLGI 2 grease, a follower plate. Buying a drum pump when grease arrives in kegs buys you an empty drum’s worth of unusable suction tube.
When is a follower plate actually required?
In 55-gallon drums of stiff grease, always: the plate’s wiper edge follows the grease level down and stops the pump from drilling an air channel through the middle — the classic lost-prime failure. In kegs it is optional; in pails it does not apply. If your drum pump works on Monday and loses prime by Wednesday, the plate is missing or torn.
Air or electric grease pump for my plant?
Air wins where a compressor already runs and volume is high — no motor to burn out, full torque at stall, and one air line serves every drum. Electric wins where there is no air, on battery-powered mobile machinery, or where a controller must meter timed feeds. The electric families are cataloged on the electric grease pumps page, and the full power-source comparison sits on the grease pumps overview. Ask through the contact page with your container sizes and line lengths — the team specifies pump, ratio and follower plate as one working set.
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