Short answer
In an automatic lubrication installation the critical part is not the station but the LINE ROUTE. The station goes somewhere sheltered, the whole line takes a path where it will not be struck or chafed, and the feed connects to the breaker's own lubrication point. The line is then filled with grease, the air purged, the first output confirmed by eye, and grease flow verified through the first week. The commonest mistake that ruins an installation is routing the line through the moving zone between boom and attachment, where it is crushed and parted within days.
Decisions before you fit anything
- Where the station goes: a point that takes no impact, is not exposed to flying stone, and can be reached by hand for cartridge changes.
- Which way the line runs: a path clear of the moving parts of the boom, parallel to the existing hydraulic hose route and able to be clamped.
- Where the feed connects on the breaker: the breaker's own lubrication inlet is used; no new hole is drilled.
- When the system runs: lubrication should be fed while the breaker works; an arrangement that pumps grease while the breaker is idle only produces consumption.
- Who changes the cartridge and how often it is checked.
Step by step
- 1
Make the machine safe
Lower the attachment to the ground, stop the machine and release the hydraulic pressure. Nobody should be in the cab during the installation.
- 2
Choose the station position and dry fit it
Before fixing anything, hold the station in place and check it while imagining the boom moving a few times: does a hand fit in for a cartridge change, is it in the line of flying stone, does it cover a part that has to come off during service.
- 3
Set out the line route
Run the line parallel to the existing hydraulic hoses and use the same clamping points. Make sure the line is neither stretched nor chafed as the boom opens and closes; the critical area is the movement zone between attachment and boom.
- 4
Fix the station and the line
Mount the station so that it does not carry vibration. Clamp the line at regular intervals; a line left free swings with vibration and fatigues at its connection until it parts.
- 5
Connect the feed to the breaker lubrication point
Connect to the breaker's own lubrication inlet. Clean old grease and dust off the inlet before making the connection; dust that enters during installation is exactly what the system is being fitted to prevent.
- 6
Fit the cartridge and purge the air
Fit the cartridge and run the system until grease appears at the end of the line. Where the air has not been purged, the first run leaves the grease in the line rather than in the breaker; skip this step and the system looks as though it is working while it lubricates nothing.
- 7
Confirm the first output by eye
Slacken the connection, see grease arrive, then tighten it. Without seeing that, the installation is not finished; "it is fitted, so it must be working" is the most expensive assumption there is.
- 8
Watch the first week
Through the first week, check the cartridge level and the grease trace around the tool shank at the end of every shift. Where the cartridge does not go down at all, the system is not pumping; where it goes down very fast, there is a setting problem or a leak.
Do and don’t
Do
- Run the line parallel to the existing hydraulic hose route and use the same clamps.
- Clean old grease and dust off the lubrication inlet before connecting.
- Purge the air from the line until grease appears.
- Confirm the first output by eye and watch the first week.
- Give cartridge changes to one named person; an unowned system runs empty.
Don't
- Do not route the line through the moving zone between boom and attachment.
- Do not drill a new lubrication hole in the breaker housing; use the existing inlet.
- Do not leave the line unclamped; an unclamped line parts under vibration.
- Do not set the system to pump while the breaker is idle; that grease is wasted.
- Do not stop manual greasing the moment the system is fitted; both run together until the first week is verified.
Automatic lubrication does not end thinking about lubrication
Fitted correctly, the system takes interval and technique out of human hands, but it is a maintenance item in its own right: cartridges empty, lines get crushed, connections loosen. One line added to the shift start check is enough: is there grease in the cartridge, is the line in place, is there a fresh grease trace around the tool.
What HKM uses
The automatic lubrication HKM uses
The SolidLube automatic lubrication station mounts on the breaker and feeds grease continuously for as long as the breaker works. It was the solution most asked about on our field visits in the UK and Ireland: on busy shifts where manual greasing gets skipped, this is where the difference in bushing life comes from.
SolidLube automatic lubrication station(solid-lube.com)The first month after fitting
The first month is when the setting beds into the site. A dusty, abrasive quarry and a clean site do not want the same setting; you calibrate it by watching consumption and the condition of the grease coming out. Where the grease blackens quickly and carries rock dust, increase the feed; where there is heavy overflow around the tool, reduce it.
Look at the tool shank in this period as well. Where the system is working correctly, you expect no deep scores on the shank at the next tool change; where scores appear, either the feed is insufficient or the line is not actually delivering.