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Cordless vs manual grease gun

Updated: 21.10.2026

You already own a lever gun. It lives in the toolbox, it takes a 400 g cartridge, and your forearm knows when the nipple is full. A cordless grease gun offers a free hand on the coupler and a faster trip around a machine, and it weighs more than the lever you trust. This page is that choice. It is not a second shortlist of the eleven battery guns. Prices are on the [cordless grease gun comparison](/hub/compressors/cordless-grease-gun). Products Compared used Farmers Weekly's electric-versus-manual test, the Health and Safety Executive, and the weights on these amazon.co.uk listings. We did not run that farm test again.

You already own a lever gun. It lives in the toolbox, it takes a 400 g cartridge, and your forearm knows when the nipple is full.

Our top picks

Einhell Einhell TP-GR 18/690 Li Solo

Best overall

Einhell Einhell TP-GR 18/690 Li Solo
8.4/10about £159.95
View offer
TaskStar TaskStar GR02P-UK grease gun

Alternative

TaskStar TaskStar GR02P-UK grease gun
7.5/10about £89.99
View offer
Ovshnrr Ovshnrr cordless grease gun kit

Best value

Ovshnrr Ovshnrr cordless grease gun kit
7.4/10about £69.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the lever gun still does better
  2. 2.What the battery gun changes
  3. 3.Pressure is not the safety difference
  4. 4.When to keep both

What the lever gun still does better

A lever gun tells you when the joint is filling. The handle gets heavy, and you stop. Farmers Weekly's electric-versus-manual piece found that battery guns speed the job and then make it easier to over-grease a bearing, because that lever feel has gone. A sealed bearing that was meant to take two shots can dump grease past the seal. For a few nipples on a car, a trailer or a garden machine, the lever is the better tool. It needs no charge, and it still accepts the same 400 g NLGI 2 tube. A lever gun still needs a prime. Air in a new cartridge stalls a manual gun too. Moving to cordless does not retire that step. Keeping both is a normal workshop, not a failure to choose.

What the battery gun changes

Farmers Weekly's later battery-gun test put it in one picture: one finger on the pump, the other hand on the pipe. That free hand is the point under a boom or behind a wheel. Weight is the cost. Stated masses run from 3 kg on the TaskStar and the Seesii to 5.96 kg on the ONEVAN. A hose near a metre lets that mass rest. A lever gun assumes neither a pack nor a charger.
Einhell Einhell TP-GR 18/690 Li Solo

Testsieger

Einhell Einhell TP-GR 18/690 Li Solo
8.4/10about £159.95
View offer

Pressure is not the safety difference

A lever gun is not the safe low-pressure option. The Health and Safety Executive notes that hand guns have been tested above 600 bar, and the fatal nipple detachment in its track-tensioning bulletin was a grease gun injury, not a cordless-only injury. Serious cases are cited above 100 bar, with anecdotal risk from about 7 bar. Both tools can put grease through skin. A 10,000 or 12,000 psi bullet does not make the lever harmless. 10,000 psi is about 690 bar by arithmetic. Einhell publishes 690 bar as one setting. Do not feel for leaks with a hand, and go to A&E if grease breaks the skin. A dose dial or a shot counter stops the flow after a counted shot. It is not a scale. Track tensioning stays off both tools as a casual job.

When to keep both

Keep the lever if you grease a car, a trailer or a few implements now and then, and you can still feel the joint fill. Move the weekly work to a cordless gun when one hand has to stay on the coupler. That is the recommendation: cordless for a weekly machine round, lever for occasional nipples, and both if you do both jobs. If the cordless side has won, the names are on the best cordless grease gun page. The top pick is the Einhell body when Power X-Change packs are already yours. The best value is the Ovshnrr kit at £69.99. Neither award means the lever is obsolete. The cordless band here is £67.99 to £159.95 on amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026, and the bottom of that band is a body with no battery.

Common questions

Is cordless always better?
No. A cordless gun is the better tool when the nipple list is long and one hand must hold the coupler. A lever gun is the better tool for a few nipples, because you can feel the joint fill and you are not carrying 3 kg to 5.96 kg of pistol. Farmers Weekly found battery guns faster and easier to over-grease. Both findings can be true on the same farm.
What do I lose compared with a lever?
You lose the feel in the handle. The motor delivers grease while the trigger is on, including after a sealed bearing is full. A dose dial, a shot counter or a timer puts a limit back, and it is still coarser than a lever that goes heavy in your hand. You also take on charging, a second pack on a long day, and a hose you have to bleed before the first nipple.
Is a manual gun safer because the pressure is lower?
Do not assume that. HSE notes hand guns tested above 600 bar, and the fatal track-tensioning case was a grease-gun injury. Injection can look trivial. Serious cases are cited above 100 bar, with anecdotal risk from about 7 bar. Treat both tools as high-pressure. Wear eye protection when you bleed, do not feel for leaks with a hand, and go to A&E if grease breaks the skin.
When is a few nipples still a lever job?
When the list is short, the coupler is easy to reach, and you grease occasionally. A car, a trailer or a small implement fits that. You avoid the battery, the extra weight and the risk of holding a trigger too long. If that list becomes a weekly tractor and handler, the free hand on the coupler is the reason to add a cordless gun rather than to throw the lever away.
Should I keep both?
Yes, if you do both kinds of job. Use the cordless gun for the weekly machine round, with a hose near a metre and a charged spare pack. Keep the lever for occasional nipples, for a flat battery, and for any joint where you want the handle to tell you it is full. The best-page awards are for the cordless choice inside this set. They are not an instruction to retire the lever.

Related pages

How to use a cordless grease gun

Cordless grease gun buying guide

Cordless grease gun

Best cordless grease gun: a top pick and best value

Cordless grease gun for a tractor: hose and battery

Sources

Public UK sources, the Einhell UK page and the Makita DGP180 manual. amazon.co.uk listings checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE: hydraulic injection injury (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE: track tensioning (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. legislation.gov.uk: PUWER 1998 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Einhell UK: TP-GR 18/690 Li Solo (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Makita: DGP180 instruction manual (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Farmers Weekly: battery-powered grease guns (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Farmers Weekly: electric versus manual grease guns (retrieved 19 October 2026)