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How to use a grease gun

Updated: 21.10.2026

The trigger or the lever moves, the cartridge is new, and nothing comes out of the coupler. That is usually air, or a cartridge seated the wrong way, not a dead tool. How to use a grease gun is: load it as the sheet in the box describes, bleed until clean grease leaves the jaws, push the coupler on square, stop when fresh grease shows, and tilt the coupler off. Prices stay on the [grease gun comparison](/hub/compressors/grease-gun). The sequence uses manufacturer sheets and Health and Safety Executive alerts, checked on 19 October 2026. We did not film a test. If your sheet disagrees, follow the sheet.

The trigger or the lever moves, the cartridge is new, and nothing comes out of the coupler. That is usually air, or a cartridge seated the wrong way, not a dead tool.

Our top picks

Bravex Bravex pistol grip grease gun (6000 psi)

Best overall

Bravex Bravex pistol grip grease gun (6000 psi)
8.8/10about £23.99
View offer
Draper Draper 47807 lever grease gun (500 cc)

Best value

Draper Draper 47807 lever grease gun (500 cc)
8.2/10about £15.48
View offer
KRETLAW KRETLAW pistol kit (7000 psi)

Alternative

KRETLAW KRETLAW pistol kit (7000 psi)
7.9/10about £29.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Load the cartridge the way the gun’s own sheet says
  2. 2.Get the air out before you blame the gun
  3. 3.Grease the nipple and stop
  4. 4.When to stop and get help

Load the cartridge the way the gun’s own sheet says

Put safety glasses on before you open the barrel. Sealey's AK4402 sheet and Draper's lever and pistol sheet both say so. Unscrew the barrel, pull the follower rod back until it locks, and take both caps off the cartridge. Which end goes in first splits the sheets. A generic Darglow note says the open end first. KRETLAW's listing says that if a 14 oz cartridge has a metal ring, insert the opposite end first. The paper that arrived with your gun wins. Seat the cartridge, screw the barrel on without over-tightening a die-cast head, and release the follower. Bulk fill and a filler pump are on the Draper sheet that covers the 47807. Use them only if your sheet shows the same ports. Do not heat a cartridge with a flame. Cartridge size and a stated bleed valve are on the buying guide.

Get the air out before you blame the gun

Pump with the coupler pointed into a rag, not onto the nipple, until you get a solid ribbon of grease. If the gun has a bleed valve, depress it while you pump, the way the Sealey sheet describes. Draper's instruction is the same idea: prime until grease flows from the coupler before you attach it. If you cannot find a valve, Bolts' UK guide says loosen the head about one turn, push the piston so air can escape, then retighten. One turn is a vent, not a running setting. A soft stroke and a clean rag means air, a follower still locked, or a seal left on the cartridge. Those are more common than a faulty casting. A gun that primes into the rag and then fails only on the machine is a nipple or a coupler problem.
Bravex Bravex pistol grip grease gun (6000 psi)

Testsieger

Bravex Bravex pistol grip grease gun (6000 psi)
8.8/10about £23.99
View offer

Grease the nipple and stop

Wipe the nipple so the first stroke does not push grit in. Push the coupler on square so the jaws pass the neck. A cocked coupler leaks down the outside. Pump until fresh grease appears at the seal. That is the stop. Extra grease blows the seal, which Draper's sheet already flags. If you cannot see the joint, stop when the stroke goes firm. A firm stroke can also mean a blocked nipple. Take the coupler off by tilting and twisting. Do not pull straight back. Draper's removal line for a push-on coupler is that tilt, and a straight pull is what snaps a nipple. If it stays stuck, stop. That diagnosis is the grease gun coupler page.

When to stop and get help

The Health and Safety Executive records a fitter killed when a grease nipple detached during track tensioning with a hand gun. Hand-pumped guns have been tested above 600 bar. Grease under the skin is a medical emergency even when the mark looks small. Do not search for a leak with bare hands, do not stand in line with a track-adjuster nipple, and do not reseat a blown fitting and pump again. If this is work equipment, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 apply, and HSE INDG241 says not to remove a guard to lubricate a machine that is still moving. A cordless gun does not change that. Get a competent person when the tracked-machine manual is missing or a nipple has already blown out.

Common questions

How do I load a 400 g cartridge?
Draw the follower rod back until it latches, remove both caps, seat the cartridge as your sheet specifies, screw the barrel on without over-tightening, and release the follower. Then bleed into a rag until the grease is solid. The Draper 47807 states 400 g. Do not force that tin into an 85 g mini.
Which end of the cartridge goes in first?
Follow the sheet in the box. One generic UK note says the open end first. A KRETLAW listing talks about a metal ring, which is a different seating. Guessing is how the follower stalls. If the sheet is missing, use the maker's PDF for that model, not a video of another brand.
Why does the trigger move and no grease come out?
Air in the head, a follower still locked, or a seal left on the cartridge. Pump into a rag with the bleed open, or with the head loosened about one turn if there is no valve, until grease flows. A soft stroke and a dry rag is a priming fault. A hard stroke and a stuck coupler is a joint that is not taking grease.
When is this a hospital problem rather than a tool problem?
When grease has punctured the skin, or a nipple has detached under pressure. The Health and Safety Executive treats hydraulic injection as urgent medical care, even if the wound looks minor. Do not keep working on a track adjuster that has just blown a fitting.
Can I grease a machine that is still running?
No, if the machine is work equipment. Stop it, and do not take a guard off while something is moving. That is the HSE line in INDG241. A home mower with the plug lead off is a different setting from a PTO shaft that is still turning.

Related pages

Pistol grip vs lever grease gun

Grease gun

Best grease gun UK: one-hand pistol or 400 g lever

Grease gun buying guide: cartridge, coupler, bleed

Grease gun coupler stuck: tilt off and match thread

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. amazon.co.uk prices and star lines were checked on 19 October 2026. Stated psi figures are listing claims, not measurements at the nipple.

  1. HSE hydraulic injection injury (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE track tensioning (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE fluid injection in agriculture (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. PUWER 1998 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. HSE INDG291 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Sealey AK48 instructions (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Smith & Allan Groz lever grease gun (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for the eleven ASINs in this comparison (retrieved 19 October 2026)