EP2 grease vs non-EP: match the manual, not the colour
Updated: 23 October 2026
You are looking at a Carlube tube marked non-EP LM2 beside a TIMCO or Agri-Linc cartridge marked EP2, or at a Comma or Oregon tin that says lithium and then goes quiet. EP2 grease vs non-EP is that fork and nothing else. Extreme pressure is an additive claim for shock, slow speed or a heavy load. NLGI is how stiff the grease is. A yellow lithium colour does not answer either question. The five listings live on the [multi purpose grease comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/multi-purpose-grease). The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk pages and the maker sheets named below, on 21 October 2026, without a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are looking at a Carlube tube marked non-EP LM2 beside a TIMCO or Agri-Linc cartridge marked EP2, or at a Comma or Oregon tin that says lithium and then goes quiet. EP2 grease vs non-EP is that fork and nothing else.
You are looking at a Carlube tube marked non-EP LM2 beside a TIMCO or Agri-Linc cartridge marked EP2, or at a Comma or Oregon tin that says lithium and then goes quiet. EP2 grease vs non-EP is that fork and nothing else. Extreme pressure is an additive claim for shock, slow speed or a heavy load. NLGI is how stiff the grease is. A yellow lithium colour does not answer either question. The five listings live on the multi purpose grease comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk pages and the maker sheets named below, on 21 October 2026, without a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | EP claim | NLGI | Working temperature | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Agri-Linc Agri-Linc EP2 lithium grease, box of 12 | EP2 | NLGI 2 | −35°C to 120°C | 8.7 | about £49.95 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Carlube Carlube XMG070 LM2 lithium grease, 70 g | Non-EP LM2 | n/a | n/a | 7.7 | about £5.87 | View offer |
| Best value |  TIMCO TIMCO lithium EP2 grease, 400 g | EP2 | n/a | −30°C to 140°C | 7.8 | about £6.68 | View offer |
On this page
EP and NLGI are different words
EP means the grease carries an extreme-pressure additive package. Suppliers point that package at shock loads, slow bearings and stop-start duty, which is the plain reading of SKF’s note on when EP belongs in a grease selection. NLGI 2 is a consistency grade: buttery, pumpable in ordinary weather, the grade UK EP2 cartridges usually are when the label actually says NLGI. The digit in EP2 is often that consistency, and it is still not a substitute for the letters NLGI printed on the tin. A product can say EP2 and leave NLGI off the page you are buying from. TIMCO does that. Agri-Linc prints both.
Non-EP lithium is the general grease for lighter slides and hinges, not a weaker version of the same EP tin. Carlube’s Amazon listing calls XMG070 a versatile non-EP LM2. LM2 on that sheet means a lithium multi-purpose name without an EP claim. Other sellers have put molybdenum disulphide under an LM2 name, which is a different product, so this page sticks to Carlube’s own XMG070 sheet and to the Amazon title in front of you. Four-ball weld loads on another maker’s sheet are not Carlube’s and they are not TIMCO’s. Lithium complex, copper anti-seize and moly grease are outside this fork. Pack size and water wording are on the multi purpose grease buying guide.
What each kept listing actually says
Agri-Linc’s amazon.co.uk page says EP2 and prints NLGI 2. The working range on the bullets is −35°C to 120°C. The 190°C figure is the melting point. You are looking at a stated EP2 cartridge, sold here as a box of twelve at about £49.95, with 4.7 from 211 reviews. That is the clearest EP line in the set, and it is a case quantity.
TIMCO’s page says lithium EP2, one 400 g cartridge at about £6.68, made in the United Kingdom, with a working range of −30°C to 140°C and 4.4 from 84 reviews. It does not print the letters NLGI. A viscosity field says 5w-30. That field is an engine-oil style artefact, not a grease grade and not an EP result. TIMCO is still an EP2 listing because the name and the bullets say EP2. It is not an NLGI 2 listing until the page says NLGI.
Carlube XMG070 on Amazon is a 70 g tube at about £5.87, 4.6 from 926 reviews, and the listing says non-EP LM2. It does not print an NLGI number or a degree figure. Carlube’s own LM2 sheet for XMG070 states non-EP lithium, NLGI 2, a service range of about −30°C to 120°C and a drop point around 180°C, for hinges, window regulators and seat mechanisms. You may use that sheet as the maker’s account of this part number. You may not pretend the Amazon page already prints those temperatures. The table on this page stays with what Amazon shows: non-EP, no degree figure.
Comma GR2400 is a 400 g tube at about £7.95 and 4.6 from 829 reviews. It does not say EP and it does not say non-EP. Oregon’s 400 g cartridge at about £9.59, 5.0 from 47 reviews, does not say EP. A highlight that says anti-seize is not an extreme-pressure grade. Silence on both is a gap you accept or you do not. It is not a yes.
When non-EP is enough, and when it is not
Non-EP is the better match when the duty is light and the manual does not ask for EP. A hinge, a window regulator, a seat runner or a bike hub is the work Carlube’s maker sheet describes, and it is the work reviewers actually do with the 70 g tube. If that sheet’s NLGI 2 and −30°C to 120°C match the job, and you are happy that those figures sit on the maker PDF rather than on the Amazon bullets, the Carlube tube is the non-EP option in this set. If you need the temperature on the retail page itself, this tube does not give it to you.
EP2 is the match when the manual says EP or EP2, or when the duty is the shock and slow-speed work SKF points at: a loaded pin, a plant nipple, a coupling that takes a jolt. TIMCO is the single cartridge that says EP2. Agri-Linc is the box that says EP2 and also prints NLGI 2. Choosing Carlube because it is about £5.87, then hoping multi-purpose covers a manual that says EP2, is the mistake this fork exists to stop.
Electric motors are the awkward middle. Comma’s listing names electric motor bearings and never says whether the grease is EP. Mobil’s motor-bearing note says EP additives are the wrong extra for ordinary motor bearings unless there is a thrust load, because they can shorten grease life. SKF’s selection note is the same shape of advice: use EP when the duty needs it, not as a default. Follow the motor plate. Do not promote Comma to a motor grease because the bullet mentions motors, and do not tip TIMCO into a motor because it is the best value EP2 cartridge on a trailer.
Which one to buy for this fork
If the manual says EP or EP2 and you need one cartridge, buy TIMCO at about £6.68 and accept that NLGI is not printed on the Amazon page. If the manual says EP2 and you will use twelve cartridges, buy the Agri-Linc box at about £49.95, which is the listing that prints both EP2 and NLGI 2, and plan around −35°C to 120°C rather than the 190°C melting point. If the job is a light hinge or the maker’s non-EP LM2 sheet matches the part, buy Carlube and treat it as non-EP, which is what Amazon already says.
Comma and Oregon are available only when the manual does not require EP and you accept the gap in writing. They are not a third EP grade. They are unspecified lithium. Oregon’s 5.0 from 47 reviews does not fill in the missing EP line, and Comma’s 829 reviews do not either. A higher four-ball number copied from another brand’s PDF is not your grease’s number. Smith & Allan’s GC-LB mark is not these ASINs. When the plate names a specification none of these sentences states, stop and buy that specification. Who should buy the box versus one cartridge is on best multi purpose grease.
Common questions
What does EP2 mean?
EP2 is a lithium grease with an extreme-pressure additive claim, usually at a consistency suppliers treat as NLGI 2 when they print the grade. The EP part is for shock, heavy load, slow speed or stop-start duty. The 2 is not a temperature and not a weld load. In this set, TIMCO and Agri-Linc use the EP2 name. Only Agri-Linc also prints NLGI 2 on the amazon.co.uk listing. A weld-load figure from another company’s data sheet does not become yours.
Is LM2 the same as EP2?
On Carlube XMG070, LM2 means non-EP lithium multi-purpose. The Amazon listing says non-EP. EP2 means the extreme-pressure package is claimed. They are different products even when both are lithium and both look yellow. Other shops have used LM2 on greases that contain molybdenum disulphide, so the letters only mean what the sheet in your hand says. For this tube, use Carlube’s XMG070 sheet, not a moly page with a similar code.
Does the Carlube tube’s Amazon page state NLGI 2?
The amazon.co.uk listing does not print NLGI or a working temperature. It says non-EP LM2, 70 g, about £5.87, and 4.6 from 926 reviews. Carlube’s own sheet for XMG070 does state NLGI 2, about −30°C to 120°C and a drop point around 180°C, aimed at hinges and similar light mechanisms. Keep those figures on the maker sheet. Do not type them into the Amazon comparison as if the retail bullets already showed them.
What about Comma and Oregon?
Leave them as unspecified. Comma is a 400 g tube at about £7.95 with 4.6 from 829 reviews, named for chassis, hubs, universal joints and electric motor bearings, with no EP word. Oregon is a 400 g cartridge at about £9.59 with 5.0 from 47 reviews and an upper rating of 120°C, also with no EP word. Buy either only when the manual does not require EP and you are willing to own that silence. A large review count does not invent the missing line.
Should I put EP2 in an electric motor?
Only if the motor plate or the bearing duty says so. Mobil’s note on electric-motor bearings says EP can shorten grease life in an ordinary motor bearing that has no thrust load. SKF’s selection guidance is to add EP when the load needs it, not as a habit. Comma mentions motor bearings and does not say EP, which leaves you nowhere. TIMCO is EP2 for the jobs that ask for EP2, not a default motor fill. If the plate is unclear, ask the fitter who services that motor.
When is non-EP the better match?
Non-EP is the better match for a light hinge, a regulator or a similar slide when the manual does not say EP, which is the duty on Carlube’s XMG070 sheet and in the tube’s reviews. It is the worse match the moment the manual says EP2 or the pin sees shock and slow, heavy load. Then TIMCO covers one cartridge and Agri-Linc covers a box of twelve. Price does not cross that line: about £5.87 of non-EP grease does not satisfy an EP2 instruction.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings scored 21 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.
- HSE, maintenance of work equipment (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- HSE L112, PUWER (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- HSE marine loading-arm bulletin (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- HSE, CLP (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- SKF, determining grease quantities (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Lever Engineering, lithium EP2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Smith & Allan, lithium EP2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Machinery Lubrication on ASTM D6185 (retrieved 21 October 2026)