American Eagle Motor Leaking Grease, What To Do?

There is grease coming out from a small pinhole at the top of my motor (AE-G12NM/AE-G22NM). What should I do?

All of our meat grinder motor transmissions are packed full with food-safe lithium grease during manufacturing. On occasion, the transmission ends up packed with more grease than necessary to ensure the machine will operate effectively and extend its lifetime. To relieve any pressure caused by the additional grease and air mixing while the gears are turning, a small pinhole exists at the top of the machine away from any food contact surfaces. New machines may sometimes have grease come out of this small pinhole during their break-in period. This is normal by design; it does not indicate that there is anything wrong with the machine—only that your machine is new and will need to be run to release the excess grease. The pressure release pinhole is located on top and far away from any food contact surfaces and should be monitored during the break in period.

Simply wipe the grease away periodically during normal use until no more grease comes out, indicating that the break-in period for your machine is over. The more you use the machine, the sooner the break-in period will complete, and the grease will have completely settled inside the transmission casing.
 
Our motors only use H1 grade machine lubricant. For more information on what H1 grade means for food safety, please see the following article from NSF (National Sanitation Foundation): https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-library/food-grade-lubricants-registrations

Detailed instructions on the recommended method for cleaning the grease follow below:
  1. Wear Disposable Or Cleaning Gloves Before Completing the following steps.
  2. Wipe away as much of the excess grease as possible from the outside housing with a disposable towel.
  3. Pour a Small Amount of thinner or denatured alcohol onto a disposable towel, and wipe away any remaining grease residue from the motor housing.
  4. Use some mild soap and water mixture on a disposable towel to ensure that any cleaning agents used in step 3 have been removed completely from the motor housing.
  5. To finish, wipe down the motor housing with a damp (water only) towel, then wipe dry.
  6. Note: Do not spray wash or submerge the motor unit in water or use an excessive amount of cleaning agents that would saturate the motor housing

This small grease leakage applies to new machines or machines that have not passed their break-in period. 

If the quality of the grease coming out of the pinhole is very fluid, almost like oil instead of thick/sticky, this may indicate that the lithium grease inside the gearbox has worn down and reached its end of life, and you should have your motor unit inspected and serviced by a qualified service agent.

If you are experiencing grease leaking from the the drive hub (square slot where the attachment head slides into), this drive hub is normally sealed with a rubber oil seal, so leakage from the drive hub should be inspected and serviced by a qualified service agent to ensure the oil seal has not broken or should be replaced.

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Still have questions? Please contact us by creating a support case, emailing support@americaneaglemachine.com, or calling 773-376-0800.