What We Tested:

Contamination resistance of NHI Defender® Bearing Seals

Why We Tested:

Many of NHI’s customers use bearings in difficult applications that are subjected to hard environments. NHI has developed a special triple lip bearing seal to keep grease in and debris out, thereby increasing bearing and overall application life.

How We Tested:

The NHI Bearing Slurry Tester is designed to replicate various applications in the most extreme conditions in a manner that allows for accelerated testing. Bearings are rotated at speeds representative of the application while submerged in a proprietary Slurry mixture designed to corrode, penetrate, and abrade the test articles. After completing the pre-determined testing time critical features of the bearings including weight, torque, and vibration (measured as sound) are compared to the pre-test values. A final analysis involves removal of the bearing seals for a visual inspection of the bearing for contaminates.

What We Found:

After 20 hours of continuous slurry testing the results were convincing.

Competitor Bearing

measured a larger increase in weight and vibration indicating contaminates had penetrated the seal. This was validated via the visual inspection showing grease discoloration from the debris.

NHI Defender® bearings

measured minimal change in weight and vibration which was supported by the visual inspection which showed very slight indications of any contamination.

Conclusion:

NHI’s DEFENDER® BEARINGS stand tall above the competition at grease retention and contamination resistance.