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MG MGA - Nipples and Zerks

I have often been intrigued by the use of the word Zerk whereas I have always used the generic name Nipple.

I was browsing through the 1967 Brown Brothers catalogue yesterday and came to the nipple page (steady on fellows!).

Am I correct in saying that Zerk is short for Tecazerk as produced by the Tecalemit company?

There appears to be 3 variations:

1. Grease nipples for use with all grease grades.

2. Tecazerk for use with oil and medium-soft grease.

3. TAT for use where vertical access is limited, serviced by TAT hook-on or thrust-on connectors.

Anyone advise me otherwise?

Steve


Steve Gyles

You'll start collecting nipples shortly Steve.
Gary Lock

I already have Gary. Bought a job lot of about 100 for £1 at a garage closing down sale about 15 years ago. Also picked up a similar number of engine water blow out discs for the same price. Only a few fit the B Series, the rest make good mixing palettes for 2 part glue!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve - "Also picked up a similar number of engine water blow out discs...the rest make good mixing palettes for 2 part glue!

At the risk of sounding parochial, does the stores in England sell frozen orange in the little cardboard cans with metal lids? If so, those metal lids are great for mixing two part glues - I keep a stash of those lids for mixing glue in. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

"does the stores in England sell frozen orange in the little cardboard cans with metal lids?"

Doesn't sound familiar. What's frozen orange?
Dave O'Neill 2

Steve,

What are you calling "engine water blow out discs"?
Are you talking of the plugs used for blanking off the holes used for removing the core after casting?
I hope that you do not think that these plugs will save an engine block if the coolant freezes. They will not.

Mick
M F Anderson

Must get much colder in Oz than we all thought it did Mick! 😊

Well I suppose you are a lot nearer to the South Pole than we are😁.
Colyn Firth

Yes Colyn in OZ the engine is much more likely to boil rather than freeze!
However the same thing applies, the core plugs are not to relieve pressure, the radiator cap does that.

Mick
M F Anderson

The reference to the plugs was just a throwaway line. It's the Zerks I am more interested in. Is the name an example of 'Americanese' or did it start off with the Tecalemit name? I notice that the workshop manual just refers to them as greasers.

Incidentally, as another wander off track, although my query was brought about by discussions on the steering rack, my RHD steering rack is a hybrid. When I did the LHD to RHD conversion back in 1997 I took the LHD rack to a well known retired engineer near Wokingham (A329M/M4 junction). He took and cut a number of bits off it to make up my rack. I wish I had asked him for more detail at the time, but too late. I believe he passed away a while back. I have often looked at my rack and compared it to the workshop manual diagrams and it looks identical. I wonder what parts he used and where he got the rest from? I am not aware that he had a stash of old RHD boxes. I was led to believe he was bit of an ace with turning, milling and welding etc. I was put on to him by the Octagon Club (T-Series).

Steve
Steve Gyles

Mick, the rad cap will not relieve the pressure of freezing water!
Art Pearse

Art,

In my comment on radiator caps relieving pressure I clearly stated that it was for boiling coolant.

Mick
M F Anderson

Steve,
The Google God references a zerk as a grease nipple used to deliver grease under high pressure - could not find a reference to viscosity. It did seem to have a flat rather than rounded tip (?).
Did your hundred come collated or just all in a box?
Bayard DeNoie

The name Zerk comes from Oscar U. Zerk, American (Austrian-born) inventor. - First known use: 1926. - Patented January 1929. - Assignee to the patent was the Alemite Manufacturing Corporation. There were previously Alemite fittings of various sorts, but the Zerk fitting had some design improvements. So the design stuck, and the name of the inventor and patent holder came along with it.
barneymg

Thanks Barney. Over in the USA do you tend to call all greasers Zerks or just the specific shaped type shown in my opening photo?

Bayard. They are all of varying sizes and came in a large glass jar!

Steve

Steve Gyles

The generic name for the fittings is grease nipples - zerk is as barney explained - just as vacuum cleaners are often called hoovers.
Chris at Octarine Services

Chris

Thanks. I was assuming something like that. Just wanted the USA angle on it.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Yes, in the US we commonly call grease fittings Zerk fittings of Zerks. It is a registered trade name, but has evolved to be generic, like Xerox became xerox, so you can now call it a zerk fitting (lower case), or just "greaser".

However, this applies only to the type of fitting used for a grease gun connection, where the gun connector clips onto the fitting and will take high pressure. Earlier stye fittings with a hose barb or lift cap are still commonly called Alemite fittings (or just "oilers"), and the word "alemite" has by now also evolved to be generic. The difference between oilers and greasers is the high pressure connection.
barneymg

Thanks Barney. That's the answer I have been looking for. I'm happy now, though nipple sounds better than Zerk!!!

Steve
Steve Gyles

I like nipples, grease nipples, bleed nipples, and some other kinds too.
barneymg

Where is the like button on these posts?
Steve Gyles

Need to ask Mike to install a "like" nipple.....
Chris at Octarine Services

Nice one!
Steve Gyles

This thread was discussed between 10/04/2017 and 13/04/2017

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