In order to maximise bearing running hours, it is very important to prevent rust from occurring on a bearing. As most bearings are subject to humidity, because of outdoor use or temperature differences between day and night, water or condensed humidity may make the bearings rusty. A good-quality grease should protect the bearing from rust in extreme situations. In order to be able to distinguish good rust-protective greases from bad greases and recommend the bestquality grease for its high-quality bearings, many years ago SKF developed the SKF Grease Test Rig EMCOR.
The purpose of the test is to measure the ability of a grease to protect a bearing against corrosion even in the presence of water.
With the SKF Grease Test Rig EMCOR, this is done in a dynamic way, i.e. greases are tested while bearings are running and standing. This means that even the thin oil film left in the contact zone of rollers and
raceways whilst the bearings are standing has to be able to protect the bearings against corrosion.