Best pillow block bearings?

[Oil pan 4]

Bearing type also plays a big part in 'wear'.
'stump grinder', 1" shaft, I don't think a ball bearing would be the best choice considering the rotating mass and the stress of 'chipping',there's also a LOT of side to side stress involved. Has to be a website somewhere that details bearing choice. I know bearings are rated for speed (RPM)as well as axial loads.

Keeping 'dirt' (grit, sand,slivers) out could be as easy as cutting up an old inner tube into a protective 'booty' with an access 'flap' to grease the Zerks

Is the cutting wheel perfectly balanced ? If off just a tad that could affect bearing life as the shaft is going 'up-down' every revolution. maybe not much (1-2 thou) BUT over time it's not good !

it'd be interesting to see what Vermeer and the other 'big boys' do/use ,cause they seem to run great ,all friggin day long , around here...

The zerks did have caps but the dirt and wood chips being exploded by the cutters made it so those caps were blown away after less than an hour of run time.
The cutter wheel is true as it was cut and holes marked on a lathe but the cutter pockets or holders and the cutters them selves and bolts are never perfectly ballanced. There was several grams difference between different cutter pockets, cutters and bolts. I tried to match them up so each cutter assembly was some what ballanced to its opposite. Then on top of that everything is a wear item and will get smaller, thinner over time.

 

[dvcochran]

SKF, Sealmaster, Dodge, Timken/Fafnir. They are all going to be very close to the same as long as you don't buy Chinese junk. You may want to check this out:
Pillow Block Bearing Units - Motion - Motion Industries
Drill down to the heavy-duty bearings.

 

[Oil pan 4]

Wow $570 to $740.
One of my flying monkeys might have a hit.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Sounds like you need to fab up some heavy duty steel covers for the pillow blocks ! Having that kind of carnage in an hour means you NEED 'armour' ,something to deflect the incoming stones, grit,chips, etc.

OK, simple possible solution. Add a 1/8" thick washer on both sides of the pillow block to be 'deflectors' or 'body armour'. ID= to shaft (1" ?) OD > bearing OD ( 2.25" ?). Sorry but you'll need to tear it all apart to add them BUT it should be well worth the time.

Chippers are in an 'extreme environment', need everything you can put on to protect them.
Similar to concrete saws (gas or electric) AMAZING they WORK at all, cough,cough, choke....

 

[Oil pan 4]

I'll see if I can find some mega washers because when I do find pillow blocks with seals, the seals may be exposed to flying debris and take damage. I'll have to take it all apart to change the pillow block eventually. I already have split collars on the inside and outside of both pillow blocks so I can just toss on a washer.

 

[Oil pan 4]

I was able to source an old but still new seal master and a new dodge pillow block.
The seal master has the zerk at 90 degrees to the mounting surface, not ideal for the stump grinder. Hopefully the seal master is true to its name and has a seal in there.
The dodge bearing very clearly has an external seal.
I could take the seal master bearing out and put it in a different housing.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

PROGRESS !! nice to see !
Yes, I've 'mixed and matched PBBs before.

Hmm... if the mounting bolts are long enough...
once the pillow block is secure, you could nut an 'omega' bent strap onto the bolts that would cover the Zerks.With a bit of bodging, you could weld upside down 'U' shaped sheets to the strap making a one piece protective cover that'd keep 99.44% of the flying debris away from the Zerk and bearings .
Instead of un-nutting the cover to grease, a hole big enough to fit grease gun nozzle in might be an option ?

One of those 'need to be there to figure it out' deals but armour plating is real good to have !!

 

[Oil pan 4]

It looks like the Chinese made pillow blocks are only a slightly cheaper copy of the old Seal Master bearings. As in there doesn't appear to be any kind of attempt at sealing the grease in and keeping the dirt out.

 

[Land Grader]

Sounds like you got a solution but here is my $.02. I would go Sealmaster and one that purges grease when it is full (so you dont over grease). NP16TC perhaps? Grease it often to purge contaminants.