Bearing identification

Has anyone got access to more detailed bearing specs than seems to be readily available off the 'net? I'm going slowly nuts trying to discover whether there is any difference between single-row, deep groove bearings type 99502H and 1623 2RS. They appear to be dimensionally identical (5/8" X 1 3/8" X 7/16" . 99502H appears in various sources to be a 'special agricultural bearing', but why, or how, it's 'special' isn't stated. Published material spec. seems similar, although 99502H seems to be made of Unobtainium here in NZ. Detailed seal design doesn't appear to be standardised across manufacturers. One might expect an ag bearing to have better muck-excluding seals, but is that the case? I'm faced with having to replace a couple of 99502H which have failed as a result of dust ingress (ultra-fine loess clay dust), so seal performance is important.

Is this a case of manufacturers promoting illusory differences, or are there real differences - and, if so, what? If the bearings are in fact the same, why the different identification codes?

[edited to remove stupid winking face thingy - when will this bug be fixed?]

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 26/11/2020 08:55:07

Wild guess? Speed of operation. Most bearings in agricultural use are slow turning. Other bearings might need better quality as speed is much higher. Now you need to explain where the bearings are used. What kind of agricultural equipment and where on that equipment?

You're looking for detailed opinions/experiences and not really giving anyone much detail

Digging about on google- One site Link suggests that they are an imperial bearing with a metric ID 11mm whereas 7/16ths works out as 11.11mm. In which case they aren't the same as 1623 2RS..????

pgk

99502H Bearing
Rubber Sealed Deep Groove Ball Bearings: One of the most commonly used bearings, these types are manufactured with rubber seals inserted into the outer raceway and in contact with the inner race providing protection against the ingress of moisture, dust and other foreign matter and serve to retain the pre-filled grease in the bearing
Seals can be easily removed for applications that only require 1 seal.

16232RS Rubber Sealed Deep Groove Ball Bearing 0.625x1.375x0.4375 inch, almost the same description as above.

Seems either will be suitable for your use but best to have spares in stock to replace as required, a similar type of use in an agressive environment was discussed in this forum some time ago.

Emgee

It's in the suffixes.

XXXX2H indicates the inner and outer races are made from a special high temperature tool steel.

XXXXX2RS indicates its a both-sides rubber sealed bearing, of the standard type.

So your original would be a heavy duty bearing for higher temp operation, such as heavy load without recirculating oil lubrication etc. to keep temperature down.

Chart here has all the standard codes: **LINK**

2H is way way down the bottom.

99502H Sealed Deep Groove Ball Bearing with Special Bore 5/8"x35mmx11mm

1623-2RS Imperial Sealed Ball Bearing 15.88mm x 34.93mm x 11.11mm (5/8" x 1 3/8" x 7/16" )

So not quite identical sizes.

Edited By David Jupp on 26/11/2020 11:27:29

Imperial. That might be why it's "unobtainium" in New Zealand then. Those imperial sizes are going that way. Seems to be plenty of them on US lawnmower parts websites though.

Some sites show the 99502H as all imperial rather than just the 5/8 bore so be careful what you need.

.

Now that the big question is answered ... may I just address your edit ?

It is not a bug ... it is an optional feature in the forum software, which can be activated or de-activated by a logical switch.

Our problem is that MTM elects to have this ‘convenient feature’ active.

[screaming thing inserted manually]

MichaelG.

The suffix is only true if the XXXX in both cases is in the same language. In the case of the bearing under discussion, 99502 is not an ISO designation (I have failed to determine to which, if any, naming standard it does belong), whereas 1632 is ISO and the chart to which you link is specifically for NTN bearings*.

Other references, and indeed the original poster, refer to it as an agricultural bearing. Many of the listed applications are ride-on mowers, hardly an application for high temperature tool steel. (https://bearingsdirect.com/agricultural-ball-bearings/99502h-agricultural-ball-bearing-5-8x1-3-8x7-16-sealed-sc0228lu)

It is interesting that some of the descriptions of the 99502 bearing market themselves as being made from a special chrome tool steel, which, when you check the standard mentioned (SAE-52100) is a standard bearing steel. The snake oil is marketing this bearing to mower people is probably the same as that marketing gold plated plugs to hifi people.

* I particularly want to buy a C2 bearing off them, to check it the table is correct.

Lip seals won't last long in that situation.

Any chance of putting an automatic greaser into the bearing housing via the grease point, or an air bleed ?

Anything to keep the clay dust out.

Well, thanks for trying to help, folks, but the mystery remains. The bearing manufacturers and suppliers publish information on the 'net, but don't provide enlightenment. Both types seem to be chrome-steel construction, and have the same imperial major dimensions, but some sources translate imperial into metric, with variable rounding or truncation, or are quote correct to the nearest micron. Impressive precision, but, of course, illusory - the work of someone who knows not what they are doing. I've even seen one of these described as a 6202 (a standard metric size: 15 X 35 X 11 mm), but with a 5/8" bore.

I still want to know what the difference is - if any!

All you can do really is order a couple with the same number as what you have, off one of the many websites supplying them for lawn mowers and fit them to your machine. They cost a whole $3.70 each on some of those sites and seem to be as common as muck. Chinese sites will probably ship for free but the US ones probably want the usual $60 minimum.

if you spend enough time on bearing manufacturers websites trying to sort out the terminology the use so you can compare the various bearings between suppliers you will become more confused and frustrated. Unless the bearing is a very special application that requires high precision and high speed operation, just measure the ID, OD, and width and pick a bearing. If the lip seals won't keep the dust out, nothing will. Greasing the bearing won't be of much help as you can't push out all the dust that is in the bearing but simply dilute the grease/dust mix that is in there. Hopefully the location of the bearing will make for easy replacement. Buy 2 or more and store the spares where you can find them.

The 99502H seems to have imperial ID & OD, but metric width:

This lists both (pdf file)

99502H

ID 0.6250" / 15.875mm

OD 1.375" / 34.925mm

Width 0.4331" / 11mm

1623

ID 0.6250"

OD 1.375"

Width 0.4375" (7/16" ) = (11.113 mm)

Edited By Andy Gray 3 on 27/11/2020 14:18:53

As a hint for All Who grace this forum, I have a dollup of advice to add. It's best not to order bearings by number alone. I work with a Friend Who worked the Customer counter at a Bearing house for years and He agrees with My experience. Some bearings are stock sizes used for customization. A 6202 bearing can have the OD or ID changed to make it a different size and They WILL NOT change the numbers on the bearing. It's best to measure every dimension to see if it agrees with Your expectations.

I thought the last two digits gave an indication of the od. eg a 6202, 6203, 6205 etc would be the same bore but bigger od as far as I know.

Have a look at the SKF website if you have a strong constitution, bearing manufacturers world wide use similar codes for standard bearings at least. (ISO I believe) 'Specials' are likely to be ones made for a specific customer, what we call a special is probably in their 'standard' catalogue range but not off the shelf.

I do not work for a bearing manufacurer but have used a lot over the years in my industry of industrial fan engineering.

Good luck

Bill D.

I can't help you with the specs of the bearings, but it would appear that the premature failure is due to poor seals and I would suggest putting an additional seal to prevent the dust getting to the normal seal. A seal to protect a seal in effect.

Many years ago when I worked for Timken Bearings we specified metal seals which cut into the edge of the bearing. I can't remember the trade name now but they were very thin, so didn't take up much room in the assembly. They proved very effective in hostile environments.

Having done a quick search I found Nilos rings, which appear to do the same thing. I hope that has been of some help.