Product review (3 stars): Cannot see putting this grease back in the gear box after cleaning it up
First, I would like to point out that I have no affiliation with Tri-Flow, KitchenAid (Whirlpool), or competitors to either. Furthermore, I have nothing against the sellers of the OEM KitchenAid mixer grease under either part# 4176597 or part# 4160588. The perspective (and sometimes rant) of my review is based on my recent experience with cleaning up the gear box to my wife's KSM150PSIC KitchenAid mixer and the need that I see for pursuing a more suitable alternative for other owners of KitchenAid mixers to consider.

The Tri-Flow Synthetic H1 Food Grease (Tri-Flow stock number TF22021) is absolutely fantastic! Because it stays where you put it, the Tri-Flow allows you to work it through all the gears (even the hard to get one contained in the worm gear box assembly in the corner). As you manually rotate the primary gear shaft clockwise the old oily grease combines with the clear Tri-Flow so that you can easily see what needs to be removed (use a plastic knife to remove from sides of the larger gear box gear and smaller plastic gear). When the Tri-Flow becomes a light tan you are ready to put everything back together (to get to that point takes about 2hrs and half a package of Q-Tips to remove all the old grease and oil from the gear box but try not use them to close to the gear teeth and remember to lay the mixer on its side so that the oil that you cannot see can drain off). I ended up using about 5 ounces of Tri-Flow (you loose a few ounces working out the old grease). Because the Tri-Flow has more friction reducing additives (Teflon) it is necessary to work out as much of the old OEM grease as possible.

The OEM KitchenAid mixer grease is a biodegradable food grease that becomes an oily mess when it eventually degrades from oxidation OR breaks down during heavy mixer use. The gear box on our KSM150PSIC KitchenAid mixer does not have a means to collect very much (less than 2 tbsp) of this oily mess before it begins to make its way past the mixer head gasket (top of mixer head separates from the base to access the gear box inside).

You can tell that your mixer has too much oil in the upper gear box when you begin to see the oil make its way to the beater adjustment screw when the mixer head is tilted up. In our case not only was oil occasionally visible near the beater adjustment screw it was very visible on the inside of the lower frame when the mixer was turned over.

If your mixer has started to leak past the chrome beauty ring, that leakage is from the lower part of the mixer that you can see rotate when the mixer is turned on. To see what I am talking about you will need to unplug your mixer, remove the beater (if attached), remove the beauty ring, and then remove the 1/8" dowel pin (comes out rather easily with a few taps from a small hammer) to take off the lower mixer gear assembly (don't be intimidated - there are several videos on the internet to show you how to take it off and put it back on - use search term "fix kitchenaid mixer leaking oil" without quotes). More than likely, you will find very little of the original grease on the inner gear ring (surrounded by 5 small screws) and small mixer gear because it has a better chance of oxidizing and melting off during normal use.

In summary, if you decide to use the Tri-Flow it is possible that KitchenAid (Whirlpool really) will more than likely not like it (I did not bother to ask). Personally the quality of the KitchenAid mixer remains top notch to this day such that upgrading to the Tri-Flow finally makes today's KitchenAid mixer maintenance free. With that said - it is so worth it to finally be rid of the OEM KitchenAid mixer grease.

Technical Notes:
Tri-Flow Synthetic H1 Food Grease (Tri-Flow stock number TF22021) has a N.L.G.I. #2 rating that exceeds the performance of the  N.L.G.I. #2 rated (similar to Renalene 930-2 made by Lubriplate) OEM KitchenAid mixer grease in either the 100 gram container (part# 4160588) or the 2 pound container (part# 4176597). More information can be found searching the web for "Tri-FlowInfo.pdf".

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tri-Flow-Synthetic-Grease-Food-Grade-14-ounce-Cartridge-Size-price-is-for-1-tube/dp/B006M50RS2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tri-Flow Synthetic Grease. Food Grade 14 ounce Cartridge Size. [price is for 1 tube</a>]