These bearings are found in all manner of applications from food packaging machinery to glass cutting equipment. The attractive part of these is that when the bearing needs replacing, it can be bought separately rather than replacing the entire housing – saves a fair bit of money over time.

Plumber blocks (sometimes called pillow blocks, though technically they’re slightly different) are self-contained bearing units that bolt straight onto machinery frames or bases. You’ve got the bearing itself sitting inside a cast iron or steel housing, usually with some form of sealing to keep contamination out. They’re designed to take radial loads primarily, though some can handle a bit of axial load depending on the bearing type inside.

The beauty of these units is the simplicity. When a bearing wears out, you just remove the top cap, slide out the old bearing and insert, fit a new one, and bolt it back together. No need for precision alignment or specialist tools in most cases. That’s why they’re popular in conveyor systems, agricultural equipment, and anywhere you need a shaft supported but don’t want the hassle of machining housings.

We stock them in various shaft sizes, from small 20mm bores up to larger industrial sizes. Most come with either cast iron or pressed steel housings. The cast iron ones are heavier but better for vibration damping. Steel housings are lighter and cheaper, fine for most general applications.

Available with different bearing types inside – deep groove ball bearings for higher speeds, spherical roller bearings for heavy loads or where slight misalignment might be an issue. If you’re not sure which type suits your application, give us the shaft size and what the bearing’s doing, and we’ll point you in the right direction.