RHP22218HLKW33C3Double-Row Spherical Roller Bearing 90x160x40 mm Tapered Bore 1:12 W33 Relubrication C3 Clearance Self-Aligning

Product Description

What this part is

A double-row spherical roller bearing in the ISO 222-series, 90 mm bore x 160 mm outside diameter x 40 mm width, with a 1:12 tapered bore, C3 clearance and a W33 relubrication groove in the outer ring. This is the fully specified version of the 22218 — taper for sleeve mounting, extra clearance for hot or tight-fitted duty, and a grease path through the outer ring so the bearing can be serviced in place. Two rows of barrel rollers share a single spherical outer raceway, letting the inner ring and roller set swivel inside the outer ring. That is why a spherical roller survives shaft deflection and housing misalignment that would edge-load a cylindrical roller into early spalling.

Decoding the designation

222 — ISO double-row spherical roller bearing, dimension series 22.
18 — bore code, 18 x 5 = 90 mm bore.
HL — RHP’s legacy extra-capacity internal design with a pressed-steel roller-guided cage; RHP’s functional counterpart to SKF’s E.
K — tapered bore, 1:12 taper.
W33 — annular groove around the outer ring plus three radial lubrication holes into the raceway.
C3 — radial internal clearance greater than normal (CN / C0).

Correcting the source data

Two problems in the previous listing, both fixed here.

First, the old copy claimed this bearing was made in Italy. RHP is a British marque, later absorbed into NSK, and an Italian origin claim on an RHP-branded spherical roller is not something we can support. No country of origin is published for this item. If origin matters to your purchase, ask us to read the actual ring and carton stamping before you order.

Second, the old copy listed the model as “22218 CKJ/CCK/CK 22218 HL K W33 C3”, mashing together SKF suffix codes with the RHP designation as though they were one part number. CC, CK and CKJ are SKF internal-design codes and have no place in an RHP designation. The correct RHP number is 22218 HL K W33 C3. The SKF codes have been moved to the interchange section below, where they genuinely belong as same-envelope equivalents.

Tapered bore — you will also need an adapter sleeve:
A 1:12 tapered bore will not go onto a plain straight 90 mm shaft. You need either a shaft machined with a matching 1:12 taper seat, or an adapter sleeve. For a 22218 K the matching sleeve is an H 318, which brings the mounting diameter down to an 80 mm straight shaft; HE 318 is the variant for shaft-diameter-equal fits, and withdrawal is via the AH / AHX series. Do not order this bearing for a straight-shaft application without also sourcing the sleeve — that is the most common and most annoying mistake on K-suffix parts. What you get in exchange is real: the taper lets you locate the bearing anywhere along a plain shaft with a true interference fit and no shoulder machining, and the drive-up distance becomes your clearance-setting adjustment. That is exactly why tapered-bore spherical rollers own the plummer-block and pillow-block world.

Why W33 relubrication matters

The W33 groove and its three feed holes let fresh grease enter directly at the outer raceway, so the bearing can be regreased on schedule without pulling the housing apart. On a sealed-for-life bearing the grease life is the bearing life. In dirty, hot, wet or continuous duty — crushers, screens, conveyor pulleys, kiln and dryer drives, paper machines — sealed-for-life is not achievable, so the ability to purge contaminated grease and replace it is the difference between a planned relube and a bearing change. If your housing has a grease fitting that feeds the outer ring bore, you need the W33 feature; a non-W33 bearing in that housing simply will not accept the grease.

Why C3 clearance fails both ways if mismatched

C3 gives more room than normal clearance, and that room is meant to be consumed. Interference fitting the inner ring closes some of it; the inner ring running hotter than the outer closes more. So C3 is correct for hot service, heavy interference fits, and shafts conducting process heat — and here it pairs logically with the tapered bore, since sleeve drive-up itself reduces clearance. Put a C3 bearing in a cold, lightly loaded, loose-fit application and the clearance never closes: rollers skid instead of rolling, the bearing runs noisy, fewer rollers share the load, and useful capacity and life both fall. Go the other way and fit normal clearance where C3 was specified and you preload it into a short, hot life. Match the clearance class unless you have a specific thermal reason not to.

Published ratings and mounting data

The 90 x 160 x 40 mm envelope and the 2.0 mm minimum corner radius are fixed by ISO 15 and hold for any maker’s 22218. Load ratings and limiting speed are deliberately omitted. RHP does not publish ratings we can verify for the HL design, and capacity varies materially by internal design — C and CC below E, EA and HL, which sit below HPS — and by manufacturer. The ratings circulating for this size on distributor mirror sites are NSK E-design figures; publishing them against an RHP HL part would be borrowing, not verifying. For a bearing life calculation, use the catalogue Cr for the exact designation you buy. An honest gap beats a borrowed number.

Quantity and configuration

One piece in stock, sold individually. Adapter sleeve is not included — order an H 318 separately if your shaft is not already tapered.

Fitting notes

Drive the adapter sleeve up the shaft with a lock nut and measure the resulting reduction in radial internal clearance with a feeler gauge; do not set it by feel. Over-driving expands the inner ring, wipes out the running clearance and will cook the bearing in hours — the extra C3 clearance buys you margin here but not immunity. Never hammer the outer ring and never pass mounting force from one ring through the rollers to the other. Fill the W33 groove and the housing cavity to roughly 30–50 percent on initial greasing, not solid full, or the churning heat will do the damage you were trying to avoid.

Interchange guidance

RHP designations are traced through NSK, which acquired the brand — relevant if you are keeping older UK-built plant running. Same-envelope 90x160x40 tapered-bore W33 double-row spherical rollers include SKF 22218 CCK/W33, 22218 EK/W33 and the legacy CK / CKJ forms, NSK 22218 EAKE4C3 and 22218 CAMKE4C3, FAG 22218-E1-K + H318, NTN 22218 EAKD1, and Timken / Torrington 22218 KEJW33C3. Internal design, cage material and clearance class vary between them — verify all three before treating any as a drop-in. MRC crosses into SKF; Torrington crosses into Timken.