I took it apart because that is what I do. (Did the same thing when I bought my brand new ECM Synchronika espresso machine last year, and most everything I buy smaller than a vehicle) IOT understand fully how a machine works, and what "right" looks like during its operation, I need to see the internals. (Had I found a good YT video on disassembly/assembly, I wouldn't have had to take mine apart, but I never found one to my liking.)
No, the grease from the pot NEVER touches the bearings. Impossible, unless you blow out the bottom of the cylinder casing. The grease from the pot is pushed into the gap between the piston and the cylinder wall, and friction from the rubber spreads it all over the cylinder walls. And yes, water (humidity) can exist in there as well, but it doesn't mix with the grease, it gets forced out the exhaust. But if you took your cylinder apart after an hour run, you'd likely see beads of condensation on the metal parts of the piston itself.
If you removed the grease pot and the diaphragm, it would become the air intake; it is plumbed in the same location as the actual air intake.
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And no, the bearings are NOT brass bushings, they are high-quality needle bearings. Which are lubed at assembly with the same silicone/food grade grease that's in the pot, but the only way to re-lube them is to take the cylinder assembly OFF and lube them by hand. It is impossible for the grease to get from the pot, travel down the cylinder walls, escape the big O-ring between the piston and cylinder wall, and leak into the crankcase housing. The ONLY thing that can get into the crankcase of a properly-functioning unit is ambient air from the vent at the back.
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Look, if you don't want to trust the manufacturer's guidance to flush the cylinder with water, don't. The worst that will happen is you'll develop a leak that requires disassembly and cleaning (a rather simple task, really). But why would someone who makes such a fine compressor (thus far) and give instructions that would ruin it? That doesn't make any sense at all.
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