There’s no better tool than oil analysis for predicting and preventing problems and optimizing machine performance. However, to understand what is really happening, you should consider multiple inputs involving your processes, practices, personnel, and application of the lubricant.
The past few years have been a challenge in obtaining the necessary lubricants to maintain equipment. Because of this, it becomes increasingly important to optimize lubricants in use and currently in inventory to prevent depletion. By making a few adjustments to your processes you can preserve lubricant condition and improve longevity.
Case study on a cooling tower fan gearbox failure caused by reduced sampling frequency and trend analysis, which contributed to a lack of maintenance action. This resulted in an $800,000 gearbox failure.
Learn how to obtain a multilayered oil sample from 55-gallon drums using a hand-held vacuum pump or a pipette style sampling tube.
The Journey of the Lubricant® is a series of stages, segregating your lubricant management program into 5 sequential steps during your lubricant's life on-site. Within these stages, dimensional sampling and oil analysis is key to maintaining the health of your lubricant.
Root cause analysis is a powerful tool for investigating equipment problems when combined with oil analysis. It helps to identify what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
It is sometimes difficult to decide which test method should be used to determine water content in lubricating oils. Whichever method is used, one thing is certain – water is one of the major causes of lubricant, component, and machine failure.
Using Oil Intelligence to follow the lubricant's journey from arrival through its life cycle, you can see how every step offers an opportunity to implement practices that mitigate risks.
Water contamination in lubricating oils causes premature oil degradation and accelerated wear of machine component. Prevention and control of water contamination is very often the most reliable means of preventing equipment failures. The use of portable filtration systems will help to reduce the amount of water contamination in lubricating oils.
Turbines are critical to the operation of power generation plants, however when one goes down it has major costs associated with maintenance activities and downtime. Advanced annual oil analysis provides an additional layer of insurance, recommended by organizations like ASTM and EPRI. The testing is aligned with common issues that turbine oils often encounter.
