Identifying and Tackling Particle Contamination

The most common cause of equipment failure is particle contamination. This includes external contaminants, such as dirt or sand, as well as the microscopic pieces of metal generated during equipment operation.

The following tests can further investigate the size and shape of the particles to help your team discover the source of the contamination and assess the damage to the component:

  • Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (AES-ICP):
    • Elemental analysis (usually performed by an ICP) can identify the most common wear and contamination elements and quantify the concentration of contamination, with a size limitation of particles less than 8 to 10 micron in size, but other typical oil analysis technology can provide additional information of the sizes and type of contamination.
  • Particle Count
  • Particle Quantifier
    • This technology will determine ferrous contamination without a size limitation. And when used in conjunction with AES-ICP when comparing PQ results with ICP results the severity of ferrous particles present can be understood. The ICP will detect the smaller sizes and the Particle Quantifier result greater than ICP would indicate larger particles are present.
      Further testing can investigate the size and shape of the particles to help maintenance personnel discover the source of the contamination and assess the damage to the component
    • See the multiple techniques to quantify particles
  • Microscope Analysis

Each test takes a slightly different approach to this task, and each have their own limitations.

Thankfully, not every method should be included in every circumstance. Recommended tests vary based on type of equipment, equipment criticality, and operating cycles. POLARIS Laboratories® is here to help you choose the best, most cost effective testing for your application. Reach out today for assistance on selecting to correct method for each of your equipment to provide the best information to catch concerns early overall increasing your ROI.

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Published April 7, 2021

Ensure Uptime During Times of Emergency

With the recent demand and reliance on back-up power generators as a result of 1) the global pandemic and 2) inclement weather forcing us to work from home more, this puts stress on the power grid as well as the internet connectivity now more than ever. Ensuring your back-up power generators are reliable and up and available when you need them is crucial during these times.

Here are some key points to help provide you with guidance on what to look for in our power generation systems, not limited to just engines, but the whole system. Monitoring radiator and coolant performance and fuel quality are keys to ensuring continuous uptime without any unexpected failures or run time issues.

Maintenance Tips To Perform During Each Preventive Maintenance:
  • Visual | Check the system gauges, sensors, hoses, thermostats, breathers and filters for any abnormalities, loss of pressure, damage/missing breathers or filters. Check exhaust for white or black smoke and overheating
  • Audible | Listen for any abnormal knocking, vibrations or air leaks. This may lead to performing pressure test checks on both the coolant and engine. These tests may result in further troubleshooting (pressure test checks, vibration analysis or data sensor review)
  • Smell | Coolant leaks can often lead to a sweet smell – this can be the glycol. Burnt smells can be from both coolant and engine oil. Also check for signs of strong diesel fuel or fluid leaks from hoses, radiator, head gaskets and injectors
  • Fluid | Check for emulsion (a milky lacey appearance) and visible water and/or oil or separation of fluid types. This can indicate fluid contamination
  • Visible Debris | Check for any type of flakes, flocculent, debris, wear, dirt, microorganisms or filter media in the fluid. A magnet can be used to see if the debris is magnetic. In coolants/fuels this can indicate corrosion in radiator or fuel tanks and in engines wear
Why Test All Three Fluid Types?

All three fluid types (oil, coolant and diesel fuel) run within your system in sync. If any one component type isn’t running up-to-par, it will put stress on the other components leading to a snowball effect of failures. These can easily be prevented by putting in place preventive measures to minimize failures, incur maintenance/part costs and down time. Here’s why:

  • OEM’s have stated roughly 40 percent of engine failures are due to cooling systems
  • Roughly 80 percent of premature engine failures are traced back to cooling system issues that could have been corrected by coolant sampling
  • Poor diesel fuel maintenance can result in fuel injector failures, filter plugging, smoking and loss of power
  • Dirty fuel can lead to injectors leaking fuel into the crankcase causing lubricity issues for the lubricant and increasing engine wear
  • Poor cold weather fuel properties can also lead to fuel gelling, cold filter clogging and engine failures
  • Engine and coolant overheating can place stress on the coolant system causing a chemical reaction within the coolant properties
  • Engine and lubricant overheating has a negative impact on the lubricant. Increasing the oxidative life of the oil results in  the inability to protect the engine from wear while keeping it clean.
Using the Right Fluid

Oil | Checking your engine oil will ensure the engine is not experiencing any type of abnormal wear, contamination or oil degradation. This keeps the engine running longer and prevents overheating – resulting in a longer engine life cycle.

Coolant | Ensuring that you are using the right OEM-specified coolant is the first step. Make sure to test the coolant properties yearly for signs of degradation, checking that the coolant properties are still within range and what corrections/adjustments need to be made to the formulations.

Diesel Fuel | Making sure diesel fuel properties meet ASTM D975 requirements (learn more about ASTM D975 here), during the summer and winter months is key. The fuel needs meet the quality specifications will save you on any engine related issues.

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Published March 3, 2021

Elemental Analysis Testing: Add it to Your Engine Coolant Report

Is Elemental Analysis Testing Included in Your Engine Coolant Report?

Do you get a physical every year? How about a routine blood test? Elemental Analysis is similar to having your blood drawn for a yearly physical. Just as the bloodwork will provide more details to your physician on how your body is functioning, the elemental analysis testing will provide more details on the equipment’s overall system health. If elemental analysis testing isn’t included in your routine fluid analysis, information regarding corrosion/wear, contamination and certain fluid properties will not be able to be monitored. Cooling system concerns are a leading factor to how well the equipment effectively can perform. Adding elemental analysis testing will identify corrosion, mechanical issues, contamination and other possible fluid properties in the sample.

With majority of engine failures traced back to cooling system, predominantly due to overheating events, proper coolant analysis testing should be performed on all samples. When proper testing is not included, the missing information will hinder the laboratory’s maintenance recommendations as the possible root cause for concerns may not be identified. Ultimately, not identifying the root cause will lead to higher downtimes and engine failures.

How to Add Elemental Analysis

Reach out today to review if your fluid analysis program includes the proper testing that will best benefit your program. Including elemental analysis testing within your program will help identify if concerns are present in the cooling system. When specific issues are identified correction can be performed to reduce further potential damage to the equipment. Elemental analysis testing should be included on all samples submitted to the laboratory as this testing will provide critical information regarding the equipment’s overall system health. Catching early system concerns and performing proper corrections will assist with maintaining proper cooling system function reducing unexpected downtimes and engine failures.

Check out our Technical Bulletin to find out more information on the Benefits of Elemental Analysis Testing on Engine Coolants. 

Download the Technical Bulletin

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Published October 8, 2020

Ion Chromatography Testing Can Catch Cooling System Concerns Early

Have you received a recurring action on your coolant analysis report? Are you noticing recurring concerns with your pH, corrosion metals, and/or inhibitor depleting rapidly? Have you ever topped off the system with water only?

With basic coolant testing a piece of the puzzle to help identify the root cause of the concern in the cooling system may be missing. Basic testing will identify concerns and provide recommendations however, there may still be more going on in the system that basic testing will not identify.

Why Should Advanced Ion Chromatography (IC) Coolant Testing Be Added?

The advanced Ion Chromatography (IC) testing will determine glycol degradation, contamination and coolant inhibitors of nitrate, nitrite and possibly phosphate. IC testing will provide additional valuable information regarding your cooling system health.

IC testing will help find concerns with:

  • Hot spots (plugging of the system)
  • Combustion gas leaks
  • Electrical ground issues
  • Contamination concerns

Each concern above will cause a chemical reaction within the cooling system, resulting in failure overtime. Approximately 40% of engine failures can be traced back to a concern in the cooling system. Including IC testing to your routine coolant analysis program will provide more information on what is going on in the cooling system. Concerns can be caught early allowing for scheduled down time and less engine failures due to the cooling system.

What are Glycol Degradation Acids?

Degradation acids will form when ethylene or propylene glycol chemically breakdown. When degradation acids are present further glycol breakdown will occur as the acids present will act similar to a catalyst causing further glycol degradation over time.

Causes for degradation acids:

  • Localized overheating
  • Restriction of coolant circulation
  • Low coolant pressure
  • Mechanical concerns
  • Age of fluid

Degradation acids will hinder the coolant properties over time and may result in a decrease of the coolants ability to protect the metals in the system. Identifying the root cause is key to maintain the fluid and equipment. 

What Contamination Concerns can be Found?

Ion Chromatography will indicate contamination of chloride and sulfate. Chloride and sulfate are a concern if present in the system. Chloride can form hydrochloric acid, decarbonizes iron and is extremely corrosive. Sulfate can form sulfuric acid and combined with calcium to form scale in the system.

Causes for contamination:

  • Water source not meeting specification
  • Combustion gases
  • Air leak
  • Flush water left in system

Sulfate, when trending with prior history, can find an early combustion gas leak concern in the cooling system before an action is indicated on your lubricant analysis report. The coolant analysis will actually catch the concern and action can be made before a significant amount of coolant can mix with the lubricant leading to further engine wear.

Chloride contamination could be due to a venting concern allowing outside air to enter the system. Both chloride and sulfate can be present in a water that does not meet specification. Just a quick top off with water can cause a failure over time.

Catching contamination early with Ion Chromatography testing will provide the proper actions needed to correct the source of contamination before corrosion and/or chemical reactions occur harming the metals in the engine.

Are there benefits of reporting Nitrite and Nitrate?

Nitrite and nitrate may or may not be part of the coolant formulation as a corrosion inhibitor. The Ion Chromatography method is a more accurate method to determine nitrite concentration. The inhibitor if present, should be maintained for proper corrosion protection. Results can find concerns of low inhibitor, or mixing if inhibitor levels are not consistent with a new fluid reference. Trending both inhibitor levels can detect early concerns of chemical reactions, such as an electrical ground issue where nitrite could convert to nitrate.

Reach out today! Add Ion Chromatography testing to your program.

Advanced coolant testing will provide more details of possible chemical reactions occurring in your equipment and/or finding the root concern of recurring high severities found during basic coolant testing. Trending results from IC will provide more information on the fluid and find possible mechanical concerns in the cooling system. Catching system concerns early will help keep the cooling system functioning correctly and reduce unscheduled down times increasing your return of investment.

Check out our Technical Bulletin to find out more information on how Ion Chromatography (IC) Testing works:

Click to Download

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Published August 26, 2020

What To Do if You Have a Coolant Leak

So, you’ve received your oil analysis report back recommending an inspection of the cooling system. (You may or may not also find an oily sheen in the cooling system.) When a lubricant report is received indicating coolant contamination, the root cause of the problem must be found and corrected.

Are you only looking at half of the data?

An internal leak will require further maintenance to be performed to correct the internal contamination, such as a possible new engine rebuild. Have you determined the root cause for the internal leak? Internal leaks are not just something that will be expected to occur at some point in your equipment life expectancy. The same could be said for concerns with your lubricant analysis report indicating higher oxidation values and not being able to optimize the lubricant drain interval. Identifying and reacting to the lubricant analysis recommendations may not always identify the root cause when only testing the oil.

Why would an internal leak or shorter drain intervals occur?

One possible reason is from overheating. Overheating will put more stress on both the lubricant and the coolant and increase acid build up to occur, causing corrosion to the metal surfaces of the engine eventually leading to soft spots. The overheating may not be found on your dashboard but the internal temperatures in the engine may still be elevated. The higher temperatures will cause stress to the lubricant resulting in oxidation and acid build up which ends up thickening the oil. At this point the oil cannot provide the adequate lubricant regime necessary to help protect the engine from wear. Having metal to metal contact will not only increase the engines internal operating temperature, it will also cause soft spots to occur causing cracks and coolant to leak into the engine. As a result this can lead to engine failures, unexpected downtime, maintenance and repair costs.

Are you regularly testing the cooling system within your equipment?

OEMs have indicated approximately 40%, if not higher, of preventable premature engine failures can be traced back to problems in the cooling system. Concerns in the cooling system may be present without a visible indicator and cooling system failures are less common. This is one reason some may not think to test their coolant. However, understanding how the cooling system functions and how the fluid properties can impact the cooling system is a critical component to the overall engine performance.

The purpose of your cooling system is to:

  1. Circulate the coolant throughout the system
  2. Remove heat from the engine
  3. Dissipate heat from the coolant

The cooling system concerns that are not corrected early will hinder the performance of the engine and eventually lead to a premature engine failure. Adding coolant testing to your fluid analysis program will help aid in catching coolant related issues and/or determine if concerns are present due to out of date maintenance procedures. Routine testing of the cooling system will provide recommendations and correction needed to maintain the cooling system and fluid properties. If concerns are not corrected or monitored then internal leaks and/or shorten lubricant drains may occur causing increased wear and damage to your equipment.

Test all fluids in your equipment

Testing all fluids within the equipment by utilizing an effective fluid analysis program will help reduce unexpected down times and/or equipment replacements – resulting in an increase return of investment (ROI). Reach out today to discuss how improve your overall fluid analysis program by testing all components in your equipment.

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Published July 21, 2020

Get the Most Value from Your Program: Advanced Testing

Oil Analysis: The First Question

The first question of any new, or redefined oil analysis program should be, what do I want to achieve from the program? The answer to this question will determine how the program is managed, and more importantly, what testing will be performed on the samples. All samples will receive an element of three groups of testing:

  1. Wear metal assessment
  2. Contamination
  3. Fluid properties

But the depth of testing in these three groups can change, depending on what you want to achieve.

1. Wear Metals

Every oil sample tested will receive an evaluation of wear metals and elements, this is taken as standard in the industry. But the number and type of tests performed in addition to this determine what level of testing is performed, and therefore what level of information you will receive on a sample report. Many companies will go with testing the minimum, so the price per sample is lower.

Does basic testing add significant value to a program or improve reliability?

An example of this could be testing a diesel engine oil without including a base number. This means a true evaluation of the optimum oil drain interval is not possible. Another example would be testing a hydraulic oil with performing an ISO code & particle count so that the laboratory cannot assess the true cleanliness of the fluid. Both of these examples could be considered vital tests in terms of improving reliability and reducing maintenance costs, but are not always included in some basic testing programs.

2. Contamination

More importantly, monitoring and reporting actual accurate levels of contaminants present within oil samples is critical because the amount and type of contaminant present will pose a different set of problems at different levels as shown in Tables 1 and 2  below (related to acceptable levels of water contamination in oils). The majority of OEMs provide guidelines for various contaminants and acceptable levels for contamination for their specific systems. Below are a few examples of results of water contamination results and findings from standard testing compared to advanced testing methods.

  • Diesel Fuel Dilution
    • Stating that diesel fuel dilution is present in engine oil by a simple Flash Point or FTIR evaluation is not an effective method for determining contamination. Diesel dilution condemning limits stated by OEMs can range from 3% to over 5% and therefore an accurate amount of the contaminants present via Gas Chromatography in the oil (diesel in this case) is also now a pre-requisite when looking to monitor contamination levels in samples.
  • Water Contamination
    • Performing a test on an oil sample using the hot plate test method may not always able to detect the exact amount of water within the sample. An advanced test, such as Karl Fischer, would give you more accurate results, especially the lower levels of water.

Table 1

Water Content Result Reported Maintenance Action & Decision
Lab 1 result Water present Check unit for source of contamination, but as quantity of contaminant is not known, do I change oil?
Lab 2 result Water > 0.2% Check unit for source of contamination, but as definitive level of contaminant is not known do I change oil?
Lab 3 result Water = 0.35% Check unit for source of contamination, but as level is below OEM recommendation of 0.45% no oil change required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2

Water Content Result Reported Maintenance Action & Decision
Lab 1 result Water present No problem reported, continue to monitor as normal
Lab 2 result Water <0.1% No problem reported, continue to monitor as normal
Lab 3 result Water = 432ppm Check unit for source of contamination and change oil as level is above acceptable level of 350ppm for this application.

Is it best practice to simply state that ‘water is present’, or would an accurate result in either percentage of parts per million (ppm) add significant value to maintenance decisions?

In addition, when looking at reporting the samples’ cleanliness levels via ISO code & particle count, what aids the customer more, the simple ISO code, or the code complimented with a full breakdown of the number of particles at each micron size?

ISO CODE
22/19/13
ISO CODE >4 μm >6 μm >10 μm >14 μm >21 μm >38 μm >70 μm >100 μm
22/19/13 20959 3656 340 73 22 2 0 0

3. Fluid Properties

The analysis of a lubricants’ overall condition helps determine the future health of equipment and subsequent oil changes or top-ups that may be required. Every laboratory should offer a wide range of fluid condition analysis services based on the machinery that the oil has been sampled from. These tests are a great barometer for the overall condition of the component and the actual lubricant itself. Performing testing on condition is not only an economically viable option, but it should be considered standard for any oil sample. In today’s cost-conscious climate and increased environmentally concerned conditions, extending lubricant life will help decrease costs and protect the environment from early lubricant disposal.

Including Base Number and Acid Number on an engine oil sample and Acid Number alone on industrial oils paired with the utilization of advanced data analysis and interpretation systems makes it possible to make a judgement on how much further an organization can safely extend an oil drain – if the correct parameters are being monitored and the associated recommendations are being followed. These services are not always included in some basic testing programs – this means you could be missing out on significant savings if these are ignored – both financial and environmental.

Any testing is better than none, but upgrading your samples to a more advanced testing will add significant value, proactively improve reliability and save more equipment.

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Published July 9, 2020

Dangers of ASTM D2896 Base Number Testing

 

ASTM D2896 Base Number

The first concern I have with ASTM D 2896 is a concern of laboratory safety, which I am quite concerned with and most customers are unaware of. Simply put, the safety concerns of ASTM D2896 are considerable. The reagents used for this test are basically some of the most hazardous I have ever encountered in my professional career.

Hazardous Chemicals

The titrant used in ASTM D2896 is Perchloric Acid. This is a very strong acid that is corrosive, an oxidizer and may cause organ damage over prolonged periods of exposure. As an oxidizer, it has been known to cause explosions. One of the solvents used in this test is Chlorobenzene, a chlorinated solvent that is extremely harmful to the environment. In fact, it is so harmful that it is banned in many countries around the world. Suffice it to say, the chemicals used in this test are dangerous to those who perform the test.

Perchloric Acid

On February 20, 1947, a violent explosion rocked the city of Los Angeles, California resulting in the deaths of 17 people and the wrecking of 116 buildings including the complete demolition of the O’Connor Electro-Plating Works, source of the blast. From the mass of information and misinformation, which varied from the early rumors of a powerful new army explosive, prematurely set off, to the decision, almost three weeks later, of the coroner’s jury that the explosion may have resulted from the contamination of a solution of perchloric acid and acetic anhydride with “easily oxidizable materials,” perchloric acid emerged as the nation-wide object of underwriters’ investigations.

 

Right Tests, Right Fluids, Right Equipment, Right Environment

My other concerns are with providing fluid analysis results that use the right tests on the right fluids for the right equipment in the right environment. Tests and test methods could change based on all of those factors, and too many customers request ASTM D2896 to measure an oil’s base number for good, yet misguided, reasons.

Background on Base Number Testing

First, a little bit about base number and how it is measured. The results from a base number test is vitally important to you from a maintenance and reliability aspect. Alkaline elements are added to base oils to react with the weak acids formed during diesel fuel combustion. The alkaline reserve neutralizes the acids and form slightly basic degradation products that are no longer capable of reacting to the weak acids. Eventually the alkaline reserve in the lubricant is depleted to the point where the oil can no longer protect equipment from acid corrosion.

Brief History of ASTM D2896

ASTM D2896 was designed purely to determine alkalinity reserve in new lubricants. I’ll repeat that last bit, as it is the crux of the issue; new lubricants. The test uses Perchloric Acid as a titrant because it reacts quickly and reliably with the large alkalinity reserve in new lubricants. ASTM D2896 then measures the titration product to determine the strength of the alkaline reserve. This method is reliable, which is why it is still used by oil manufacturers and listed on oil spec sheet.

However, perchloric acid is too strong to use when weakly-basic degradation products are present, especially oils used in internal combustion engines. When ASTM D2896 is applied to in-service fluids, the perchloric acid reacts to every basic element available. Instead of measuring the alkaline reserve like we want, it also titrates with the degradation products. This can result in what ASTM refers to as a “falsely exaggerated” or sometimes even “falsely understated”. For these reasons, ASTM says:

“When the base number of the new oil is required as an expression of its manufactured quality, Test Method D2896 is preferred, since it is known to titrate weak bases that this test method (ASTM D4739) may or may not titrate reliably.”

 

ASTM D4739 – A New Method?

The solution required a new method for base number testing in in-service fluids. ASTM D4739 substitutes Hydrochloric Acid as the titrant rather than perchloric acid. Because hydrochloric acid is weaker than perchloric acid, it only reacts to the alkaline reserves and not the slightly-basic degradation products.

 

 

Further, ASTM D2896 can give very poor inflection points or even multiple poor inflection points on in-service lubricants, especially if they are seriously degraded. This makes giving accurate and reliable results challenging at best, and flat out wrong, at worst. To make this scenario even worse, perchloric acid will react with wear metals in the in-service fluids. This will result in more titrant being consumed, giving a higher base number results. This can result in hiding a problem that could be resolved if you knew the real value.

The ASTM methods are pretty clear on this. ASTM D2896 should be used for new lubricants and ASTM D4739 should be used for in-service applications. However, many customers request ASTM D2896 on in-service lubricants. Why is that? I believe the main driver of this is the fresh lubricant specification or certificate of analysis lists ASTM D2896 as the method for base number testing.

ASTM D4739 / ASTM D2896 Scenario

An important part of the discussion is this essential fact- not all the tests performed on a lubricants certificate of analysis are pertinent for condition monitoring of in-service lubricants. Many tests performed on fresh lubricants are designed to prove that all additives have been added to the blend as a quality control test. As a result, if you only request testing based on your certificate of analysis from the manufacturer, you are not getting the right data to make an accurate and reliable maintenance recommendation. Best case scenario, you are paying for testing that gives you no or limited information on the maintenance and reliability of your equipment. Worst case scenario, you could be getting misleading results. This is particularly the case in the ASTM D4739 / ASTM D2896 scenario.

Change to ASTM D4739

As a result, ASTM D4739 is definitely the method of choice for in-service fluids. Do yourself a favor, make the change today and improve the quality of the information you can use to improve your reliability.

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Published July 7, 2020

The Importance of Submitting a Baseline Reference Sample

What is a Baseline Reference Sample?

A baseline reference sample is a sample of new or unused product submitted to the fluid analysis laboratory. Submitting a baseline sample allows you to gain an understanding of the starting values of the product in use. It is important that the baseline sample being submitted has not been introduced into a system as this can introduce variables such as commingling, contamination or degradation. Ideally the sample should be pulled from a verifiable source such as a bulk tank, tote, pail or bottle.

What are the benefits of submitting a Baseline Reference Sample? 

It is important to have an understanding of what the starting values are for your lubricant. Knowing where the base number (BN) and/or acid number (AN), oxidation and nitration values start will provide a more precise prediction of how the used oil sample should be flagged as the lubricant degrades. Likewise, if the additive levels are known then it is easier for the Data Analyst to determine if the lubricant was actually installed in the machine.

What does the laboratory do with my Baseline Reference Sample?

Baseline samples are account specific, meaning they will be used on the account for which they were submitted and appear on used oil sample reports using the same product. When submitting a baseline sample, it is important to correctly fill out the sample paperwork to indicate it is a baseline sample by checking the box labeled “baseline reference”.  Selecting this box will automatically enter baseline sample as the component type.

Being careful to provide the complete product information (manufacturer, product name and viscosity grade) and using a specimen from a known, verified source will ensure the information generated by the laboratory will be useful and reliable for comparison against future used or suspect samples. Once an account has an established baseline reference sample, it is important that used samples with the same product have the product information listed exactly the same as the baseline sample. This will ensure the baseline and the used samples are linked for comparison on your reports.

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Published June 9, 2020

Sink or Swim: Fluid Analysis + Marine

In today’s shipping environment, uptime, safety, equipment life extension and increasing oil drain intervals are, and should be, the focus of any fluids analysis program.

Realizing the most value from your programs, whether lubricants, coolants, fuels, grease or filter debris analysis can help avoid:

  • Unscheduled down time and unplanned maintenance and associated costs for repair
  • Urgent requirements for lubricant replenishment inventory on short notice or in remote areas
  • Extra lubricants expense incurred by changing the oil unnecessarily without the benefit of a historical analysis report
  • Undetected problems manifesting into eventual catastrophic equipment failure

Oil analysis has been around since the 1940’s but, has matured significantly since then. Equipment has also evolved as design or environmental pressures have placed requirements for some equipment to be lighter in weight, be more fuel efficient and be manufactured to higher tolerances with more exotic materials. The result often places more stress to the lubricant, often with a lower volumes of lubricant in circulation to save weight.

Standard Practices

Take for example, marine or power plant engines with anti-polishing rings in the cylinder liners. The use of anti-polishing rings result is lower oil consumption which is an advantage for the equipment owner, but already places higher duty on the lubricant due smaller oil sump volumes and less need for frequent oil top ups. Monitoring critical parameters such as base number with laboratory and onboard testing has worked well and is already proven to be an industry standard practice.

Seeing An ROI

The benefits of your fluids analysis program can very easily pay for itself by being able to more closely monitor equipment and fluid condition, help manage implementation of oil drain interval programs, and in all cases provides information on oil and machinery condition necessary to make informed decisions about operational reliability and future maintenance.

With management reporting tools, a fluids analysis program can bring all of this information onto one platform, making interrogation of key performance indicators across assets much easier to visualize. Used properly, outliers can be detected more quickly. Of course, oil analysis is only one part of a complete maintenance program and should be used in conjunction with vibration, acoustics and thermography where applicable.

Free webinar on Fluid Analysis in the Marine Industry

If you’re interested in learning about fluid analysis as it relates to the maritime industry, I encourage you to attend our upcoming webinar on June 16. There is no cost to join and open to everyone!

Sink or Swim: How Fluid Analysis Saves Marine Engines

June 16 at 11 a.m. ET

See what will be covered and register here.

To learn more about POLARIS Laboratories® please contact us. We will show you the POLARIS Laboratories® way of helping you build a custom fluids analysis program with all the benefits of linking to your CMMS program, providing you with actionable fluids analysis commentary, and an online reporting portal, all with the benefits of being an independent laboratory and helping you save money.

 

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Published March 25, 2020

How to Optimize Your Asset Health

The average asset manager runs an average of approximately 10,000 hours on the asset before it’s sold. So, you’ve had your asset for a while, but it has come time to sell it. Yet, you wonder how much life is left on that asset? If you keep it for another 10,000 hours, you can save a lot of money in replacement costs and maintenance. Your asset has run well, you know its maintenance history and you ask yourself do I really need to sell it?

Deciding whether to repair or sell

Many fleets run equipment to about 80 percent of their life expectancy then sell off. But, did you know you can incorporate filter debris analysis to determine equipment reliability at that 80 percent life expectancy? If an issue is found, you can proceed with a rebuild/repair or they can sell. Things to consider when making the decision to sell:

  • Did you buy your asset used?
  • How was your asset’s maintenance history prior to you buying it?
Utilizing filter debris analysis

You can utilize filter debris analysis (FDA) to determine how your asset is and how it’s holding up. Here are a couple of recommendations how to incorporate FDA into your program, depending on the estimated life expectancy:

0-20% You could characterize this as break in or, in the case of used equipment, the baseline of your equipment. What is the wear pattern in the first 20% of your usage of the asset? Submitting three filters with oil samples on regular intervals can give you a pattern.
20-80%  Recommended to test only when wear metal trends are increasing, or you see a significant jump in wear metals
80%>  This is what is referred to a senior asset. Submitting three filters with oil samples on regular intervals can give you a pattern. Then review to determine retesting interval based on results of the FDA results. You may find you need to sell your asset before significant maintenance will occur, or you may find your asset has plenty of life on it.
See what’s being caught in your filter

FDA is a great tool to add to your asset reliability toolbox. It compliments fluid analysis testing by seeing not just the data circulating in the oil, but what is being caught in the filter. This data is crucial to understanding the reliability of your equipment.

See how one company was able to to save more than $250,000 by performing the testing and avoiding gearbox replacements.

Is filter debris analysis something you want to start performing on your asset? Contact your account manager or custserv@eoilreports.com to add it to your program.

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Published March 18, 2020