When setting up and implementing the proactive oil analysis program at Deeter Foundry, I realized the importance of ensuring the procurement and maintenance of clean oil. Obtaining clean oil from a distributor, however, proved to be more difficult than I expected.

I invited my oil distributor to talk about oil cleanliness, and he was happy to schedule an appointment. During our meeting, I requested the ISO cleanliness codes for oil to be delivered to the plant. I also requested to review their bulk-tote cleaning procedures. The only cleaning procedure our distributor reported was a manual external wipe-down with a rag. Read the full story

To check the cleanliness of the inside of a new hydraulic reservoir, take a small strip of transparent adhesive tape and stick it on the surface (roof, side wall or bottom plate) of the reservoir where you want to check the surface cleanliness. Press the strip with your thumb firmly so that it is in proper contact with the surface. Now peel off the strip and paste it on a white piece of paper. You will find that the strip has sampled large particulate contaminants. You can also use it with standard visual comparators, similar to common patch test comparators. With this method you know whether or not your tank needs further cleaning. Also, keep in mind that the unaided eye can only see individual particles larger than about 50 microns.

Where any question exists regarding a filter’s efficiency at maintaining a cleanliness level, it is advisable to take oil samples and have them analyzed. A particle count by a laboratory (or with a portable instrument) will provide a contamination profile that can be matched to that of the machine's most critical component to see if the filter media is doing the right job under the actual ingression rate and circuit cyclic conditions. It may be necessary to increase the efficiency of the media in the element (at target particle sizes) if the contamination level is too high or decrease the media efficiency if the oil is cleaner than required by the application, thereby optimizing cost management and increasing overall efficiency.

Fluid temperature stability is essential to the success of mechanical systems. All hydraulic and lubricating fluids have practical limits on the acceptable operating temperature range - both high and low levels. The machine loses stability and experiences conditional failure whenever the system’s fluid temperature violates these limits. If left unabated, the conditional failure ultimately results in both material and performance degradation of machine components.

Temperature extremes have a pronounced effect on component materials as well as machine performance. When temperature is too low, fluid viscosity is high. At low temperatures, the fluid often reaches the point where it actually congeals and will no longer flow (pour point). High temperature also accelerates wear, destroys hydrodynamic lubrication regimes, increases the oxidation rate, fosters additive depletion and affects other critical aspects of the machine. Read the entire story.