Water Spells Trouble for Bearings

From the book Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting

For corrosion to occur, water must be present. Free water, in particular, will settle on machinery surfaces and will displace any protective surface oil film, finally corroding the surface. Emulsified water and dissolved water may vaporize due to frictional heat generated as the lube oil passes through bearings. Very often, though, the water vapors recondense in colder pockets of the lube-oil system. Once recondensed, the free water continues to work away at rusting or corroding the system.

More about the book Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting

Heavy particles will settle much more rapidly in tanks and sumps. It takes only 2.8 minutes for a 20-micron Babbitt particle to settle one-half inch in ISO 22 turbine oil. They are also more prone to cause particle impingement erosion in circulating oil systems where oil flows at high velocity, sending heavy and hard particles on destructive trajectories.

Temperatures below 20 degrees C (68 degrees F) and above 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) will slow down microbial growth in lubricants. Rapid growth can occur between these temperatures when water is present.

Submit your tip.

"Is there an effective method for cleaning five-gallon stainless steel containers which are used to transport and store oil in our plant?"

Many companies prefer to use five-gallon plastic buckets (also known as popcorn pails) because oil doesn't tend to stick, but flows out readily and is easy to wipe down.

Others use disposable, off-the-shelf plastic liners, similar to what is used in the food industry.

If you must clean the stainless steel buckets, you may need a standard parts-cleaner/degreaser, the kind mechanics use in garages and rebuild shops. Either petroleum or nonpetroleum-based solvents are used. The final cleanup is often performed with a common dishwasher using water and detergents. Filtered water is best.

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation