Lubrication Tips for Reliability Professionals

May 01 , 2001 Subscribers: 6,377

Q & A

Cleaner New Oil

"Recently I noticed that after changing the oil on one of our systems the contamination level was actually higher than before the oil was changed. I decided to test the new oil source and found that it was quite dirty. Have you ever encountered this problem?"

Unfortunately this is a very common problem with no easy answer. Due to various reasons, new oil deliveries often contain lots of unwanted contaminants that should be filtered out prior to filling your machine.

Try to come to an agreement with your oil supplier about a specific contamination level that new oil deliveries should not exceed.

Read about how one company worked with their oil supplier to get cleaner oil deliveries:
http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R37856_QA50101

Today's Tips

• Consider these advantages and disadvantages of using a hand grease gun instead of another grease delivery option:

  ADVANTAGES

  • Lower front-end cost

  • Simple to use

  • Low maintenance

  • Technicians can inspect machine during re-lubrication

  DISADVANTAGES

  • High labor costs

  • Long intervals between relubrication can result in starvation

  • Overgreasing is common - reliability and environmental risk

  • High risk of application-induced contamination

  • Safety concerns in some applications/environments

Each tip published will earn the sender $10. Send your tips to webmaster@noria.com or fax to 918-746-0925.

Book Bits

"No matter what the level of wear, NEVER TEAR DOWN A MACHINE on the basis of one oil analysis report alone. Rush a follow-up sample to the lab to confirm the results and/or use other diagnostic tools at your disposal to further investigate the problem."

This book bit is from the paper entitled "How to Read an Oil Analysis Report" in the "Practicing Oil Analysis 2000 Conference Proceedings."

For more information about the "Practicing Oil Analysis 2000 Proceedings" go to:
http://www.noria.com/secure/product_detail.asp?catalogid=23

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Lube-Tips is published by Noria Corporation. Oil Analysis and Lubrication Experts