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In This Issue:

• Today's Tip: Trending Make-up Oil

• Book Bits: Where is Your Oil Flowing?

• Q & A: Figuring Out Filter Carts

Today's Tip

Trending Make-up Oil

• When evaluating diesel engine oil analysis, make-up oil is an important trend to consider. Excessive make-up oil can signal problems with the engine that otherwise may go unnoticed for an unacceptable period of time. Excessive make-up oil can mask warning signals in the oil analysis such as abnormal base number depletion, abnormal additive depletion, and abnormal increases or decreases in viscosity. Excessive make-up oil also dilutes high wear metal trends and contamination levels (for example, soot, fuel, dirt and coolant). Contact your OEM for typical make-up oil rates for your equipment. The concept of trending make-up oil complements other information gathered by reliability and predictive maintenance-focused personnel. (Submitted by John Sides, Total Fluids Management Engineer, Thomas Petroleum. Thanks John!)

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Book Bits

Where is Your Oil Flowing?

From "Proactive Maintenance for Mechanical Systems"

One of the most obvious leakage paths existing in a filter assembly is through the filter bypass valve, which is included in many housings to protect the element from excessive pressure drops. Whenever flow can occur through a bypass valve during normal operation, the technologist should be concerned with whether the flow is permanent and/or excessive. When this flow becomes greater than the amount of flow passing through the filter element, as can happen in cold weather, a serious situation exists. It is expected that 100% of the flow should pass through the filter at all times, but when the temperature is low, little if any flow passes through the media. The fluid takes the path of least resistance and goes through the bypass valve or through ruptured sections of the element.

More information about the book "Proactive Maintenance for Mechanical Systems"

Q & A

Figuring Out Filter Carts

"We have four portable filter carts that are used to regularly filter the four different lubricants in our plant (each is a different viscosity grade). Although each cart is properly labeled and a different color, we are still having cross- contamination problems. Any suggestions?"

When used properly, filter carts can be vital to the reliability of a process. Although filter carts are often used for any fluid needing filtration regardless of chemical make-up and viscosity grade, this is a practice that should be avoided. These carts are rarely flushed out adequately between uses.

The best place to combat misuse of your filter carts is to start with the design. When possible, specify that a manual filter bypass valve is plumbed into the circuit. This will allow you to bypass the filters when you are only transferring used oil and do not need to filter.

Also, specify that the hoses have quick-connects as opposed to simple drum wands. Drum wands are difficult to keep from getting contaminated. Their use requires the system to be opened to the operating environment, possibly allowing contamination to enter the system unrestricted.

Using quick-connects on the filter cart and on the system to be filtered eliminates the need to open the system for filtration or topping up. To ensure the filter carts are used only for the oils they were specified for, you need to take all guesswork out of the equation. One simple way to do this is to install different types of quick-connects on all four of your filter carts. Place the matching ends of the quick-connect on the appropriate equipment where they will be used. Using quick-connects of different types and sizes makes it impossible to connect the filter cart to the wrong equipment and lubricant.

Jason Kopschinsky, Technical Consultant, Noria Corporation

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