Are You Testing Your Oil Onsite?

David Lander, MLA II PdM Tech. Temple Inland Forest Products

Working with a very limited budget and in an effort to get the best results for the money we had to work with; we had to get creative with our in-house tests. We elected to put the bulk of our budget into a good private lab that offered quick turnaround, about 24 hours, and a variety of tests and services. We send our most critical equipment samples to this lab, this works out to about 60 samples a month. Another 70 to 100 samples a month are tested in-house using a collection of inexpensive but very effective test equipment.

Sampling - Click to Enlarge

Sample quality is probably the most important part of our test procedures we use zip-lock bags, a new tube for each sample and of course sample ports on all our equipment.

Sample Agitator - Click to Enlarge

Sample agitator is home made using only scrap parts. The samples are rotated at a low speed causing the oil to splash from top to bottom in the bottles. It is very effective at agitating the sample. The agitator is also used for vibration and oil analysis training.

A True Minilab - Click to Enlarge

We have two visages one of which was lent to us by an oil supplier. With practice you can get very accurate readings with these. I have become very consistent with them less than 3% error compared to lab results.

We have a hot plate for crackle tests. A syringe, (purchased from e-bay), with a patch holder. Patch tests have proven to be very effective at finding problems early. We have detected early signs of bearing failures, worn seals, pump ware, and filter failures. We have also used our in-house testing to extended our oil drains and test all our incoming oils. It is also very educational to actually see the particles in the oil, instead of just a number on a report, has been very beneficial to understanding what is going on inside our equipment.

The most expensive piece of equipment we have is our microscope, purchased from an on-line discount store, equipped with a digital camera for trending images. These images have gone a long way in convincing management that we know what we are doing.

Under construction is a ferrography slide maker. Purchased magnets from e-bay and making the unit from scrap.

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