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Selecting Machines for Oil Analysis
Kathy Burbank, Mechanical Maintenance Engineer,
Manitoba Hydro
Routine Oil analysis would be performed on the components that
it would pay for its self on. For example if the equipment is
costly in its self the cost of oil analysis would protect against
a large capital replacement cost. Or if the equipment is critical
to operation the oil analysis would pay for its self in production
down time. And lastly if the equipment requires a lot of oil then
the analysis would pay for its self in comparison to oil changes.
The tests performed in the analysis would depend on failure mode
of the equipment. Each one of the 4000 components would have to
be reviewed to determine first and foremost what condition of
the oil is tolerable to protect the component (tests such as color,
viscosity, acidity, the presents of contaminants like water or
solids)and secondly what would the first indications of failure
of equipment be. If you monitor and control the condition of the
oil, failure of components is less likely and the more expensive
tests could actually be performed less frequently or as a result
of suspicious oil condition analysis results.
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to this Readers Challenge.
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