To ensure that the proper lubricant is used in a bearing, use a thin colored washer at the fitting and paint the grease gun the same color as the washer. To install the washer, unscrew the grease fitting - find a washer with an inner diameter a little larger than the outer diameter of the threaded shaft of the fitting. Insert the fitting into the washer and screw in the washer/fitting assembly.

Join us next week in Cleveland, OH for Lean Manufacturing 2005: Lean Tools for Maintenance and Reliability on October 3-5.

We send $100 for each tip published. Submit your tip.

Book Bits: Benefits of Pressurized Line Oil Sampling

From the book "Oil Sampling Procedures"

Pressurized line sampling serves multiple purposes. First, it provides an easy way to identify ingress into the reservoir from such sources as breather vents and new oil addition. It is also a good way to detect wear being generated by the lube oil pump. For systems without pressure-side, in-line filters, pressurized line sampling helps in assessing the cleanliness of the oil being fed to the components. For systems with in-line filters, it provides the background against which filter performance is assessed or evaluated. For wet-sump circulating systems that don't allow drain line sampling, this is the preferred sampling location for primary trending.

More information about the book "Oil Sampling Procedures"

Test your knowledge and prepare for ICML lubrication and oil analysis certification.

QUESTION: Name three types of wear that can be caused by particle contamination.

Get the answer.

"My filter company uses the following notation to rate one of their filters.

BX=2, B10=X, BX=75, followed by these numbers: 5, 8, and 17

I'm familiar with the Beta rating but I've never seen it shown in this way. What is meant by these numbers?"

This system of rating a filter describes its capture efficiency at three specific points in microns. It actually has many advantages over the more common Beta rating methods used today. This is how it works:

BX=2
The X denotes the size in microns of particles above which the filter is only removing 50 percent of the particles entering, for example, 100 particles larger than X come into the filter but only 50 of them are captured. For your filter this 50 percent efficiency size is 5 microns. This is the lower limit of performance in microns for this filter.

B10=X
This X in this case denotes the Beta Ratio corresponding to particles larger than 10 microns. Many hydraulic users in the past have viewed 10 microns to be a critical clearance size, above which system components are at high risk of failure. The X has to do with the capture efficiency of particles larger than 10 microns. In your example the Beta ratio at 10 microns is 8, meaning that for every 8 particles larger than 10 microns coming into the filter, one gets through uncaptured (about 88 percent capture efficiency).

BX=75
This X corresponds to the micron size above which the filter is removing 98.7 percent of all the particles, that is, the Beta ratio for the particle size (X) is 75. For every 75 particles larger than X entering the filter, only one gets through (74 are removed). Many people have informally referred to that size (X) as "absolute" although clearly, by definition, it is not. Still it is useful to know what the BX=75 rating is. In your example, the X corresponds to 17 microns.

For more information on Beta Ratings filters please refer to ISO 16889 or go to the following links:

Clarifying the New ISO Contamination Filtration Standards

The Future of Filtration

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation

Submit a question | Discuss on Message Boards

Resources

Lube-Tips is published weekly by:
Noria Corporation, 1328 E. 43rd Ct., Tulsa, OK 74105 USA. (918) 749-1400

Because results will vary widely based on a number of factors, Noria Corporation cannot warrant the results of any information within this e-mail.

© 1998-2005 Noria Corporation

»Receive your own subscription to Lube-Tips