Place a trend chart of ongoing oil cleanliness for all to see on the front of all major reservoirs. Any change in the trend, up or down, can promote questions and actions within the maintenance team. Cleanliness control is the responsibility of everyone and having a visual representation of cleanliness prominently mounted will promote improved housekeeping by keeping reservoirs and equipment clean and sealed. (Keith Nicholson, Lube link Pty Ltd)

Join Drew Troyer for Effective Plant Reliability Management training in Nashville, TN on February 7-8. CMRP Certification testing will take place after the course.

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Reliability Professionals Wanted:

Reliability Careers continues to seek qualified professionals for various positions in the field. Please visit www.reliabilitycareers.com to view the latest positions.

Feature Position: Allied Reliability, Inc. is seeking candidates for a Machinery Lubrication Technician position in Cedar Rapids, IA. If interested, please submit your resume and a letter of interest to jha@reliabilitycareers.com. All resumes and referrals are held in strict confidence.

Book Bits: Bearing Configurations and Grease

From the book "Basic Handbook of Lubrication"

Single-shielded, single-sealed and open ball bearings are supplied without grease. They are corrosion protected with a preservative oil. They must be filled with grease prior to installation. The preservative does not need to be washed out of the bearing. Of note, your bearing supplier may stock only double-sealed/shielded bearings. When you order a single-sealed/shielded bearing, you may get a double-sealed/shielded bearing that has had one seal/shield removed. In this case the bearing will be packed with grease. Consider in this case, cleaning out the grease and replacing it with the grease that you will use in that motor.

More information about the book "Basic Handbook of Lubrication"

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Question: What properties are provided by the additive ZDDP?

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"We are currently selecting a new turbine oil for our steam turbine. Is the RPVOT (a.k.a. RBOT, ASTM D2272) a good indication of the relative ability of two different oils to resist oxidation?"

This is a common misconception regarding the RPVOT test. The RPVOT, or rotating pressure vessel oxidation test, works by stressing the oil in an oxidating environment that includes heat, water, copper catalyst, oxygen, pressure and agitation. The test measures the length of time the oil can resist these stressing conditions before the break point is reached and the oil degrades (oxidizes). This is influenced by the quantity and type of antioxidants, the presence of natural inhibitors in the base oil, and the resilience of the base oil to oxidation.

However, because the actual conditions a turbine oil experiences in application may be considerably different than those present in the RPVOT test, there may not be good correlation between RPVOT values and in-service oxidative life. For example, one oil may have an RPVOT value of 1000 minutes, while another oil may have an RPVOT value of only 700 minutes.

However, depending on actual stressing conditions and formulation factors, the oil that starts with the lower RPVOT number may oxidize at a slower rate and hence be more oxidatively stable than an oil with an initially higher RPVOT value. In other words, formulation factors (base oil and additives) respond differently to different in-service stressing conditions. In this case, the oil with the lower new oil RPVOT value may be a better choice for long-term resistance to oxidation. With that said, for turbine oils it is generally not advisable to select lubricants with RPVOTs less than 600 minutes, and test values greater than 1,000 minutes are generally considered out of the range of test sensitivity.

It should be also noted that RPVOT is an excellent test for measuring the degree of oxidative degradation (for example, additive depletion) for in-service turbine oils, by comparing the in- service oil RPVOT number to a new oil baseline.

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