After taking oil samples and wiping the bottle clean, put it in a zip-lock sandwich bag, squeeze the air out, close the bag and put it in the shipping container. Do not put the paperwork in the sandwich bag. The bag will contain any leakage from atmosphere pressure changes or damage during shipment. The laboratory will still have enough sample to work with providing there was not a total failure of the container. (Walt Lewis, Powerhouse Supervisor, Teckcominco Red Dog Mine)

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Book Bits: Using After-market Additives

From the book "The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication"

An inferior base oil cannot be converted into a premium product simply by the inclusion of an additive. Using a poor-quality oil on a continuing basis and attempting to overcome its poor lubricating qualities with some special additive is illogical. Better to determine the manufacturer's recommendation as to the minimum API service rating required and then regularly use a blended lubricant of a higher service classification than originally recommended, if an improvement in lubrication is the objective.

More information about the book "The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication"

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

Question: What common grease thickener does not provide good water resistance?

Get the answer.

"We use a dielectric oil analyzer to test our lubricants. Are there any standard alarms for a dielectric increase or decrease? "

Monitoring changes in an oil's dielectric constant is offered by several instrument suppliers and ASTM procedures. The purpose (target properties) can vary considerably, from moisture levels, acid constituents, polar insolubles, wear metals and so on.

There are a great many factors that can influence dielectric content, including temperature. One instrument uses a time-resolved technique while another uses dielectric spectroscopy. Yet another simply gives an analog scale indication of dielectric constant.

Generally, any significant increase in dielectric constant is an indication of either contamination (typical water) or oxidative degradation. All instruments must be normalized to the background dielectric of the new oil.

I suggest you work with the instrument supplier to establish alarms and limits that would correspond to their instrument readings.

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation

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