Prevention is always better than trying to find a cure. This is especially true when it comes to avoiding failures in expensive and hardworking machinery – and is why regular oil analysis should be an integral part of any maintenance programme.
Oil analysis is critical for understanding how well a lubrication programme is working, and where and how to tweak it when needed.
Gary Wentzel from Lubrication Engineers (LE) South Africa says, “The reason we recommend our clients do oil analysis is because otherwise it’s difficult to really know what is happening inside a piece of machinery or what the oil status is. With oil sampling you can keep up to date with your addictive packages as you can see what is happening, such as if there is a drop in viscosity and how much dirt there is, or the extent of the wear and tear that is taking place.”
Even when using top quality lubrication products and following correct storage and usage programmes, a lubrication solution can fall flat without consistent, accurate monitoring of the condition of the oil. Many plants have oil breathers and oil level monitors, but not all of these tools are reliable, and they can easily get blocked up or are situated in hard-to-reach places where they aren’t regularly checked. “I have had clients with oil level monitors on their gearboxes, but when the gearboxes failed, they found out that actually the oil was finished,” says Wentzel. “This is why oil analysis shouldn’t be skipped.”
What are the benefits of oil analysis?
With regular oil analysis, “you always know what is happening in each part of your equipment,” says Wentzel. Collecting this level of information helps to create a database for maintenance requirements across a site and the reports allow operational teams to see when an oil needs to be replaced. “It’s a core preventative maintenance practice,” he adds.
When oil is changed in time, it reduces the risk of machinery breaking down, and prevents spillage and downtime, along with all the other associated risks and costs of those things happening.
How does oil analysis work?
A technical expert will first inspect the plant to find an appropriate sampling point. There are different methods for taking a sample (such as through suction or using a drain port), but the samples should be taken at the same point each time.
“The sample point should be before a filtration system, not after, so it gives you a true indication of the state of the gears,” says Wentzel.
