Extending oil life is a major cost cutting measure for any size company. Changing oil on a regular PM is as common as any other maintenance practice. Oil costs can be controlled by extending the oil life. Keeping oil healthy not only reduces major machinery maintenance costs and machine down time, but it reduces purchase and disposal costs, which improves the bottom line significantly.
Oxidation is the major contributor to oil degradation. Oxidation increases acidity in the oil. Oxidation will lead to an increase in the oil’s viscosity as well as deposits of sludge and varnish.[i] Water, heat, air and metal particles are all major contributors to oil oxidation. By controlling these, oil life is extended and machinery health improves.
Kidney loop filtration is documented to significantly reduce the effects of oxidation and increase oil life. One case study performed on mobile equipment at a mine documented oil life increase from 2,000 to 6,000 hours.[ii]
Kidney loop filtration is available in various flow rates and filtration options. These systems are available in stationary and mobile. We will engineer and build the kidney loop filtration system to best solve the customers’ specific need. We use ßx[c]≥1000 dual glass depth filter media tested to ISO 16889 & Dynamic Filter Efficiency (DFE) standards with micron efficiency options in 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 15 & 40. Layered within the glass media is water absorptive media to remove any moisture in the oil. For prolonged filter life, we offer an optional magnetic pre-filter for applications where ferrous material is present. Air or water cooled oil coolers can be added if excessive heat is a contributing factor to the oil’s oxidation.
In cases where excessive water is present, we offer our vacuum dehydrators as a means of oil recycling. We even have a Compact and Super Mini Vacuum Dehydrators to process oil at the equipment.
In addition to a regular oil filtration and/or purification schedule, every 500 hours or so, it is important to implement a proper oil analysis program. You will want to research your specific needs. We usually want to know wear metals, ISO cleanliness code, moisture, total acid number (TAN) and viscosity. We regularly include a laser particle counter with moisture monitor on our equipment so you know the oil cleanliness of the reservoir. This is a very useful tool, but should not take the place of routine oil sampling and lab analysis.
And, remember that new oil is not clean oil and needs to be filtered. Please see PROPER OIL STORAGE AND HANDLING to learn more.
[i] The Importance of Oil Oxidation Stability, Noria Corporation
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