You and I both know that these offers don't pan out. Quick fixes and silver bullets don't often exist in real life nor do they in the world of lubrication.

On the surface it might seem that converting to a synthetic
or filtering your lubricants to hyper-clean levels might be
the answer to all your lubrication problems. While there are obvious benefits of both, neither offers a comprehensive answer by itself.

A clean system won't stay clean forever and your new
synthetic gear lube probably won't survive being topped-off with transmission fluid. Successful lubrication programs are just that - programs. They are planned programs involving skilled professionals, detailed procedures, precise schedules, appropriate storage facilities, correctly selected lubricants and filtration products ... I could go on all day.

Are you planning your lubrication program or just latching
on to every new idea and product that you come across? With your plan in place, the next time you get a flyer in the mail for AmazingLube 2000 you'll know whether it's for you.

Mike Ramsey
mramsey@noria.com

Where grease is handled in a dispensing system, the grade chosen may be related more to the capabilities of the system than to the requirements of the application. In service, consistency differences are important. Consider, for example, the use of grease in a gear case. The grease should be carried into the meshing gear teeth, which are thus kept covered with lubricant. If the grease is firm, the gear teeth may cut a channel through the grease and run dry, causing damage to the teeth. Unless operating temperature is high, therefore, soft-to- semifluid greases are ordinarily recommended.

In ball or roller bearings, carrying grease to the rolling elements is considered undesirable, since that grease will churn, soften, heat up, and work its way out through the seals. Thus a common recommendation for a ball bearing is to have the bearing space only about one-third full of grease of firm consistency - often NLGI No. 2. If the bearings support a vertical shaft, the grease had best be still firmer - probably NLGI No. 3.

If the intent is to determine the health of the engine, the oil sample should be taken before the lube filter. Sampling before the filter insures that the sample will contain contamination that will indicate excessive wear in
the engine.

If the intent is to determine the quality of the oil fed to the engine, the sample should be taken after the filter. This is also a great way to validate that the filter is performing properly.

NOTE: On engines with high oil flow rates where the sump volume is turned over three to five times per minute, there is typically very little difference in sampling before or after the filter. (Tip submitted by Greg Schmelz, Alfa Laval Inc.)

If you are using a standard filter for particle removing, then the answer is no, it will not remove water. However, if it is a water removing type filter (superabsorbent type) then these are useful for removing small amounts of
emulsified and free water after accidental ingress.

If you have significant amounts of water, in excess of say 0.1 percent by volume, then you need to address the root cause of the water ingress and then dehydrate the oil or replace it depending on the volume. Too much water is subjective, but technically, if there is visible emulsified water (cloudiness of the oil), this is too much. As such, there is an ingress source that urgently needs attention. Typically water will be an issue dependent upon the unit location (indoors/outdoors), proximity to any process water, or any wash down activity that may take place near the gearbox, or any steam source in the vicinity.

The use of a dessicating breather or expansion diaphragm type sealed unit may also reduce the moisture ingress, as will deploying better quality seals, and educating the personnel responsible for wash-down activity.

Martin Williamson, Senior Technical Consultant, Noria UK Ltd.

Actually, that's where we need your help. We want to publish your nuggets of wisdom, your brushes with disaster, your invaluable experiences and your cost-saving ideas. Share with us and we'll gladly share with you. $50 that is. We're happy to shell out the cash if your story makes it into Lube-Tips.

Haven't started hacking out an e-mail yet? Here are some ideas to get you past your writer's block:

Any recent "saves" on critical equipment? Perhaps you've successfully implemented something you learned in Lube-Tips or a training course. Maybe you've documented lubrication-related cost-savings or reliability improvements. Take some pictures of your lube storage room and tell us how you've improved it. You've got to be doing something right - share it with other Lube-Tips subscribers.

Spectacular or not, start writing. Just a paragraph or two will do. Feel like writing a novel? Go for it. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mike Ramsey
mramsey@noria.com

Keep hydraulic fluids cool. (The bulk oil temperature at the exterior of the reservoir should never exceed 60°C).

Keep hydraulic fluids clean. (There is general agreement among hydraulic experts that 75 - 80 percent of hydraulic failures are caused by fluid contaminated with dirt, wear particles and other foreign material. In today's high-pressure systems, clearances between wear surfaces are very small, making contamination control critical).

Keep hydraulic fluids dry. (Water and condensation content should never exceed a maximum of 1000 ppm, depending on the system design).

Immediately repair fluid leaks. If oil can escape, dirt and dust can re-enter the system. (A fluid leak of one drop per second is equal to 400 gallons in a 12-month period.)

In general, you are correct - PAO base oils will dissolve very little water and have good water shedding characteristics. However, the issue has some additional considerations. First, other synthetics, such as phosphate ester, polyol ester and di-basic acid ester fluids will dissolve more water than mineral oils or PAOs. The ethylene oxide version of polyglycol synthetics are completely water soluble.

Also, due to the high aniline point of PAO base oils (and many hydrocracked Group III base oils too), the lubricant may be formulated with as much as 20 percent polyol and/or di-basic acid ester or even a mineral oil. In part, these co-basestocks help counteract seal shrinkage caused by the PAO, but it is also required to solubilize the additive package in the oil.

We hear about the great detergency properties of PAO, this is largely due to the presence of the ester component and additives. So, you are quite correct - a pure PAO base oil will shed water and has a very low saturation point. But esters that are commonly used as lubricants or as an additive in the PAO respond very differently.

Drew Troyer, Noria Corporation