THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIAL OILS
Regular industrial oil offers many advantages like improving the equipment’s health, reliability, and productivity. Here are five key advantages of regular oil analysis.
Machine failure can be attributed to different factors, but the most common among them is oil mix-up and dirt contamination. You can avoid such shortcomings with regular oil analysis. It is important to periodically monitor the oil condition to ensure that it is utilised according to performance specifications. Any deviation will indicate that the oil is unfit for use.
Regular oil analysis is the key to detecting contamination, degradation of oil, and unapparent wear in machines.
5 Key Advantages of Regular Oil Analysis
Proper oil analysis on a timely basis offers many advantages like improving the equipment’s health, reliability, and productivity. Here are five key advantages of regular oil analysis.
1. Detailed Breakdown of Lubricant Analysis
Oil analysis conducted in an all-encompassing manner offers intelligent insights into how the lubrication system is performing. If the lubrication is not proper, contaminants will appear in the tested oil sample. An analysis of the identified contaminant type can indicate problems that can potentially show up.
To get optimum lubrication benefits, tests at periodic intervals are compulsory for the early detection of contaminants. You can check for any damage in the cylinder or piston if metals like iron or aluminium are found in the lubricant oil. Such damage can cause leakage of coolant or anti-freeze, subjecting the entire machine to tremendous strain while propelling thickened oil. If water is detected in the lubricant, it can imply breakage of seals, filtration system malfunction, or the absence of optimal operating temperature in the equipment.
2. Identification of Problems Before They Occur
It is essential to mitigate risks for hassle-free and effective machine operation proactively. Regular industrial oil analysis offers valuable insights into lubricant composition and machinery consistency. It further facilitates identifying and eliminating minor issues before they can transform into unmanageable or significant problems.
Careful oil analysis helps detect different wear types in particular equipment regions. It can also identify filtration system-related problems like contamination of combustion soot. If the filtration process keeps malfunctioning without being checked, you may have to undertake exhaustive and costly repairs of your machines at a later date.
3. Extended Lifespan of the Equipment
If you want to protract the functional lifespan of equipment while steering clear of expensive repair and maintenance bills, you need to carry out check-ups and troubleshooting based on the oil analysis. The productivity of the equipment increases and machines offer longer effective service if the oils used to leave behind negligible residue and are free of contaminants.
It is observed that machines often succumb to failures due to oil mix up. You can improve equipment reliability by checking if proper lubricating oil is used. Moreover, an analysis of incoming oil and drained fluid is necessary to enhance the machine efficiency. It is also essential to check the viscosity, grade and the brand of the oil to figure out if a mix-up has occurred.
The life of te equipment is under threat of impairement if the filtration system and seals are not working correctly. If the analysis reveals the presence of moisture in the oil, corrosion of components and metallic parts of equipment might have started insidiously. You can get the equipment checked so that you don’t have to expend on frequent component replacement due to unawareness about the root cause.
Also, the viscosity of engine oil’s coolant or fuel changes spontaneously, causing wear and tear of the equipment’s critical components. Early detection of abrasive elements in oil contributes to extending equipment life through timely repair and preventive maintenance.
4. Low Downtime
Analysis of industrial oil at fixed intervals allows the identification of problems before they flare up. Consequently, equipment won’t have to undergo breakdown or major repair-related shutdowns. Since the need for extensive repair is done away with, the availability of the machine increases. Lower downtime also results in higher mean time between failures which translates to better reliability. Oil analysis allows optimum condition monitoring that precludes sudden or unpredicted equipment failures.
Oil sampling makes it possible to detect the breakdown of internal machine parts early. However, it is signalled if worn-out metal traces are seen in used oil in significant amounts. Cross-contamination is also determined by additive levels, viscosity, and particle count escalation escalation escalation. Moreover, coolant leakages and other internal issues can also be conclusively tracked.
5. Cost Saving
Scheduled oil analysis leads to a drastic reduction in unplanned breakdowns and lengthy repair times. It minimises loss of production, which causes revenues from the plant operation to grow. Major failures are averted, leading to decreased repair and maintenance costs. Expensive components don’t have to be changed frequently, reducing the inventory, labour, transportation, and other incidental expenses. Since oil mix-up can be detected earlier, specific measures are required for keeping lubricants neat and dry. Oil does not have to be changed unnecessarily, saving cost by stretching the oil drainage recycling interval.
Timely oil analysis is the key to keeping your machine functioning at optimum productivity with negligible downtime due to unpredicted or unscheduled failures. Castrol provides a range of effective and proven oil analysis tests to offer valuable insights into the state of your lubricants. Additionally, Castrol's I service kit can help you test vital parameters immediately without waiting to test oil samples in the lab.