by Jeff Walkup, Vice President Sales & Marketing
Millions of gallons (or liters) of lubricants, and the corresponding filters, are changed annually in the equipment they lubricate. Disposal of oils and filters is costly from both a monetary and environmental impact. In many cases, however, we find these lubricants, and even coolants, still have considerable remaining useful life. The use of outdated preventive maintenance strategies based on requiring oil changes and equipment repairs to be done at predetermined intervals without any regard to oil and equipment condition contribute significantly to this issue. Many companies continue to use this PM strategy which results in high economic loss from both the cost of new and the disposal of old lubricants.
With the tremendous advances in technology, equipment design, maintenance corrective actions and even the lubricants themselves, lubricants can perform and last longer at acceptable levels allowing for extended drain intervals. Extended drain intervals can reduce costs (fewer oil changes) and have a positive impact on the environment.
Extended Oil Drain Intervals and Sampling
However, herein lies the problem. In the end-user’s quest to extend oil drain intervals and to do less service work, they may innocently, and inadvertently, fail to take adequate sample volumes at proper intervals. Reducing sampling following the implementation of an oil drain extension (ODE) strategy can create the conditions where unobserved wear or contamination could seriously impact on lubricated components and equipment.
Case in point, take for example a mission critical diesel engine. If an operator can extend oil drains and do less service work, this is an economic win for all. However, if at the same time, sampling is reduced, there’s no trigger or indication of an impending issue that may be caused by the extended oil drain interval. Simply because lubricant technology has created better lubricants does not negate the fact other issues can come into play requiring attention well in advance of the next oil change.
Factors Impacting on Oil Life
Many factors can impact on lubricants during its useful life and are especially critical to monitor if executing an ODE strategy. For example, for engine oils consider factors such as:
- Excessive heat which can break down engine oil and create deposits in the engine, adversely affecting engine life. If viscosity is a lubricant’s #1 property, then heat is its #1 enemy.
- Severe cold will limit the ability of the engine oil to lubricate at start-up and may add unwanted moisture and unburned fuel to the oil. A considerable amount of metallurgical wear takes place at start up…and is cumulative.
- Extended idle time can result in increased amounts of unburned fuel entering the oil, resulting in oil dilution and inadequate lubrication film strength to protect and support the load. Additionally, these extended idle times allow for Soot levels to increase that can compound factors.
- Extreme dust conditions may tax even the best air filtration system, adding fine contaminants to the oil, overloading the additive package that keeps them in suspension.
- Heavy loads on the engine can produce extra heat, putting a greater demand on the cooling system and increasing the importance of cooling system maintenance during extended oil drain intervals.
In addition, you need to consider the big picture – extended oil drain intervals do not mean extending other standard service intervals. An oil change may trigger hydraulic or cooling system services. Ensuring related PM services are conducted is even more critical with this strategy as lubrication-related premature engine failures are caused by contaminated oil from coolant leaks, dirt/dust ingress, fuel dilution and heavy soot loading. Monitoring for these issues can be done by continuing to utilize a routine lubricant sampling program.
Sampling is Critical
While you may do less oil changes with an oil drain extension strategy, it is not the time to skimp on lubricant testing. Consistent, routine sampling supports an oil drain extension strategy by monitoring lubricants for overall condition, wear and contamination during the extended interval and reduce the possibility of any “surprises”. To support this further, consider advanced trigger testing for anomalies or incorporating remote online monitoring using oil condition sensors to flag issues proactively.
Talk to a Fluid Life representative to discuss if an oil drain extension strategy can be implemented for your critical assets or how to improve on your existing program with oil analysis, triggered testing or sensor technology.