Hi, I’m Rafe Britton, the Lubrication Expert. I’m known within the industry for my YouTube channel and podcast, and I work with mid-size industrials to improve their equipment uptime while reducing the cost of their lubrication program. I’m a mechanical engineer with 13 years of experience on both sides of the industry, both as an operator and lubricant supplier. I hold a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Physics from UNSW.
I’ve helped dozens of industrial clients upskill their workforce, reduce waste, improve reliability and take great strides toward their corporate sustainability goals. I serve on the Australian Lubricant Association technical committee to push the lubricants industry forward and help end-users better understand the importance of lubrication. Website | YouTube Channel | Podcast
In my experience, flash point is one of the most misunderstood numbers on a product data sheet. Most people ignore it, as it is rare for oil system temperatures... Read more.
Fuel economy is a crucial aspect of modern vehicle maintenance and fleet management. With rising fleet fuel costs and ever-tighter environmental regulations, ac... Read more.
Look at the product data sheet for any full synthetic industrial lubricating oil, and you will likely discover that the base oil is a polyalphaolefin (PAO).
The... Read more.
In the intricate world of lubrication and tribology, the 4-ball test has become a core experimental procedure and is commonly listed as a performance parameter ... Read more.
Many questions surround hydraulic oil selection, from viscosity grades to base oil types to additives. This article answers pressing questions like: How do temp... Read more.
Gears are everywhere. These versatile machine elements are present in all industries and used in pumps and drives of all sizes as a reliable way to transfer pow... Read more.
Wind energy has become an increasingly important component of our energy grid as the world moves toward more sustainable power generation sources. Although harn... Read more.
It's exceedingly rare to find a fleet of vehicles with the same make, model, and year of manufacture. I have never personally observed a single instance in my c... Read more.
In the complex and evolving world of the lubricants industry, we're constantly faced with new challenges. Most end-users have recently suffered from the increas... Read more.
Just as there are various states of matter, there are different lubricant types. The four main categories are gas, liquid, cohesive (grease), and solids. In the... Read more.
In this brief video, Rafe Britton explains why open gear lubrication presents unique challenges and how to overcome them.
Open gears are not enclosed within a... Read more.
Using colored tags and labels to identify the proper lubricant for a machine is a common-sense way to help operators and lubrication technicians minimize errors... Read more.
Zinc (also known as ZDDP, ZDTP or zinc dialkyldithiophosphate) is the most common lube oil additive. Patented in 1944, this molecular family has been used as lo... Read more.