At any given point, the overall contamination in a gearbox is BIG! Remember that contamination ingression is the overall amount of contaminant in the oil with: B – Built-in contamination from the unit's manufacture. I – Ingested is the “sucked in” contamination during...
Contamination Control
Contamination Control: Improve Cleanliness, Prevent Failures with Particle Count
Contamination within lubricants circulating through equipment can range from air, water, or, the most damaging, particles. The most common cause of equipment failure is particle contamination in the lubricant, and, specifically, 80% of hydraulic system failures can be...
Seal the Deal: Practical Steps to Combat Contamination in Pumps
What Causes Wear? Contamination has frequently been identified as one of the major causes of premature wear on rotating machines. If all other root causes, such as the alignment, balance, and mounting integrity, have been checked, then the other major influences are...
How Hidden Contaminants Lead to Machine Failures and Downtime
If a machine is to provide service life past its warranty stage, its designer must envision and consider all operating conditions under which it will operate in the field. For example, to mitigate the effects of severe and semi-severe conditions, the design must be...
How to Calculate the Beta Ratio of Your Oil Filter
Calculating the beta rating for an oil filter involves understanding how effective the filter is at removing particles of a certain size from a fluid. The beta rating is a standard measure used in filtration to quantify the filter's efficiency, specifically its...
Air in Oil Contamination: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
Many people emphasize the impact of particle and moisture contamination on equipment reliability, but few consider how air might affect their equipment. While usually benign, excessive air entrainment can lead to many issues, including rust, cavitation, oil leakage,...
How Efficient is Your Oil Filter?
It has long been known that contamination is the leading cause of failure in rotating and reciprocating equipment. For this reason, most circulating oil systems contain some form of filtration on the supply line and occasionally, in the case of hydraulics, on the...
Contamination – The Overlooked Machine Killer
If a machine is to provide service life past its warranty stage, its designer must envision and consider all operating conditions under which it will operate in the field. For example, to mitigate the effects of severe and semi-severe conditions, the design must be...
Strategic Lubricant Management for Non-Circulating Sump Systems
Lubricant management could mean different things to different people within a facility. The maintenance planner or lube crew supervisor may view lubricant management as the process that assures all the machines scheduled for level checks, replenishment, and oil...
The Clean Oil Imperative: Why You Can’t Afford Dirty Lubricants
The online resource Dictionary.com defines the word "clean" as "free from dirt" and "free from foreign and extraneous matter." To most, "clean" is a subjective term, the interpretation of which depends on the subject matter and the interpreter's standards for "clean."...