"Condition-Based Asset Management - Transition to Excellence"

I am sure there are many of you out there who already know the importance that make-up oil has on your oil analysis results but some of you may not have even considered it up until now. If you are in the latter group just take a second to think about what is actually taking place when you add a couple of gallons of oil to your conveyor gearbox or haul truck engine?

Why is it that you need to add oil in the first place? Assuming that the oil level was correct at the last performed scheduled maintenance service, some oil has either leaked out or burnt out of the system since then. If we consider the oil that leaked or burnt out of the system to be representative of the entire reservoir then potentially some of the wear metals and contaminants have been lost with the oil as well. Now if we assume that the new oil being added to the system contains no wear metals or contaminants then we are actually "sweetening" the system with this new oil and reducing the overall concentration of wear metals or contaminants in the reservoir.

So when we come to take the next oil sample is it really telling us the "whole" story about what is happening in the system? If the make-up oil is insignificant then the answer is most likely "yes", however if a large amount of new oil has been added to the system then the oil sample results can be misleading. The following calculations illustrate the influence that make-up oil can have on your oil sample results. Take an example of a reservoir of 20 gallons where 10 gallons of oil has been added since the last service and the reported Iron level is 50ppm.

Dilution constant = 1 + (Oil added/system capacity) = 1.5
Calculated Iron = 50 x 1.5 = 75ppm

This is a significant change from the reported results and could change the interpretation of that sample result.

Dingo has successfully helped customers improve their Oil analysis programs by providing them with the software tools to track their make up oil usage and report calculated wear values. Contact Dingo for more information.

You'll learn the newest methods for making optimum lubricant selections from the thousands of formulations on the market. We have also learned much better methods for applying and managing the lubrication process - from cradle to grave. This seminar presents a strategic collection of the very best practices assimilated over many years of experience in working with world class users.

Best Practices for Machinery Lubrication		Oil Analysis I & II
Brisbane, Australia March 18 - 20, 2003		Brisbane, Australia June 16 - 19, 2003
Sydney, Australia September 9-11, 2003
Melbourne, Australia November 18 - 20, 2002

GET CERTIFIED AFTER THE COURSE

Now you can get certified in Oil Analysis and Machinery Lubrication after Dingo's training courses. For more information, including upcoming locations and dates in Australia, please contact the International Council for Machinery Lubrication at www.lubecouncil.org

ICML Level Examinations are being held on the following dates:

Brisbane: March 21, 2003

Brisbane: June 20, 2003

Sydney: September 12, 2003

Colin Donnelly and the Dingo Team