Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1171112
30 | September - October 2019 | www . machinerylubrication.com Th e " Lub e -Tips " se c tion of M a c h i n e r y Lu b ri catio n magazin e feature s innovative ideas submit te d by our rea der s . Properly Maintaining Totes Totes or jumbos are highly susceptible to the entry of dirt or water if not properly maintained. ese containers typically contain 400 to 500 gallons of oil or 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of grease and are often used to deliver bulk lubricants to maintenance shops. Most are top-fi ll units with either a compression ring or break-over hatch with a neoprene or cork sealing gasket and top-mounted air breathers. e seals can become cracked, broken or misaligned, and the air breathers can be easily broken or vibrate loose during transportation and handling. e integrity of the seals and air breathers should be routinely inspected to prevent dust, sand, water and other contaminants from entering the tote during transportation and use. ML Avoiding Thermal Degradation Lubricants can thermally degrade for a variety of reasons and causes. Unlike oxidation, thermal failure can occur in new lubricants with healthy additive packages. However, many of the symptoms of oxidation are also symptoms of thermal degradation. One of the most common causes of thermal failure in hydraulic fl uids and some lubricating oils relates to aeration, i.e., entrained air bubbles. ese bubbles can become rapidly compressed in hydraulic pumps and in the squeeze zones of bearings. is results in extremely high localized temperatures. Hot surface carboniza- tion is another form of thermal failure. When an oil thermally degrades, problems associated with sludge, varnish, deposits, viscosity change and additive decomposition will often occur. Pre-fi lter New Oil Adding new oil to a system is a very common practice that can also yield high concentrations of contamination. Industry has no guidelines for new oil cleanliness, which means that it may end up at your facility much dirtier than the oil in your machines. Pre-fi ltering your new oil before it enters your system is an effi cient way of mini- mizing the particle contamination and reducing the damage those particles will cause. Even opening the system fi ll port to add new oil is a cause for concern in many plant environments. Adapter manifolds are available that maintain a closed system, even when fi ltering the oil, for topping up the fl uid or draining the tank. Trap-Pipe Oil Sampling Tr a p p i p e s a r e excellent for pulling a sample from a vertical, non-fl ooded line of pipe coming from a bearing housing or gearbox. Typi- cally, vertical, non-fl ooded lines of pipe cause oil to spiral down the inside wall of pipe, depending on the velocity of the oil fl ow. e trap pipe essen- tially traps a portion of the oil fl ow temporarily regardless of velocity and allows the user to draw a data-rich oil sample in a representative location. LUBE-TIPS Have Some Tips? Did You Know ? If you have a tip to share, email it to editor@ noria .com . Additional tips c an b e found in our Lub e -Tips email n ewslet ter. To re ceive th e Lub e -Tips n ewslet ter, subscrib e now at M a ch i n e r yLu b ric at io n .co m .