Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1275515
36 | July - August 2020 | www . machinerylubrication.com IN THE TRENCHES needs to be improved and the machine might need modification to ensure the breathing is occurring through a breather. • Breathers – similar to the discussion on breather ports we should inspect the breathers themselves. For canister-style breathers we should check for any signs of oil misting from them and signs of blockage. ey should have a date of install written on them and we should be sure they are changed accordingly. For desiccant breathers, we would also want to inspect the color of the silica desiccant inside of them. Most will have a color- change guide of when they are saturated and require changing. A deeper inspec- tion would be looking at the direction of the color change to see if it is indicating the dehumidification of the headspace or dehumidification of the incoming air. Depending on the direction of change, this could give you early warning to a moisture problem inside the machine. • BS&W bowls – most contaminants are heavier than the surrounding oil and tend to settle to the bottom of equipment housings and reser voirs. Having a window into the bottom regions of the machine allows for the early visual detec- tion of issues. e bottom sediment and water bowl typically thread into a drain port and is a crucial part of any world- class inspection program. ese devices will show any water, wear debris, and solid contaminants visually. It also serves as a location to drain accumulated water and take bottom samples if you were to do in-depth analysis on the wear debris. • Cleanliness – general machine cleanli- ness should be checked to make sure there is no evidence of an issue such as oil leaks, process leaks, or product accu- mulation. A machine that is clean and free of debris around it is more likely to run cooler and the lubricant inside is more likely to stay clean. It is very common to walk around equipment and find small drips or product piled up around them. ese are early warning signs of seal issues or process leaks that if left unchecked would lead to more disas- trous consequences. • Smoke – while this one is obvious it can often be overlooked. Most think about looking at the smoke or color of the smoke coming out of an exhaust pipe of an engine, but you can also be looking for smoke out of other types of machines. Smoke or steam can be caused by some- thing running very hot and evaporating out water or evaporating oil from the system. e smoke and steam may be very faint but taking your time and looking for it can let you know if the lubricant is performing satisfactorily or if there is moisture contamination. Of course, for engines the smoke is a byproduct of combustion so look at both the color and volume of smoke produced for normal operation. Audible Inspections When visiting different facilities and touring them with a seasoned maintenance or reliability professional; it never ceases to