Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication July August 2021 Digital Edition

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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www.machinerylubrication.com | July - August 2021 | 41 we completed all the objec- tives and designed a quality lubrication program for the maintenance team moving forward. is job was also completed on a holiday weekend during a blizzard, so I was very proud of our team. Q: What do you see as some of the more important trends in the lubrication and oil analysis field? A: I think that there is an interesting trend happening in the machinery lubrication world related to reliability professionals and increasing demands for remote moni- toring. I see many more professionals in the industry retiring than I see young professionals willing to take their place and fill that job role. To combat the slimming workforce, and to streamline maintenance operations, companies are pushing to implement IIoT and remote monitoring throughout the industry. While I believe that utilizing remote monitoring to collect data is indeed the future of the reliability industry, I also believe that we need experienced profes- sionals to bring insight to all that data. Data and insight work together — one doesn't tell the whole story without the other. I believe that the number of professionals in the industry will decrease, but the breadth of expertise needed to be a competent reliability professional will increase. ML LUBE-TIPS Th e " Lub e -Tips " se c tion of M a ch i n e r y Lu b ricatio n magazin e feature s innovative ideas submit te d by our rea der s . Don't Rely on Color Alone Color-coding can be an effective way of setting up a lubricant management program, but don't use color as the only designation for which lubricant goes into what equipment. A significant portion of the population has partial or total color blindness. In labeling lubricants, colors should be supplemented with either shapes or text. Avoid Recurring Water Contamination Problems Large hydraulic reservoirs operating outdoors often develop a problem with recurring water contamination. e problem often is related to the humidity in the air. When hydraulic systems operate, the oil heats up and expands. If the system is shut down at night, the oil will contract and fresh humid air from the outdoors will enter the reservoir through the breather. By morning, when the outside air temperature has cooled significantly, the humidity introduced into the reservoir has usually condensed into water droplets in the oil. To correct and avoid this, use water-removal filtration offline to remove any free and dissolved water and add a desiccant breather to filter moisture out of any air entering the reservoir. Don't Overlook Barrier Fluids One often-overlooked lubricant is the barrier fluid used in double mechanical seals. Although it may be topped off when the level in the seal pot is low, how much thought goes into maintaining the high-quality lubricant needed for extended mechanical seal life? Seal faces are lapped to within two helium light bands of flatness and are every bit as precise as rolling- element bearings. ese lubricants are generally added to a seal pot and are expected to perform for the life of the seal. Conditions to consider include temperature, oxidation, coking of the lubricant, cleanliness, PM needs, scheduled changeout or sampling/testing and possible justification for synthetics. ML

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