Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1412702
20 | September - October 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com • Lubricant Disposal Costs — is is the second financial indicator, but one that is tied to many different aspects of the program. Within any oil change, there are a significant number of hidden costs. By tracking the cost of disposal (the volume of used oil reclaimed by an outside group), you will have better insight into how these hidden costs are trending. Outside the normal labor and price per gallon for disposal, you should see a noticeable drop in consumables related to oil changes, as well as ancillary administrative functions such as plan - ning, scheduling, super vising, and definitely the cost of unavailability of the machine while it is being drained and refilled. ere are many benefits to having an oil reconditioning program, but it may not always be feasible or economical to start this process. It does require effort, tools, expertise and the right application to maximize the effect. Much like previous articles that have mentioned the Optimum Reference State (ORS), this is no different. Some machines/lubricants will benefit, while others will not. Below are some factors to consider when determining whether a reconditioning program is right for your asset. Base Oil Health If the base oil is damaged, stop right now. Reconditioning likely won't solve any issues and is just a band-aid until the oil can be changed. True reconditioning is a proactive measure that protects the structural integrity of the base oil molecules and the fluid's prop- erties. Waiting too long to start can stymie the efforts to begin with. If the base oil is still healthy, then other considerations exist. Large Volume Perhaps the most common variable when looking at any lubrication program advance- ment is the volume of lubricant the asset holds. e higher the volume and cost per gallon, the better care we should take of the fluid to get the maximum life out of it. For volumes less than 100 gallons, the investment might not make sense unless it can be further justified by criticality or the cost of doing an oil change. Leakage When a system leaks fluid, new oil is put in to keep up the level at the appropriate volume. is new oil brings in new additives and serves as a way to refresh the oil in service. If you have a system that is prone to leakage and you are adding a significant volume of new oil each year, starting a leak mitigation program would be a higher priority than recon- ditioning. If top-ups are rare, then reconditioning can be further evaluated. Labor Av a i l a bi l it y of s t a f f to perform oil changes is becoming a very real problem. As plants continue to operate on leaner staffing, extending oil life and minimizing oil changes begin to look very attractive. One would need to review how much labor is dedicated to oil changes or even available for these activi- ties and estimate any potential savings related to this labor if a reconditioning program is initiated. is can help free up manpower for other initiatives in the plant as well. Fluid/Additive Package Some oils will take to reconditioning better than others. Fluids that are heavily additized, like motor oils, do not make great candidates for this type of program. Conversely, low additized fluids, such as turbine oils, would be a great place to start. You would have to evaluate each fluid and determine the feasi- bility of maintaining an additive level. While it is possible for hydraulics and gear fluids to be reconditioned, you may find that it will not be economical depending on your volume of usage. It's exciting to think about how far this technology has come and is continuing to go. e benefits of lubricants lasting for a significant amount of time are tremendous, but it does raise some questions. What are the unintended consequences of extended oil life? ere are bound to be some things that change within the oil that we are blind to or might not entirely understand. We do know that incredibly small particles build up inside the fluid and are never removed, as they are able to slip through filtration systems. As these particles build up, their surface area in contact with oil increases tremendously. is may lead to a change in the properties of the oil in ways that we haven't seen in the past. Regardless, it is a great thought to ponder: when will be the last time you actually change your oil? ML About the Author Wes Cash is the Vice Pres- ident of Services for Noria Corporation. He serves as a senior technical consultant for Lubrica- tion Program Development projects and as a senior instructor for Noria's Oil Analysis I and Machinery Lubrication I and II training courses. He holds a Machinery Lubrication Engineer (MLE) Machine Lubrication Tech- nician (MLT) Level II certification and a Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level III certification through the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML). Contact Wes at wcash@noria.com. CONTAMINATION CONTROL & LUBRICANT RECONDITIONING START YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION www.machinerylubrication.com