Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1412702
• If the sight glass is stained, replace it. • en inspect the breather/vent plug. If a vent plug or particle breather is installed, inspect for any abnormal conditions, i.e., bending, breaking, or obvious saturation, and replace it with a desiccant if applicable. • If a desiccant, then inspect the media for discoloration and replace if necessary. Special consideration should be taken when inspecting large circulating systems like recipro- cating compressors or hydraulic reservoirs. Take the same "from the ground up" approach. • Observe the ambient conditions around and near the system. • Inspect the skid, the reservoir area, and do a quick walk around of the system for safety. • Especially watch out for leaks and funky smells, as these are highly critical pieces of equipment and could poten- tially cost millions of dollars to repair. • Inspect the filter(s) and piping. • Inspect the sight glasses (many circu- lating systems have multiple in-line sight glasses). is is an important step — problems with these sight glasses can draw the technician a map leading to potential failures. • Finally, check the entire reservoir for cracking, any broken or missing mounting hardware, or any other abnormal conditions. I want to reiterate how important it is to take pictures and notes and then report and record findings. Remember, we are trending this data in order to stay on top of machinery performance. Inspections should be taken very seriously, and they should be performed often. Inspections are easy enough to perform that you can almost inspect equipment while walking through the plant. Including condition monitoring tasks such as inspections in your routes is a great way to get ahead of the curve on your facility's way to a world-class lubrication program. ML About the Author Paul Farless is an industrial service tech- nician for Noria Corporation. His duties include collecting data and preparing reports for the engineering team. Prior to joining Noria, Paul worked as an automotive maintenance technician for an auto-repair service company. He also served four years in the U.S. Navy as a gunner's mate third-class petty officer and as a seaman deckhand, where he was responsible for the troubleshooting and maintenance of electromechanical and hydraulic systems. A detail-oriented team player, Paul works well in fast-paced environments and uses his military back- ground to excel and maximize efficiency. 28 | September - October 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com CONDITION MONITORING, LUBRICANT ANALYSIS AND TROUBLESHOOTING