BACK PAGE BASICS
FILTER (A)
ISO CODE
(B)
DIRT
25 micron nominal
21/18
6,784
136
1
10 micron nominal
19/16
1,809
36
1.9
10 micron absolute
16/13
211
4.2
4.4
6 micron absolute
14/11
53
1
8.8
3 micron absolute
12/9
14
0.28
15
(LBS.)
(C)
50-LB.
BAGS
RELATIVE
PUMP LIFE
At ISO 21/18, this hydraulic system passes 136 50-pound bags of dirt
through the teeth of the pump in one year. At ISO 14/11, only one
50-pound bag of dirt passes through the pump.
Pounds of Dirt Passing
Through Pump/Year (C)
56 |
Filter Performance (A)
Absolute - Beta > 75
Nominal - Beta > 5
September - October 2013 | www.machinerylubrication.com
In addition, it has
been estimated that
one particle of dirt has
the potential to generate
six wear particles. Particles in the 4- and
6-micron range are most
damaging to your equipment because they are
the same size as your
lubricant film.
Of course, someone
has to pay to remove
this dirt from the lubri-
cants. You can do it, or you can work with your vendor and split
the cost. You may even be able to get your supplier to deliver lubricants that meet your cleanliness targets. This is something you
should take into account when your supplier contract comes up
for rebidding.
61%
of lubrication professionals
do not sample or test new
oil upon receipt, according
to a recent survey at
MachineryLubrication.com
If you are not presently tracking lubricant cleanliness, hopefully
this will prompt you to start. If you are tracking cleanliness but are not
sampling your oil upon receipt, you are spending good money to clean
up someone else's mess. Ideally, you can work with your lubricant
supplier and come up with cleanliness targets that make sense.
About the Author
Loren Green is a technical consultant with Noria Corporation,
focusing on machinery lubrication and maintenance in support of Noria's
Lubrication Program Development (LPD). He is a mechanical engineer
who holds a Machine Lubrication Technician (MLT) Level I certification
and a Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level II certification through the
International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML). Contact Loren
at lgreen@noria.com.
