Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/229047
COVER STORY ISO VG Viscosity Limits (cSt @ 40° C) Viscosity Limits (SSU @ 100° F) Pour Point °F (Maximum ASTM D-97) Demulsibility % Water in Oil (Maximum) Characteristics Total mL Free Water (Minimum) ASTM D-2711 mL Emulsion (Maximum) MC-43 68 61.2-74.8 284-347 -15° F (-26° C) 1 80 2 MC-51 150 135-165 625-764 -10° F (-23° C) 1 80 2 MC-87 220 198-242 917-1121 -10° F (-23° C) 1 80 2 MC-21 320 288-352 1334-1631 0° F (-17.8° C) 1 80 2 MC-93 460 414-506 1918-2344 0° F (-17.8° C) 1 80 4 MC-71 680 612-748 2834-3465 10° F (-12° C) 1 80 4 MC-31 1000 900-1100 4169-5095 20° F (-6.7° C) 1 80 4 Maintenance Code No. Figure 3. Examples of maintenance codes assigned for various lubricant tests volume used of each. If the results do not conform to the 80/20 rule, your plant might be a candidate for lubricant consolidation. In other words, if relatively equal volumes of many products are in use, duplication might exist. Benefits and Disciplines of the Specification System The most obvious benefit of the specification system is lower prices. This can be easily seen. What goes unseen is the high-quality products you obtain while forcing oil companies to compete. However, by instituting a specification system, plant maintenance people are compelled to learn what works and why. This may be a challenge in some plants. The willingness to perform testing is critical. You do not need to have an onsite laboratory, but you must find a quality offsite lab. While a few tests can be performed onsite with inexpensive equipment, most require expensive equipment and a qualified technician. A few ways to reduce these costs are discussed below. These two disciplines — learning what works and why, and the willingness to conduct testing — are essential. Intangible Benefits When you have a "system" in place for purchasing lubricants, vendors tend to be more careful with your products' quality. Knowing that you test and won't hesitate to complain or have a bad load pumped out at their expense will keep everyone honest. Also, those vendors who live by "sharp" practices or high costs don't even bother to solicit your business. My personal experience has proven this to me repeatedly. Testing As mentioned previously, it is recommended to randomly test every truckload of bulk oil and drum shipments. The steel company did this because of the large volumes purchased. Tests are generally priced individually, and some are expensive. To lower costs, the steel company selected a few critical tests for each load and assumed the rest were OK. However, this may have been overkill. You could take a sample, label it and store it in case of future problems. As confidence in a vendor grows, this would be an acceptable practice. 12 | November - December 2013 | www.machinerylubrication.com