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37
How to Manage
the Filter
Filter ma na gement shou ld
include a combination of activities,
beginning with the selection of filters
for the system's needs. If water is a
common uncontrollable contami-
nant, then filters specifically designed
to help remove large amounts of
water or a separate water-removal
device may be necessary. Secondly,
being aware of and controlling the
ingression points for all types of
contaminants will increase not only
the filter life but also the life of the
oil and machine.
Contamination control is all
about exclusion and remova l.
Removal by means of a filter may
be inevitable to some degree, but
investing in contaminant exclusion
only costs one-tenth of what it will
cost after contamination enters the
system over the machine's lifetime.
Also, solid contaminants aren't the
only types of contamination that
should be considered. Moisture is
the second most destructive contam-
inant and is often ignored.
As with any filtration, a differ-
ential pressure gauge should be
installed to identify a change in
pressure between the inlet and outlet
sides of the filter's housing. is will
give an indication of the saturation
level of the filter media. If the correct
filter has been selected, the differen-
tial pressure will gradually increase
over several weeks or a month. Of
course, a drastic spike can occur at
any time as a result of an unexpected
surge of particles or saturation of the
media by water or other insoluble
products. at being the case, never
rely solely on historical data to deter-
mine how often to change a filter,
especially for critical equipment. Just
like every inspection device installed
on equipment, the differential pres-
sure gauge should be inspected
frequently and marked so mainte-
nance and operations personnel can
easily recognize an issue and report
it immediately.
ML
About the Author
Bennett Fitch is the director of
product development and services
for Noria Corporation. He is a
mechanical engineer who holds a
Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA)
Level III certification and a Machine
Lubrication Technician (MLT)
Level II certification through the
International Council for Machinery
Lubrication (ICML). Contact
Bennett at bfitch@noria.com to
learn how Noria can help you better
control contamination in the critical
machines at your plant.
ML
