Three-step process monitors oil condition

An ALcontrol Oil Analysis Laboratories product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 3, 2008

Regular oil analysis allows machinery operators to safely extend oil drain intervals, schedule maintenance, reduce downtime and extend warranties.

With increasing costs and tighter deadlines, the need for effective maintenance strategies is greater than ever before, and an oil condition monitoring programme can play a key role.

Regular oil analysis allows machinery operators to safely extend oil drain intervals, schedule maintenance, reduce downtime and extend warranties.

ALcontrol Oil Analysis Laboratories has more than 30 years of experience in monitoring all types of lubricated systems, and can advise customers on the condition of their oil and machinery using a simple three-step procedure.

First, ALcontrol supplies a sample kit, comprising a thief pump, tubing, sample bottle, instructions and information sheet, which the customer uses to obtain a 100ml sample at oil drain time or routine service intervals.

The sample is sent to the lab in the pre-addressed sample carton provided.

Once the sample has arrived at the lab, it will be registered, analysed, interpreted and reported within 36 hours.

The customer will receive an analysis report in a format of his or her choice showing the condition of the sample.

Reports are available via e-mail, personalised web pages or hard copy.

The idea of using oil analysis as a commercial condition monitoring tool dates back to the 1940s when railways in North America analysed engine oil to try and solve the problem of short engine life.

However the real genesis of used oil analysis is from engine OEMs and oil companies who originally used it as a research and development tool.

The basis of used oil analysis is SOAP - spectrometric oil analysis programme.

Oil companies and independent laboratories introduced SOAP into the UK in the late 1960s and it is now impossible to send a sample of for analysis without having some aspect of SOAP performed on the fluid.

The principle of SOAP is quite simple and can be compared with a human blood test, whereby a small sample of the circulating fluid can give in-depth readings into the health of the body it is servicing.

Like a blood sample, a small amount of oil can show signs of contamination, degradation or wear and tear.

In machinery the oil sample will carry small particles of metallic debris, which can give indications of any wear patterns which may be occurring within the equipment.

Using state of the art instruments we can determine the composition and concentration of these metallic particles and indicate which part of the machinery is wearing at abnormal rates Experienced chemists and engineers can then use the information generated by the laboratory to predict a potential problem with the oil or machinery before it becomes critical and long before in becomes evident to the maintenance engineer.

Any industrial employee or engineer who uses lubricating oil on a daily basis, should be subscribing to an oil analysis programme to use as part as part of their maintenance strategy.

ALcontrol Oil Analysis Lab offers analytical services for any type of oil or fluid.

On a daily basis the company analyses over 1000 samples from: engines, hydraulic systems, gearboxes, compressors, turbines, heat transfer systems, circulating oils, paper machines, transmissions, transformers, metalworking fluids and cooling water.

Client specific passwords enable customers to access their complete historical database of all sample results and reports from a single secure website.

Results are uploaded daily and the first page check allows users to view the status of recently uploaded results.

Results can be split by location for users who sample from multiple sites, and sample reports can be searched by many parameters including equipment make, model serial number or oil grade.