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Latest & Popular Articles

See the latest and most popular articles on oil analysis that have been posted to find out more about how oil analysis works and the benefits it could be doing for you.

A customer recently sent in an a gear SAE 50 lube oil sample from a rigid dump truck working on a UK quarry. The machine had previously had no issues and had a very thorough and complete service history with all the maintenance performed by the official OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) dealer. All the lubricants used were with a lube oil major supplier and had full approvals for the machine. The customer was also understood to use the official OEM telemetry systems to aid in early fault dia...

Should I worry if I see metal particles in my lube oil?

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Everyone knows keeping electricity flowing 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year is vital in keeping the nation safe. If the lights suddenly went out that may be an inconvenience for some, a loss of income to others and worse still result in loss of life saving equipment.

Despite advances in renewables, at time of writing over half all electricity in the UK still comes from burning fossil fuels, which in turn leads to rotation of steam or gas turbine blades that generate powerstaion electricity....

Why sampling turbine oils is vital?

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This article will answer the following questions:

How to reduce lube oils costs and cheaper lubricant bills?


How to extend oil drain change intervals?
How to effectively plan cheaper oil changes?

If it costs you £50k to change your oil you are naturally going to be cautious about doing so without needing to. So traditional approaches of changing your oil E.g. every 3 years don’t really seem to add up if your oil could go for 4 years, whilst the cost of the machinery failure ...

Why partial oil changes don't make financial sense.

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Did you know there is a sweet spot for almost every lubrication property, too high or too low will cause problems and you need them just right. This effect of just right lubrication is really the Goldilocks of lubrication (from children's story of a girl, three bears and porridge temperature). Interestingly this article will also involve a different type of bear, in the form of bearings (apologies for the poor pun).

A classic example is viscosity in which too high a viscosity can lead to overhe...

The Goldilocks effect and the three 'Bear'-ing lubrication tips

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The wear process of abrasive materials in your oil is an important one to understand if you are to protect your components.







Another interesting case study today. This is one is from an injection moulding machine. Now for those who don’t know about this industry these are hydraulic systems in plastics manufacturing, and they have exceptionally strict cleanliness requirements. By strict I mean in some cases 8 times cleaner than is required for aircraft hydraulic systems for some manufact...

Ouch! The problem with cutting wear...

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This is an interesting case study for a sample we received recently from a vehicle dealer. The reason for the sample was the temperature sensor of the cooling system had become corroded and the customer wanted to know why.

The engine coolant was known to be a generic brand rather than the OEM recommended brand. The vehicle dealer suspected the wrong brand of coolant was the cause.

The analysis showed the coolant was ever so slightly under concentrated at 47% glycol by refractometer rather than...

Why is my truck coolant temperature sensor all corroded?

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After years maintaining machinery you start to develop a 6th sense to know when something is not right. There is not really a 6th sense, but the other 5 play a crucial role of on sight inspections. Well maybe only 4 as I wouldn't advocate tasting your machine fluids. You do however, listen for abnormal noises, use your eyes to inspect damage, deposits or contamination, and touch to feel vibration etc. The final one is smell. Smell is an extremely sensitive sense and is a fundamental diagnostic t...

Take a whiff, why if your oil doesn’t smell right you should get it tested.

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Why Oil Analysis Matters?

Oil Analysis is used by people just like you all over the world to reduce machinery downtime and improve equipment reliability. A small sample of oil from your machinery can provide as much information as a full machine strip down at a fraction of the cost and has been a proven technology for over 60 years to reduce forced shutdowns and failure repair costs. Want to understand how oil and grease analysis works and how it applies to you then watch this short video below.

How Much Can Oil Analysis Save Me?

Oil analysis is a brilliant tool that can save you money each time you sample. The returns on investment vary depending on your machinery type, so feel free to use our sister sites cost saving calculator at the bottom of their FAQ Page.

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Register for free and get access to some of our great short oil analysis training training courses. Content is updated regularly and includes explanation of tests, sources of wear, how to take a sample and the benefits of oil Sampling. You can also book a dedicated training day for you and your team too or enquire about our deluxe online training programmes.

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Get your oil tested

If you have never had your oil tested before then what are you waiting for and get in contact with a lab today. There are many reputable labs all across the world that offer excellent oil analysis services you can use including our sister lab – Oil Analysis Laboratories, which is the only lab in the world to offer the LubeWear test. LubeWear identifies abnormal wear far earlier than traditional wear metal analysis techniques meaning you can catch faults earlier to keep your machine reliability at its highest. A brief video explanation of the rest can be viewed below.