Learn used oil analysis sample testing, lubrication reliability maintenance, predictive lab diagnostics to reduce costs & boost profits.

Learn Oil Analysis

Meet the Expert

Secrets of OCM

from industry expert

Welcome to the definitive resource on all things oil analysis. Take a look around the site and register for free to get full access to the learn oil analysis book series.

Click to connect with the expert on linkedin.

Scroll down to read more

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.

This article will answer the following questions:


Why and how do lubricants fail?
Why do I need to change my oil?
Do I have to use the recommended oil for my machine?

Lubricant failure means the basic lubricant functions have become overwhelmed, which ultimately can lead to wear and machine failure. This article will discuss some of the ways lubricants can fail.
Under / insufficient lubricationThis can be thought of as anything preventing lube oil getting to the right places at the righ...

MISS! - The 4 most common ways lubricants fail to hit the target

Read More

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.

Read More

Varnish has become a popular term in the industry in recent years although it has been around since the first usage of lubricants.
Part of its popularity in recent times is aftermarket additive and filter manufacturers have realised they can remove the material, so it’s measurement has become highly promoted. Additionally the classical ultracentrifuge methods of measuring varnish have now been overtaken by Membrane Patch Colourimetry (MPC). The manufacture of the MPC devices has also been act...

Varnish is like cholesterol in your machinery

Read More

Oil analysis is often spoken about in terms of large diggers, ships, production machinery in factories, power generation, and large fleets of vehicles such as rail, truck and buses. It is not usually mentioned in terms of cars. I mean obviously labs have looked at the car industry before when promoting oil analysis simply because of the size of the market, but since the main selling point has often been on reducing downtime costs the industry has always gravitated around machinery with large cos...

Why you should be sampling your vehicle / car oil, fuel and coolant?

Read More

See below the learn oil analysis crib sheet for identifying each of the elements you see on your oil analysis reports.











Find out how wear metals, contamination elements, wear particle quantification index (PQ / ferrous debris) and additive metals are tested below, what each element on a report means and how to diagnose which components on failing.

...

Source element guide - contamination, wear metal, additives and multi-origin elements

Read More

This article will answer the following questions.


Is my lube oil contaminated?


Why do lubricating oils become contaminated?


Is my oil filter working and which oil filter should I use?


What is a ISO4406, ISO4407, NAS1638 or SAE4059 Particle count?


What sizes of particles are tested in ISO 4406 Analysis?


How small are the particles my filter removes?


Particle count – Particle counts measure the relative cleanliness of a fluid. This can be performed ...

Particle counting - determine fluid cleanliness to ISO4406 / NAS / SAE4059. Achieve cleaner oil by monitoring it's cleanliness with oil analysis.

Read More

This article will answer the following questions:


Why and how do lubricants fail?
Why do I need to change my oil?
Do I have to use the recommended oil for my machine?

Lubricant failure means the basic lubricant functions have become overwhelmed, which ultimately can lead to wear and machine failure. This article will discuss some of the ways lubricants can fail.
Under / insufficient lubricationThis can be thought of as anything preventing lube oil getting to the right places at the righ...

MISS! - The 4 most common ways lubricants fail to hit the target

Read More

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.

Read the Book

By registering for free to our quarterly newsletter and logging in you can read the industry leading textbook series on oil analysis “Learn Oil Analysis”

Ask a question

Ask a question on oil analysis directly to the site author. This can also include requests on how and with whom to start fluid sampling. You can also contact the author on linkedin.

See our Training Courses

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.

Welcome to Learn Oil Analysis

Training Videos

Login & Register for Free

To view our training videos

We Hope you enjoy....

Let the Show Begin

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.