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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.

Have you just had a price rise letter wishing you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, but at the same time telling you your price is going up? Didn't they do the exact same thing last year too? When you asked them why they are doing this didn't they give the same old excuses of exchange rates, supply and demand as well as their ever increasing costs. Did the fact these things also effect your business too seem to have been missed?

This is all too common a place with generic price rise letters c...

Just had a price rise, but service is getting worse? We have the solution

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This article will answer the following questions.


Why does my cooling system not rust?




What does antifreeze do?




What is in antifreeze?




What are corrosion inhibitors?




What are Supplementary Coolant Additives (SCAs)




What is vapour phase corrosion inhibition?

Your coolant in your engine is usually between 50% and 70% water and even more on cooling waters where it can be up to 90%. So with all that water why does your cooling system not rust? It is fair to say that...

Engine Glycol Coolant Anti-freeze properties - Corrosion Inhibition Testing

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Fine filtration (less than 3 micron) is becoming increasingly popular method of extending machinery life. Filtration companies have in recent years had a concerted effort to increase awareness of keeping oils clean and this has had a marked beneficial effect on overall cleanliness levels on these types of systems with the increased uptake. These systems sometimes going submicron in filtration size tend to be offline kidney filtration type systems rather than inline filtration because the pressur...

The most important thing you need to know about fine filtration effects on your oil samples.

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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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Extreme Pressure (EP) is the most common anti-wear additive for high load gears. It is Sulphur-Phosphorus based and used when other additives such as ZDDP are not sufficient to give high load wear protection.

If you have ever changed a gear oil, the distinctive smell is from EP.

In normal conditions EP is inactive, but at high temperatures at loaded surfaces EP reacts to form a metal sulphide toughened coating to protect against wear.

However with copper based components care must be taken as...

EP additive for when the loading gets Tough. Extreme pressure additives in gear oils give extreme loading protection in lubricated systems.

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Machinery failure will cost you money, but with hydraulics that power so many every day pieces of equipment, failure can also cause accidents and loss of life. The reason is hydraulics are used to provide very precise but powerful movements. This is achieved by use of servo valves and other valve type devices to actively get oil to various parts of the machine to deliver power just when it is needed. If these become blocked by contamination or varnish then movements become jerky or uncontrolled....

4 out of 5 hydraulic failures are missed when you don't use oil analysis

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Question: I have two products on site and I think the machines may have been topped up incorrectly. How can I tell if this has happened?

Answer: since there are only two products on site if you submit samples of both new oils plus the oil in your machinery for analysis to your condition monitoring lab they should be able able to do a comparison for you using a comparison of inorganic additives by ICP or XRF, viscosity and organic differences by FTIR.

If you have the oil reports from this analy...

How do I tell if I have accidentally mixed two oils? Lube oil analysis detects oil compatibility.

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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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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.

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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.