An Oil-Saving Solution

Extending oil drains is a beneficial way of squeezing every ounce of usage out of your lubrication, avoiding waste and saving money. There are several tools and resources available to optimize and extend your drain intervals adequately and safely. Optimizing your equipment’s oil drains is essential to saving resources and reducing costs for the future. Those seeking to safely extend drains and see an additional allocation of the lubricants can do so by inspecting the oil for any contaminants and routinely testing through a laboratory.

Extending your oil drains can result in:

• Decrease in waste; increase of resources
• Increase in equipment reliability
• Decrease in new lubrication costs
• Decrease in maintenance costs

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) Recommendations

OEMs have general recommendations based on intervals such as hours or miles. OEMs can suggest these general recommendations but aren’t always specific to your application. They are unable to determine whether there is useful remaining life in the oil or perhaps the presence of acid, both resulting in unnecessary costs and resource allocation.

Common KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Extending oil drains require specific indications that the oil has enough life for further usage. Key Performance Indicators for extending lubricant drain intervals include:

• Acid Number: The amount of present acid. Oxidation and contamination levels can determine if the oil is safe for usage if under the OEM’s recommendation.
• Base Number: The level of additives, specifically dispersants and detergents. If base number levels are above the limit, the oil may be safely extended.
• Oxidation: If the oxidation levels are below limits suggested by the lubricant manufacturer, proceeding with extending oil drains can occur.
• Nitration: Nitration is a critical indicator of the performance of natural gas engines.
• Viscosity: If the lubricant’s viscosity falls within the lubricant manufacturer’s range, this can determine if the oil can be extended and utilized longer.

PM vs CBM

CBM (condition-based monitoring) is the natural progression of PM (preventive maintenance) to determining what’s best for your equipment. To generate a dependable solution to evaluating the possibility of extending oil drains, routine oil testing and analysis is vital. Fluid analysis programs are the only way to identify whether you are meeting your KPIs. Identifying patterns through CBM results in a higher sense of control over contaminants that directly affect lubrication longevity.

Oil Testing and Analysis

While OEMs offer broad suggestions for scheduling your oil drains, a routine, consistent fluid analysis program can go the extra mile and determine any unusual wear pattern in the equipment, identify and control any contamination present, and determine the suitability of the lubricant for continued use.

Proper training and education in oil analysis is learned best while practicing hands-on with these processes, leading to improved longevity for oil drainage. Being involved in oil analysis cuts costs and prevents unnecessary oil waste by allowing users to decipher when oil drains can be properly extended and the lubricant’s useful remaining life.

Data Management Reports and Sample Reports

Running data management reports and taking action on sample reports can assist users in recognizing problems as they occur. Analyzing patterns based on the results of the reports makes future extension of oil drains increasingly more manageable. Understanding oil sample data and downloading data across data management reports offers users solutions to enhance oil usage. For example, downloading sample data through the Problem Summary Report available in POLARIS Laboratories’ data management system, HORIZON^®, identifies KPIs for oil drains.

Acting on maintenance recommendations included in sample reports can streamline the process of identifying suitability within the oil. Sample reports inform users of levels of metal and contamination and can be used as KPI’s to determine drain intervals. Additionally, these reports allow users to view sample history and recommended actions indicated on previously submitted samples for the same component.

Optimize Your Oil Drains

Resources such as condition-based monitoring, oil testing, and analyzing data in oil analysis reports give users opportunities to safely extend oil drains. Understanding acceptable levels of contamination or acids in lubrication instead of hours or miles recommended by OEMs can result in extending drains and using oil for longer. Knowledge identified with KPIs based on oil analysis reports results in extended component hours, decrease in costs associated with labor and lubricants, and less waste.