I've been asked to give justification to extend the oil change frequencies of some of our critical motor driven pumps. We have NO data on the condition of the oil. Collecting samples safely means taking the equipment out of service because we can't drop tube the motor bearings for fear of stopping the slinger ring.

I'm thinking of waiting until the normal 1 year drain activity, getting samples then and focusing on the RPVOT, RULer, Viscosity, acid, ICP and comparing that to new oil. My concern at this point is not how much bearing metals are in the oil but does the oil have enough life to last up to two years? The motor bearings get changed out on the same 10 year freq as the motors.

Going to 2 year drain freq I would sample once/year.

Is my plan flawed?

Dear PhilsTj,

First you need more data before you chnage the interval.

Talk to your lab to see how much oil you need for ICP and Ruler. These two can answer the questions of metals and addative life. You may be surprised how little you need suggest 6 mo, 9mo. for trending.

Next please forget RPVOT ruler has been shown to provide better information in most cases.

Check all the other parameters at 12 mo and if the data and the trends from new are within limits, you can extend the drain but only 3 months at a time.

You can not safely jump to a 2 year interval.