Hi there is there anyone who can advise on a quick method for testing oil for oxidation i.e. on a platform offshore.
I also want to do tests for water and solids from the platform. Can anyone recomend a company who supplies this type of kit so i can get in touch with them about supplying us with the testing procedures and the testing kit

Steve --

One technique for your consideration is the RULER (Remaining Useful Life Evaluation Routine)produced by Fluitec International (see www.fluitec.com). According to their literature "... it will enable you to screen the condition of your lubricant by monitoring and trending its oxidative health..."

The RULER is a hand held devise along with a small kit for immediate, on-site test results.

Hope this is of help.

Mike Raab
ANDEROL Inc.
OEM Manager & Industry Liaison

Steve,

Please contact LEWCO Contamination Control at 281-367.1500 they can help you not only in the selection of the right equipment.

Steve,
A simple method for checking for oxidation and solid particles in an oil sample is to use a piece of blotter paper. Kits and instructions are avaliable from Herguth Labs..
www.herguth.com and click on Circoil. The simplest way to check for water is the hot plate test. You drip oil onto a hot plate and listen for the poping sound that the water makes.
These are both good screening technigues....they help you to understand what is going on with your lubricant and equipment. They can't replace a lab analysis.

regards.......

Hi Steve,
can't work out where in the world you are.
Both Pall and Fortum can sell you kits to carry out gravametric tests and kits contain a colour chart to check out what the oxidisation is in that sample.

Regards..

Increased acidity is one of the results of lubricant oxidation and using TAN test kits can be used to determine when to change oil.
For testing water a Crackle test only requires a hot plate to conduct and is usefull in determining when there is too much water.
A simple patch test can help determine particle concentration and composition. Your lab does not need to be loaded with expensive tools in order to give you the information you require. Check outarticles in Noria's "Machinery Lubrication" and "Practicing Oil Analysis" magazines which can be searched online for information on setting up your lab.

Desxil manufactures a number of quick inexpensive testing kits for oil analysis, you might want to check out their websighthttp://www.dexsil.com/fs_products.php These test are really good for quick analysis and pretty accurate.