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Reply to "New Turbine Oil Foaming"

RobertC - you should make sure that a full metals analysis (like D 5185) is run, look for excess Si & Al, these can indicate airborne dust, as well as Ca, Na, Mg, Ba or any other metal that is frequently found associating with sulfonate detergent/rust additives. Also make sure they run a fine filtration or high speed centrifuge analysis, which will also ID fine particles. Fine suspended particles are a common cause of foaming. Detergents will help these particles stay in suspension.

Rflagg - If any parts are replaced during this outage, make sure they are clean. Parts will often be covered with a rust inhibitor in storage. The maintenance guys who install the parts may figure "It's rust inhibitor, leave it on and it will boost the anti-rust performance." The problem is that these in-storage rust inhibitors are often the same or very similar molecules as those used for engine oil detergents. As contaminants, these molecules can cause foam, emulsion or both.

John Micetic - Can we disagree without being disagreeable? Give the guy a few gentle nudges in the direction of the facts before you fly into "Jane, you ignorant ****" mode.

LE makes great products if you have a squeaky snake. I generally assume any supplier who dyes a product that isn't usually dyed is hiding something. In LE's case, it's sometimes used to hide the fact that their oils get very hazy with a very small amount of water, based on a study I ran in the 1990's.
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