Dodge Sleevoil Bearing Failure

The synthetic ISO 32 lubricant would give you better low temperature performance and would be a good option since you are located where the seasonal temperature changes exceed 100 deg. F.

I would still consider the reservoir heater. Do you have coolers on your recirculation system? with a heater and temperature control system to turn on and off the heaters and fans you could target a normal system temp of around 100 deg. F or so and still be way below your 150 deg. F shutoff. And of course any recirculation system should be fit with a filter to remove contaminants.

Hello Mark,
We have been using these bearings for some years now with success. However we are using an ISO 68 oil and we have our alarm set for 165 and shutdown is at 180F. Our temperatures up here arn't much colder than you but our fans are indoors. However even indoors on startup (certain areas of the plant) the temp can be slightly above 3F.
It sounds like mabey your problem is with the viscosity grade rather than the lube type.

Hope this helps you out....

To select oil viscosity, always follow the equipment manufacturer's suggestion. Then check with guide book for viscosity based on load, bearing diameter and RPM. If they meet, just do it.

High VI synthetic could be helpful, but if seasonal temperature variation is too wide, heater is the only way.

Heat reservoir from low temperature to room temperature, like 3F to 60F, will have very little influence on bearing temperature, if it is already above 120F.

One thing need to notice is that heat reservoir up doesn't mean you have correct oil viscosity on bearing. It depends on the distance between reservoir to bearings, if its central lubrication.

Thanks for the information. The fan does sit outside, and there is about 12' between the reservoirs and the bearing housings. The OEM called for an ISO 32 turbine oil. I beleive that temperature control will be the way to go with this problem, along with switching to the synthetic compressor oil with the higher VI. Appreciate all the input!

We have a sleevoil type that requires no cooling. May be worth a try.