New oil cleanliness

quote:

Originally posted by larse:
Hi all

Have any of you out there checked out the oil cleanliness levels that you receive from the supplier ?
I made some thoughts about this one day I took an unopened oil can that had been stored on the shelf for some time and noticed lots of sludge/particles on the bottom.

I know for a fact that some of the big users of hydraulic oil in northern Europe, always filter before their new batch of oil before putting into action.

Any experience of different cleanliness levels from different size containers?

Best regards
Lars

Hi !!

I am in Professional Oil filtration business and I have experienced that new oil cleanliness level varies from NAS - 10 to NAS - 12 level. Oil blenders do filter the oil but it gets contaimanated in the container in which they are filling the oil. These containers are seldom cleaned from inside and that is the reason for oil cleanliness level shooting up. It is therefore advisable to filter the oil at the time of filling the Oil tank of the machines.
V.S.Dave.

Hello Lars,

At our facility we have also seen the bottoms of 55 gallon oil drums with dirt and debris. The accepted procedure here is to filter the entire drum using a 5 micron filter on a portable unit for at least 30 minutes, prior to pumping the oil into the system using the same filtering unit.
Our hydraulic oil is delivered by tanker truck with 1500 gallons as a standard delivery. Although this oil is filtered as the tanker is filled and passes through another filter when being pumped off of the truck into 500 gallon bulk tanks, we still filter it before it is used in our systems.
Observing the delivery one day, I saw the driver wiping off the fill hose fittings with a rag. I was glad to see this until I saw him put the rag away in a dirt covered bin. All he is concerned with is drips and spills, not oil cleanliness. For this reason, our dispensing tank filters the oil to 3 micron when it is being filled and as it dispenses to the outlet hose. Filter everything before you use it to be safe.

New is not clean, and often does not meet minimum specifications for ISO cleanliness requirements for hydraulic pump and valve manufacturers. our Alpha Omega Centrifuge oil cleaning system is a multi-staged processor that many companies have employed to pre-filter new oil. Additionally, when employed in hydraulic system reservoir oil cleaning, can get oilm in a working system to cleaner-than-new according to ISO standards, and maintain it there. The AOCI system also is capable of removing water from hydraulic oil. We have conducted on-line studies for years with our clientelle in the heavy industrial sector, as well as with the US ARMY. Testing at the ARMY's TACOM Simulation Lab demonstrated ISO cleanliness levels in a working hydraulic system below a 9/6.

Hi Larse,
Yes, for many years we have obtained ISO Code oil samples from a number of fleet garage storage tanks. In most cases, storage tank “fresh oil” is dirtier than 17/15/12. As you know, delivery tanks and storage tanks are not sterile. The solution for the storage tank is to pre-filter the storage tank oil, preferably on a continuous basis to reduce staff time and guard against unexpected subsequent contamination from the atmosphere or other sources.


The reason we take storage oil samples is to establish a “base oil cleanliness benchmark” to demonstrate the performance of our HEPO microfilter devices, which are installed on truck, bus, and other engines and equipment to continuously micro-clean the lubrication oil as the equipment operates. (Our microfilters provide absolute filtration in the crucial 2 to 25 micron range.) Clean oil provides better equipment protection and lasts longer. Our equipment allows the oil drain interval to be extended by 300%, thereby reducing operating costs and reducing hazardous waste oil by 2/3rds.

Do you know of any wind turbine company, where we could provide a demonstration of our HEPO micro-filter device? Depending on the wind turbine lubrication design, it may be possible to extend the life of the turbine and the turbine oil by 300%, which would be very valuable economically and environmentally.