I am starting a lubrication improvement program at our site in 2013.
As part of program the number of greases on site will be reduced. I plan to check for grease compability using the grease compatibility charts. For the most critical equipment I will have the grease compability tests done.
My understanding is that grease incompability typically causes two sorts of problems.
1) Oil bleeds out of one of the thickners.
2) Chemical interaction between thickners causes one or both of the thickners to become hard.
Are the other problems that occur with grease incompability?
My initial thought process is to measure bearing temperature with an IR gun over the course of few weeks to make sure the bearing temperature is stable before any changes to grease is made. After purging the previous grease out of the bearing, then to record the bearing temperature again with the new grease in the bearing. Then continue to montitor the bearing temperatures for a few weeks. If bearing temperature is stable, then there is not likely a grease compatibility issue.
The above method is meant to provide early detection of bearing failure from greases I thought were compability, but are actually not compatible.
I am curious for feedback if people think using IR gun to measure bearing temperature is going to be an effective method of detecting a bearing failure from a grease incompatibility issue early enough to schedule a replacement of the bearing?
How quickly should I expect a grease incompatible problem to cause a measureable rise in bearing temperature? (days, weeks, months)
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