Minimac Systems Pvt. Ltd.

  This article aims to summaries how to read and understand the label on an oil can. That’s because brand and specification if chosen correctly, will affect the machine’s service life, reliability, ongoing maintenance costs, and help ensure the safety of all those working around. OEMs, oil marketers, additive companies, and testing laboratories work together to establish oil performance requirements, test methods, and limits for the various classifications and testing processes. The system includes a formal licensing agreement executed by lubricant suppliers with API. Through this program, API has standardized the labeling of engine oils by adopting the donut logo (Figure 1). The logo was designed to be placed in a prominent position on a variety of lubricant containers. API – American Petroleum Institute:  The American Petroleum Institute (API) administers the licensing and certification of engine oils through a system that meets the warranty, maintenance, and lubrication requirements

  Product storage is an important criterion for any segment of products. It plays a vital role in the longevity of the products, every product in any form has a certain life period and this life period forms the baseline of the product. Coming to the lubricating oil industry, product life period plays an important role in the smooth running of the machinery and the plant. As these oils play a very important role in the day to day functioning of critical machinery, so if not maintained properly these can lead to the breakdown of machinery thereby leading to a shutdown of the plant which leads to the incurrence of huge loss. Therefore it is very important that these oils should be used well in advance before their life period expires. We can hereby pen down certain prerequisite conditions for storage of lubricants: Pre usage Inspection:  It is mandatory to verify their performance properties & conditions with oil analysis for the oils that have been kept for a long period of time. On

For field inspection of lube oils, the following points are important to take action: Basic tests for lube oils are to observe the oil in glass sample bottle for colour inspection. If you observe that colour of lube oils is milky or dark in shade, then you have to process for further testing with hand held testing kits which are easy for use at the site. Following are the testing kits which can be used at the site for checking lube oil: Millipore Patch Testing Kit –  This testing kit is useful for measuring contamination in oil as per NAS/ISO by observing the patch paper with microscope. This is a very basic test to know if oil is contaminated or clean. This is a portable patch testing kit and easy to handle everywhere at the site. Hydrogauge Oil Test Kit –  It is used for checking moisture or water contamination in oil by adding a 10 ml sample in 2 types of different reagents. This is also an offline & portable testing kit which shows results approximately and at very low cost. Vi

  1) Visual Inspection of Oil in a Sample Bottle: Colour: wrong or mixed oil, photo-catalytic reaction, oxidation and thermal degradation, soot, chemical contamination Emulsions and Cloudiness: haze to buttermilk, cuff, stable or unstable, additive floc, salt, air, glycol Free Water: colour, speed of separation, level Sediments – colour: amber, black, translucent, settling rate, density and particle size, laser through the bottle 2) Using Oil Colour as a Field Test: You can check the colour of the oil sample with the help of an oil change colour gauge by using glass or PET plastic bottles Without a gauge, you can compare the sample with a new oil sample and observe the colour, if you find that colour of the oil is milky or dark, then check the contamination & moisture in oil with the help of an Oil testing kit 3) Moisture Detection by Vision: Visual inspection Transparent container Use comparators and good lighting, laser pointer is also effective Hazy to milky appearance may indic

The condition of the oil in lubrication and hydraulic systems is indicative of the health of the entire system. There are two essentials for ensuring productivity, for avoiding malfunctions and for reducing operating costs: Monitoring the fluid condition Continuous maintenance of operating equipment Varnish is a soluble and insoluble contaminant made up of by-products of oil degradation and oxidation. It can appear as a gel-resin like consistency or resemble solid deposits in the oil, or which plates out on the metal surfaces of lube systems. It can be the result of several possible root causes, including high temperatures, electrostatic discharges, lubricant degradation and micro dieseling. Varnish can produce a number of problems related to machine operation, such as valve stiction, lubricant flow restriction, clogged filters, etc. How is varnish different from sludge? Varnish is a tough, adherent oxide or carbonaceous material that coats internal machine surfaces. Hot surfaces and/o

  Definition:   Hydraulic fluid is the energy transfer medium in all hydraulic systems. However, the job of hydraulic fluid goes beyond the simple transmission of power. Although transmitting hydraulic energy is the core purpose of hydraulic fluid, it is useful in four secondary functions -   heat transfer, contamination removal, sealing, and lubrication. Hydraulic machines produce a lot of excess heat during routine operations, often caused by inefficiencies of the components, like pumps and motors. Without a way to carry heat away from these components, it could result in overheating issues with resulting damage of seals and internal components, especially as a result of low local viscosity. As oil returns to the reservoir, it often passes through a cooler to help maintain optimal temperature range before it is pumped back out to the system. Conversely, hydraulic fluid can carry heat into a system during cold starts, when needed. Hydraulic oil is prepared by the addition of additives

There are four basic functions of hydraulic oil: To act as an energy transmission medium To Lubricate internal moving parts of components To act as a heat transfer medium To seal clearances between moving parts If any of these functions is impaired, the hydraulic system in the equipment/rigs will not perform as designed. The resulting downtime can cost a lot in Dollar and increase the operating cost for any rig/operations on field. Proper hydraulic fluid maintenance helps to prevent or reduce breakdown maintenance. This is accomplished through continuous improvement program that minimizes and removes contaminants. Hydraulic fluid is expected to create a lubricating film to keep precision parts separated. Ideally, the film is thick enough to completely fill the clearance between moving parts. This condition results in low wear rates. When the wear rate is kept low enough, a component is likely to reach its intended life expectancy. The actual thickness of a lubricating film depends on: