Lubricant Condition Testing—Oil Analysis

One of the main objectives of oil analysis is the routine monitoring of oil contamination. Therefore, in order to do this effectively, considerable care must be taken to avoid “contaminating the contaminant.” Once atmospheric contamination is allowed to contact the oil sample, it cannot be distinguished from the original contamination. While the benefits of detecting abnormal machine wear or an aging lubricant condition are important and frequently achieved, they should be regarded as low on the scale of importance compared to the more rewarding objective of failure avoidance. Static sampling using a vacuum sampler can be improved by installing a quick-connect sampling valve to which the vacuum tube is attached. Obtaining a good oil sample begins with a bottle of the correct size and cleanliness. It is understandable that the bottle must be at a known level of cleanliness and that this level should be sufficiently high so as not to interfere with expected particle counts.