Recent posts by Aaron Hoeg
3 min read
Varnish in Turbine Oil Systems
Despite thousands of dollars and hours spent trying to mitigate the effects of varnish in turbine oil, many still suffer from this ongoing yet solvable issue. When combustion and steam turbines fall victim to unit trip or fail-to-start conditions, varnish is the usual suspect.
Topics: water Water Contamination varnish SVR contaminination turbine oil
1 min read
Improving Rolling Mill Lube Oil Performance and Useful Life - Part 3: Solution
At the end of Part 2, we discussed the winning nature of vacuum dehydration. If you missed Part 1 in the series, you can find it here.
Did you know that hydrogen is the friendliest molecule - meaning that it is most likely seeking partners to attach to? Similarly, the suspended particles in oil actively look for particles to join forces, so they pair with the water.
This particulate contamination is the catalyst guilty of continuing the degradation of the oil and the increase of emulsified water. The more water there is, the more oxidation that occurrs. This also increases various acids that form as the molecules break down. These acids attack seals, hoses, pumps and metal.
Topics: contamination iso cleanliness codes steel mills rolling mill lubricating oil vacuum dehydrator
2 min read
Improving Rolling Mill Lube Oil Performance and Useful Life - Part 2: Prevention
If you're just tuning in and didn't catch the first part of our steel mill and lube oil series, click here.
When we left off, we just determined how the high levels of emulsified water and high particulate contamination levels work together to cause bearing failure and reduce oil life. So, how do we prevent this expensive combination from happening? We're glad you asked!
Topics: contamination iso cleanliness codes steel mills rolling mill lubricating oil oil mills vacuum dehydrator
2 min read
Improving Rolling Mill Lube Oil Performance and Useful Life - Part 1: Quality
Premium oils keep steel mills running. It's crucial to protect their quality in order to keep the mills fully functioning.
In both hot and cold steel mill production, high-demulsibility lubricant is used for backup roller bearing lubrication. Some of these oils are referred to as SD, which stands for super-demulsibility. Not surprisingly, these SD oils are a premium product and come at a premium price. If a manufacturer wants to invest in these big-ticket oils, they obviously want to go to great lengths in order to keep them clean and fully functioning.
Join us for this three-part series as we take an in-depth look at improving rolling mill lube oil performance and useful life.
Topics: contamination iso cleanliness codes steel mills vacuum dehydrator
1 min read
Keeping Clean in a Dirty Environment [Case Study]
Mining is a dirty business, as you can imagine, and equipment used to aid in mining efforts is not immune to the filth. Yet it is imperative to keep fluid clean. Not only will it save time and money, it lessens the amount of downtime for repairs, which is always a great goal.
Topics: contamination case study hydraulic
5 min read
Hydraulic and Lubrication Filter Types and Locations
Selecting the right filter can improve the reliability of a system and eliminate failure. With so many options available, we understand how difficult it can be to choose just the right one. Let’s take a look at some of the hydraulic and lubrication filter types and where/how they are predominantly used to help you make the best choice for your filtration needs.
Topics: offline filtration duplex low-pressure hydraulic duplex high-pressure filter elements lube oil
1 min read
How to Prevent Gearbox Failure
When gearboxes go down, it’s generally because of contamination. This is a costly repair on its own, but once you include the loss of production from downtime, the cost can soar to astronomical figures. Sadly, though, sometimes gearbox failure happens, which wastes your time and money. Let’s take a look at some of the main causes of gearbox contamination and how you can prevent it.
Topics: contamination breathers gearbox
2 min read
Hydraulic Oil Water Removal
Water, it's a compound that is required for practically everything on the earth. But within a lubrication or hydraulic system, it's one of the most damaging contaminants possible. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most common contaminants you'll find in your system.
When your lubrication or hydraulic system is continuously or even periodically exposed to high water levels, it can result in a mountain of damage. You can find evidence of water contaminant destruction if you look close enough. This damage appears
Topics: water Water Contamination SVR hydraulic oil contaminination
2 min read
What Are the Causes of Varnish in Hydraulic Oil?
The Problem of Varnish Contamination
Varnish contamination is the inevitable byproduct of many degradation processes in hydraulic and lubrication systems. The effects of varnish on industrial and manufacturing systems range from the nuisance of minor downtime and routine maintenance to, worst case scenarios, multi-million dollar catastrophic failures of major capital equipment.
