The importance of a good lubricant, which is correct for your machinery and which is properly maintained, cannot be understated. Being able to fix any issues that do arise pertaining to your lubricant of choice is also vital if you are to keep your machinery, and your business, up and running as effectively as possible.
There are a number of industrial lubricant problems which tend to crop up quite often, which if you learn how to deal with them, will make your life and your business much simpler to manage. With that in mind, here are some common lubricant problems and their solutions:
Absence of procedures
One of the biggest and most easily solvable lubricant problems is a lack of procedures in the workplace. No matter how good your chosen lubricant is, if you and your employees are not using and maintaining it correctly, you will not get the most from your lube or your equipment.
Things like overgrazing or using the wrong lube for the wrong machinery are common problems which can easily be counteracted by training staff, bringing in professionals and bringing in tighter measures, such as the documentation of all tasks performed in your lubrication programs.
Creating documents detailing how any oil or grease should be used, maintained and disposed of will also go a long way to minimising any of your lube-based problems.
Using the wrong sampling points
It is important to use regular oil analysis measures to check on the health of your oil, and your machine, and to catch any minor issues before they escalate. However, oil analysis tests can be as good as useless if you do not collect samples from the right sample points and hardware.
The wrong points can throw up all kinds of incorrect results based on historic data, which is why you will need to use proper sampling ports. This can often be achieved by adding minimess sampling valves to your equipment, but you may also need to take samples from various points, particularly if you are testing a machine with a circulating system.
Overgreasing
Another major problem, which is also a costly one, is the overuse of grease, which can cause machines to overheat, bearings to fail and increased levels of contamination to occur. In order to avoid this, you should determine the correct level of lubricant needed by multiplying the outside diameter by the width, both in inches, multiplied by 0.114.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dealing with lubricant problems, which is why in addition to purchasing quality lubes from companies like Fuchs and Mobil, we also recommend you educate yourself on the subject as much as possible.
