Right now, the oil in your crankcase, gearbox or sump contains information that could be vital to the performance and productivity of your engine or equipment. Contaminants that can indicate wear or cause serious equipment damage such as metals, water, raw fuel, acids, fuel soot and other solids collect in your lubricant. Using oil analysis to evaluate these contaminants is a scientific approach to predictive maintenance, allowing you a look inside your machinery to spot mechanical wear and contamination in it's early stages. You'll extend machine life, head off major maintenance costs and prevent catastrophic failure that can shut you down or leave you stranded, and you'll maximize lubricant life.

Used oil analysis has existed as long as lubricants have been around. In the 1940's, the railroad industry began to analyze their lubricants for the various metals found in specific components of the engine. By tracking wear rates and trends from one sample to the next, maintenance could be anticipated and scheduled before component failure resulted in downtime and loss of equipment productivity. This data allowed railroads to schedule teardowns when they were necessary, rahter than after an arbitrary number of operating hours. The advent of spectrometric metals analysis gave rise to the practice of "predictive maintenence" which continues to be more cost-effective than the standard of preventive maintenance. The oil analysis process consists of (1) lubricant sampling, (2) laboratory analysis, and (3) interpretation of the results to determine the condition of the fluid and the machinery from which the sample was taken.

An oil analysis program can provide critical information for any equipment requiring lubricants - both gasoline and diesel engines, transmissions, gears, bearings, and hydraulic systems. It's useful for owners of passenger cars, over-the-road fleets, off-highway equipment, boats or high performance vehicles. It's also right for any industrial business that focuses on managing plant equipment and maintenance costs. As a matter of fact, as many as 70% of today's construction equipment operators use professional oil analysis to assess equipment and lubricant condition. Forty percent of all transportation fleets and 20% of industrial plants also rely on lube testing as an integral part of predictive/preventative maintenance. These businesses know that oil analysis replaces the guesswork in predicting equipment wear and scheduling optimum drain intervals. The data provided by oil analysis enables them to maximize equipment profitability by minimizing maintenance downtime.

The Oil Analysis Program from Oil Analyzers, Inc.

Make the decision to use Oil Analyzers, Inc. (OAI) to test the lubricants in your equipment or fleet and you'll be partnering with the most advanced computerized testing laboratory today's technology has to offer. Simply collect your samples using our sampling kits and mail them in our pre-addressed packages to our lab. Our technical team will do the rest. They combine their years of analytical experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation to produce reliable, meaningful results from your samples.
   Testing is typically completed by the end of the business day following receipt of your sample. Results are reported by fax, mail, or in the case of impending equipment failure, by telephone. Reports are easy to read and include interpretation and recommendations. And because the tests performed are tailored to your machinery, you'll get data that applies directly to your equipment and maintenance decisions.
   Our technicians are available to answer your questions ranging from sampling procedures to the test results and maintenance recommendations. Also, your reports are kept on file at the lab to enable monitoring of trends and detection of subtle changes in the condition of your equipment.

OAP is a 4-step process:
   (1) Registration
   (2) Sampling
   (3) Analysis
   (4) Diagnostic Reporting

Step 1 - Registration

1. Begin the OAP process by purchasing a sampling kit. Simply contact your servicing dealer, (That would be us!), call OAI at (715) 395-0222 or go to the Online Store for pricing information or to order kits (and a sampling pump if desired.)

2. Upon receipt of your order, OAI will immediately send out your sample kit, which includes sample container, sample information form, mailer and complete sampling and mailing instructions.

Step 2 - Sampling

1. Read the Oil Sampling Procedures included in the kit.

2. Fill out the Sample Information Form completely.

3. Take a sample (minimum 2 to 3 oz) using the convenient instructions included in your kit.

4. Close and seal the container tightly.

5. Using the mailing instructions included in your kit, send the filled sample container and the Sample Information Form to OAI in the supplied mailer.

Step 3 - Analysis

Upon receipt of your sample at the OAI laboratory, all requisite testing will be performed. All analyses include determination of viscosity, fuel dilution (if applicable), water, dirt content, fuel soot contamination (if applicable), plus spectrochemical analysis for 21 trace elements to determine component wear, airborne dirt, anti-freeze contamination (if applicable), and oil additive concentrations.
   The analyses also include a neutralization value determination - Total Base Number, TBN (primarily for gasoline and diesel motor oils) or Total Acid Number, TAN (non-crankcase lubricants). Oxidation values and nitration values (if applicable) are also determined.

Step 4 - Reporting

1. OAI will mail your analysis report on the business day following receipt and testing of your sample. For even faster results, simply request on the Sample Information Form that your report be faxed to you. Be sure to include your fax number.

2. If your analysis uncovers a critical problem, such as pending equipment failure, a technician will telephone you directly to advise you of the situation and recommend a course of corrective action.

View a sample report.
(158k file)

The Sampling Process

Trend Analysis

A single sampling analysis is useful in providing information when critical failure conditions exist. However, trend analysis is a better tool for estimating the useful life or overall condition of your engine or equipment. Trend analysis samples are taken and analyzed at regularly scheduled intervals. Comparing the most recent analysis to previous reports on a given machine shows the development of trends. Monitoring these trends enables early detection of internal abnormalities. Tested values falling within acceptable limits may show a pattern of subtle variance, which could signal a developing problem.
   Machines of the same type will accumulate contaminants and wear at different rates. Performing trend analysis on each machine is the most effective method of giving you an internal look at your equipment and enabling you to deal with developing problems before they become catastrophic situations.

Sampling Frequency

The frequency of sampling analysis from your equipment depends on the machine type, machine application and condition, operating environment and other variables. For example, many machines that operate in harsh environments, such as heavy equipment in mining or construction, require short oil sampling intervals - every 100 to 300 operating hours. However, certain power transmission systems, such as gearboxes and hydraulic systems used inside manufacturing and production facilities, require no more than quarterly sampling intervals. The following table lists generic sampling frequencies for common equipment types, and is provided as a guideline only. Additional information is available from Oil Analyzers Inc., your lubricant supplier, and the equipment manufacturer.
   Collecting a clean and representitive oil sample is critical to the oil analysis process. Put simply, an oil analysis is only as good as the sample taken. The accuracy and reliability of the data produced by an analysis hinges on receiving a representitive sample from the equipment to be tested. To assure that the sample extracted is representitive of the system, always follow proper sampling procedures.