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Lubricants for industrial equipment are tasked with many different functions, including protecting against corrosion and wear, transferring contaminants to filters or dissipating heat from hot zones. Most lubricants have specific conditions where they may become flammable, such as when flames, sparks or hot surface conditions occur. This is mostly derived from the lubricant’s base oil properties. For this reason, these specific lubricant properties and environmental conditions must be understood and controlled. More importantly, the lubricant should be selected appropriately with the necessary properties to mitigate the potential risks. This is where lubricants called fire-resistant fluids are put into service.

Typically, when mine operators are asked what they are doing for their lubrication program, the response is generally along the lines of scheduled preventive maintenance (PM) and used oil analysis provided by the equipment manufacturer. Unfortunately, these activities alone do not constitute an effective program. This article will explore lubrication strategies for “big iron,” which includes large earthmovers such as rope shovels, hydraulic shovels, draglines and bucket-wheel excavators.

Dust and water in bearings lead to early-life destruction. Therefore, protection methods against ingress are needed. This article introduces several protection methods and reviews shaft seal designs suited to contaminated conditions.

You could tar your roof with it. It sticks to everything. It spreads like cancer. You thought you were getting rid of it with the oil change and flush, but it is back again – lurking in your oil and gripping the insides of your machine – sludge and varnish.

It is widely understood that oxidation is the primary mechanism of lubricant degradation. It is also widely known that oxidized oil can’t effectively lubricate machines; oil analysis tests like Total Acid Number and FTIR-Oxidation can reveal abnormal oxidation. Less widely understood is how these tests monitor the onset and propagation of oxidation, and the significance of the results.