“Could you suggest if and how I can reduce the viscosity of a mineral oil? For example, I have an oil with a viscosity grade of 68 and want to change it to a viscosity grade of 32. I know one way is to mix it with the same grade of oil from the same producer of a lower viscosity. Some have suggested mixing it with fuel.”
Constant progress is part of life. We may rail against it at times, but we can’t stop it. And, it manifests itself in many different ways.
In engineering, we’ve grown accustomed to machines and their component parts becoming stronger, lighter, cheaper, smaller, more powerful and more efficient.
Hydraulic oil turns from that golden honey color of new oil to a dark brown, does that mean it must be changed immediately? Is the system suffering from lost lubricating properties or gross contamination when this occurs, or is this a normal aging characteristic to be dismissed so long as the oil analysis results are within acceptable parameters?
“Can online filtered oil be monitored through oil analysis?”
Filtered oil can be analyzed for the purpose of verifying its cleanliness level. Oil analysis can be broken into three categories for sampling a machine. The first is offline sampling, which consists of pulling a sample from a minimess, drop tube or drain valve. This analysis may be done in-house or sent to a laboratory. While the user will receive good data if the analysis is performed correctly, there are drawbacks if time-sensitive data is required. The lapse in time from when the sample is drawn to when it is analyzed or forwarded to the lab may be hours or weeks, which means machine damage could occur before the results are known or interpreted. To minimize this risk, always ship the sample to the lab within 24 hours.
Hydraulic oil is different than other lubes. Not only is it a lubricant, it’s also the means by which power is transferred throughout the hydraulic system. So, it’s a lube and a power transfer device. This dual role makes it unique.
