How Airborne Contaminants Can Enter Your Lubrication System

1
How Airborne Contaminants Can Enter Your
Lubrication System
2

• Despite being an inanimate object your lube oil
  tank breathes like you do. Lowering the level
  of oil in a tank or contraction of the oil by a
  change in temperature (increasing density) will
  naturally cause air to be drawn in. The air
  carries with it any present particulate matter
  that is inevitably floating around in a busy
  processing plant environment along with some
  moisture.

3

• Although your tank will exhale upon increasing
  oil levels or expansion of the oil the majority
  of contaminants will stay inside the tank. The
  lubricant rapidly absorbs these airborne
  undesirables.

4
Why this matters

• Studies have shown that 50-70 of oil
  contaminants come from outside the equipment. As
  clean as the insides of your equipment are, the
  habitat your lube tank lives in could be the
  greatest enemy. In a previous article,

5

• Why you must eradicate contaminants in your lube
  oil, we explained why it is beneficial to your
  lube oil, your equipment and your bottom line to
  hold your oil to a high standard of cleanliness.

6
A breather on a BioKem lube tank
7
What can you do about it?

• Just as a dust mask keeps out harmful particles
  but lets in air, a breather for your oil lube
  tank will protect your lubricant from all manner
  of contaminants. Installing a breather on your
  lube tank is the most effective preventative
  measure to reduce the amount of airborne
  pollutants making it into your oil.

8
Choose a breather that is best for you

• Breathers are not all made equal. While there is
  a standard design for a breather that contains a
  simple filter element there are a multitude of
  factors that influence the best choice for your
  system.

9
How much air is getting moved?

• Breathers need to be sized appropriately to
  allow the required amount of air to flow in and
  out of the tank. Undersizing of a breather might
  mean that your oil tank does not receive enough
  air flow. This can create undesirable pressure
  conditions which may inhibit the flow of the
  lubricant.

10
(No Transcript)
11
Do you know what kinds of particles are
contaminating your oil?

• If you dont, then you should! Do a lab test on
  your oil to find out. Then you can then choose a
  filter element with appropriate pore sizes to
  minimise ingress.

12
Has your oil had a water contamination problem in
the past or is it living in a humid environment?

• If the answer is yes then you may want to
  consider using a desiccant breather. These are
  filled with silica gel which is very efficient at
  absorbing moisture. Hybrid breathers are also
  available which have a primary particle
  filtration stage followed by a desiccant moisture
  capture stage.

13
What environment will the breather be subject to?

• The functional part of a breather is contained
  in a housing unit. The material of this housing
  can make it more or less durable (and, of course,
  more or less expensive!). If your equipment is in
  a challenging environment then a rugged, more
  sturdy breather may be necessary.

14

• For More Information, Visit Us

http//www.biokem.com.au/