New Lubricating Oil Can Damage Your Machinery
The next time a tote of brand-new oil arrives from the supplier, crack open the lid and look inside the top hatch. If the oil appears clear, you might notice a layer of dirt at the bottom, a by-product of the manufacturing process. If you can’t see into a full tote, check a recently emptied one to inspect what’s left behind. This dirt can damage close-tolerance machinery and must be removed before use. Additionally, the oil may contain suspended particles, so don’t assume the dirt won’t enter your machinery.
 Refineries are not ‘clean’ so don’t expect new oil to be. |
 Sedimentary contamination in new ISO32 oil. |
The Reality of Oil Refining
Oil refineries are not the cleanest environments. Particulate contaminants and some moisture are common by-products of the oil manufacturing process. It is your responsibility to filter new oil before introducing it to the lube tank. Typically, new oil contains unwanted dirt, fibers, silica, and sometimes even crystals!
This photo was taken specifically for this article from a single 100ml sample we took from a tote of oil. What you can see is a wide array of unwanted particles and fibres.
Is Oil Cleanliness Really That Important?
At a microscopic level, oil cleanliness is crucial for close-tolerance machines and hydraulic systems. The lubricating film thickness can be just a few microns. Bearing surfaces rely on boundary layer lubrication, and any introduced particles can cause wear. This wear then creates debris, compounding the problem further.
 Introduced contaminants risk lodging in the gaps between bearing surface asperities. Any contact with the asperities creates wear debris. |
 Visual result of wear from a patch test of 100ml sample of turbine oil showing wear debris viewed at 100X |
What Should You Do?
The journey of oil to your site can involve multiple vessels before use. The best practice is to use a properly specified filter cart at the final point before introducing oil to your machinery. Completing a single pass of filtration while pumping oil into your machine will significantly improve cleanliness. Once in service, a kidney loop filtration setup for the lube tank can maintain long-term cleanliness, handling both old and new oil.
Will Filtering the Oil Remove Desired Additives?
Using a single or multi-pass filtration process on new oil before service improves cleanliness without harm. However, if your oil contains heavy additive packs, like molybdenum, be cautious with centrifuge filtration. This process might strip essential Extreme Pressure or Extreme Wear protective additives.
Are the OEMs Aware of the Problem?
Manufacturers such as Cat provide cleanliness requirements for their equipment. Below is a table from the Cat Commercial Diesel Engine Fluids Recommendations, showing target ISO cleanliness codes. To achieve optimal equipment life, your oil must meet or exceed these OEM expectations.
The Solution
Every step taken to improve oil cleanliness before it enters your machinery’s lubrication circuit is beneficial. With perfectly clean oil, machines can operate virtually indefinitely.
Key Takeaway
No System has ever failed from being too clean!
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