What are Contaminants?

Contaminants are any foreign matter that can damage the operation and life of your equipment, such as:

• Particulate (dirt)
• Wear particles (developed during equipment operation)
• Water
• Incorrect oil
• Chemicals
• Air/gas

Many forms of contamination can be controlled through storage and handling best practices, and the use of filtration and desiccant breathers.

What is the Impact on Operations?

Some reports show that approximately 60% of equipment problems are due to contamination, and approximately 82% of wear-related failures are due to contamination. Let’s take a closer look…

Lubricants

• Premature changes
• Performance reduction
• Consumption increase

Parts

• Shorter life
• Leakage
• Reduced reliability
• Reduced efficiency
• Catastrophic failure

Productivity

• Low speed
• Erratic movement
• Low power and torque
• Low equipment availability
• High energy consumption
• High operational cost
• Environmental impact

Where Do Contaminants Come From?

Built In

• Service debris (repairs)
• Manufacturing debris (abrasives)

Ingested

• Process (compressed air/gas)
• Atmosphere (breather/seal)
• Combustion (soot)

Generated

• Surfaces (wear)
• Oil (degradation)

Specific Impact of Contaminants:

Particulate and Wear Particles

Lead to more wear and shorter equipment life; may lead to operational problems

Water

Leads to corrosion of parts, reduced lubricant film strength, and shorter lubricant life

Incorrect Oil and Chemicals

Affect the performance and life of the lubricant

Air / Gas

Lead to reduced film strength, higher operating temperatures, and shorter lubricant and part life

How is Contamination Measured?

Using ISO 4406:99 guidelines, particles are measured in microns and reported in three ranges that represent the number of particles above a certain micron size: 4-micron, 6-micron, 14-micron.

Water is reported in parts per million. Limits are typically supplied by OEM. Water can be present as dissolved water, free water, or emulsified.

The best way to monitor contamination is by using an oil analysis program. Chat with some of our friendly and knowledgeable staff here at Midtex Oil to hear some details about the oil analysis programs we offer!