Maximize Shipboard Reliability With Marine Lubricant Analysis
Marine lubricant analysis is a crucial tool for enhancing asset reliability aboard commercial vessels, helping operators avoid catastrophic failures and unplanned downtime. By examining used lubricants, experts can detect early signs of component wear, identify contaminants like water or fuel, and reveal whether the correct lubricants and service practices are in use. This proactive insight allows operators to address issues before they escalate, ensuring peak performance, extended equipment life, and safer operations at sea or on inland waterways.
Asset reliability is a primary concern for operators in any vertical, but for commercial vessel operators, it can literally be a matter of life and death.
If your vessel operates in blue water and there’s a storm coming on, there’s no time to troubleshoot a marine engine failure – you need maximum power to head for safe harbor, and you need it right now. If you lose steerageway with a tow of barges on a narrow inland waterway, you’re at the mercy of the current and where it takes you, even if that means ramming a bridge piling or another vessel.
In other words, asset reliability is more than a primary concern – it needs to be a way of life.
One of the most powerful tools in your asset reliability toolbox is used lubricant analysis. This month, we’re looking at the many ways Walthall and Mobil lubricant analysis can pay dividends in keeping your vessel or fleet running at top performance and out of harm’s way.
What Is Marine Lubricant Analysis?
Every time you drain oil or flush grease from one of your shipboard systems, that lubricant carries with it a detailed record of the status of every component within the system. In addition to old oil, your used lubricant contains:
- Microscopic particles of metal and other materials that are worn away by friction in even the best-lubricated system
- Any dirt, dust, or debris that has made its way into the lube reservoir or the equipment itself
- Any water, coolant, or other contaminants that have reduced the oil’s effectiveness
- Any evidence of thermal, chemical, or other breakdowns that the lubricant itself has suffered
A lube analysis expert can perform an in-depth chemical analysis of the makeup of your system’s used lubricant and provide you with remarkably detailed information that you can use to improve your systems’ lubrication and—ultimately—their reliability and longevity.
Lubricant Analysis Detects Component Wear
Wouldn’t it be great to know if your piston rings or cylinder walls are wearing quicker than they should? Or that your journal bearings are scoring your crankshaft? And wouldn’t it be great to know all of that without having to tear down the engine and mic all of the interior components?
You can. Lubricant analysis from Mobil includes a detailed analysis of the metal particles in your used lube. Since each part of your shipboard systems has a different metallic composition (consider the hard steel of a cylinder wall compared to the softer metal in a crankshaft bearing), examining the exact makeup of your used lube’s metal component unlocks a wealth of information about your system’s health.
If the levels of nonferrous particles in your used lube exceed a certain threshold, that tells analysis experts one thing about your engine or other system. If there’s an overabundance of chrome-steel particles, that says something different. Lube analysis can pinpoint exactly which components of a system are wearing at an accelerated rate, letting you take corrective action before suffering a dangerous and expensive breakdown.
Lubricant Analysis Detects and Identifies Lube Contamination
You and your engine room team know the importance of clean lubricants in the functioning of an engine or other shipboard system. Contaminated lubricant isn’t just ineffective; it can be downright dangerous. Debris can block hoses, tubes, and galleries, stopping lubricants from reaching friction points. Contaminated lubricant can also be responsible for scored cylinders, stuck valves, worn bearings, and other severe system damage.
When Mobil’s marine engineers perform an analysis of your used lubricants, they carefully examine the lubricants for signs of:
- Particle contamination: Dust, dirt, metal filings, etc.
- Water infiltration
- Coolant or fuel cross-mixing
- Chemical contamination: Other lubricants, solvents, detergents, etc.
When you have a good idea of what contaminants are affecting your shipboard systems, it becomes infinitely easier to identify their source and take action to prevent future contamination. If your lubricants are cleaner, your systems will run cooler, smoother, and much longer.
Lubricant Analysis Detects Improper Lubricants (or Practices)
Your systems’ manufacturers made lubricant recommendations when your equipment was new. If you’ve been using a different lubricant – or if the manufacturer’s recommended product is no longer up to the job – a lubricant analysis from Mobil Marine can spot the problem and point you in the direction of the right lube for the job.
If your lubricant is no longer adequate, it will make itself known during an expert lubricant analysis. Lubricant that shows signs of premature thermal breakdown, separation, or other types of premature deterioration is almost always due to one of two causes:
- The wrong lubricant is in use and is not rated to handle the current conditions in your shipboard system.
- The lubricants in your systems are not being applied correctly or are being used for too long between service intervals.
In either case, Mobil’s marine engineers can help you identify the problem and get things moving again.
Walthall Oil: Your Lube Analysis Experts
Walthall Oil Company is excited to take on our role as Mobil Marine’s newest partner for the Southeastern United States. Vessel owners operating in blue water or inshore environments on the US East Coast enjoy the convenience and savings of having a single partner to provide them with turnkey marine lubricant solutions. Give us a call today at 478-781-1234 to find out how Walthall can work for you!
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