How clean is your lubricating oil, really? Traditional oil analysis and ISO 4406 cleanliness codes provide valuable information, but are they telling you the whole story?
In this episode of Gear Talk with Noria, host Wes Cash sits down with Roger Simonson to discuss the overlooked challenges of contamination control and why conventional approaches to measuring oil cleanliness may not reveal the full picture. From microscopic particles to filtration limitations, they explore how hidden contaminants can contribute to equipment wear, lubricant degradation, and reduced machine reliability.
New oil isn't necessarily clean oil, and meeting a target cleanliness code doesn't automatically mean your equipment is protected. Understanding what your oil analysis reveals—and what it might be missing—is essential to developing an effective contamination control strategy.
You’ll learn about:
- Why contamination control starts before oil ever reaches your machine.
- The limitations of ISO 4406 cleanliness codes and traditional particle counting.
- How particles smaller than 4 microns can affect lubricant performance and equipment reliability.
- Why new oil isn't necessarily clean oil and why pre-use filtration matters.
- How filtration can affect lubricant additives and why a one-size-fits-all approach can create problems.
- Why filters can plug prematurely even when oil cleanliness codes appear acceptable.
- How advanced particle-counting technologies may help identify and classify contaminants.
- Why selecting the right filtration strategy is critical to protecting equipment and extending lubricant life.
Effective contamination control requires more than meeting a target cleanliness code. By understanding the limitations of conventional oil analysis, identifying the contaminants that matter most, and selecting the right filtration methods, reliability professionals can make better-informed decisions to protect their equipment and lubrication systems.
Learn about this episode's sponsor at assetwatch.com
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