CLEVELAND Nov. 17, 2020 TestOil, the industry leader in lubricant analysis, is offering advanced filter debris analysis (FDA) for machinery that depends on fine filtration to maintain optimal operating conditions. Without FDA, much of the critical condition information is lost.
In traditional oil analysis, the only particles available for testing are those circulating in the oil (smaller than the filter). As finer filtration extends the life of critical equipment more debris is captured in filters and less remains in the oil—up to 95% of the wear debris that could provide critical machinery condition information is trapped in the filter. FDA will reveal metallic particles that are not circulating in the fluid and provide an early warning of machine wear.
TestOil Data Analyst Evan Reddish said, “If you just change and discard the filter, you wouldn’t know that there is a severe wear mode occurring. Larger metallic participles are invisible with traditional analysis. If they are too large they get caught in the filter and we can’t see them in the routine oil analysis because the filter is doing its job. We recommend FDA if customers are seeing issues such as high differential pressure with the filter, increased wear metals in the fluid, vibration analysis readings starting to increase, etc. “
TestOil is at the FDA forefront. The company has made substantial enhancements to all aspects of FDA testing including the fabrication of a new washing instrument, a completely redesigned washing method, an enhanced testing process, and a revamped comprehensive report. The report includes recommendations along with pictures of what the lab analysts found.
TestOil’s leading-edge FDA instrument is a self-contained unit. It uses an automated method for filter washing to extract all inorganic debris from the filter with high repeatability and reproducibility. The modular design can accommodate small automotive filters to large industrial turbine filters. The used filter is placed in the system wash chamber and all debris is removed from the filter using a combination of fluid and compressed air. The wash fluid carrying the filter debris is collected and then analyzed.
“The cost saving potential is very high,” Reddish said. “If there is going to be catastrophic failure it is more likely to become obvious with FDA. If we see a lot of very large metallic particles we know something serious is going on.”
TestOil also offers FDA follow up with Material Identification Analysis (MIA) which will identify a large amount of unusual organic contamination in the filter.
TestOil President Mary Messuti said, “We are continually updating our tests to provide the clearest possible window into machinery conditions. Both FDA and MIA provide our customers with the insight they need to operate 24/7/365 with confidence.”
For more information on Filter Debris Analysis, visit: https://testoil.com/advanced-testing/filter-debris-analysis/
With more than 30 years of experience in the oil analysis industry, TestOil focuses exclusively on assisting industrial facilities with reducing maintenance costs and avoiding unexpected downtime through oil analysis program implementation. As industry experts in diagnosing oil-related issues in equipment such as turbines, hydraulics, gearboxes, pumps, compressors and diesel generators, TestOil provides customers with a guarantee of same-day turnaround on all routine testing. With in-house, certified training professionals, TestOil offers lubrication and oil analysis training, private onsite training, certification training and exams, and educational webinars.
