Lubrication and oil selection for special operating conditions

Oil chosen by duty: separate strategies for dust / damp / heat / heavy load / corrosion

The five elements of a lubrication card: machine / point / lubricant / quantity / frequency

Owners trained to work to the card — lubrication no longer by feel

Duty assessment: temperature range, dust concentration, moisture and corrosive media, load character (shock or steady), continuous running time - each established in turn. Duty is the starting point of every selection.

Lubricant selection: type and grade follow the duty: synthetic lubricants with drop point verified for high-temperature points; sealing and grease consistency prioritised in dusty environments; rust inhibition and water-washout resistance in damp, corrosive duty; EP additives considered for heavy load at low speed. We give the reasoning behind the selection, not just a part number.

Greasing standards: every lubrication point has a defined method, quantity and criterion. For grease the criterion is old grease being purged or the cavity fill rate; for oil it is the level mark. Temperature rise and seal damage from over-lubrication are more common than from under-lubrication.

Setting the intervals: intervals are calculated from the duty and the lubricant life, not copied from the manual: the re-greasing interval in a dusty shop may be only a third of that in a clean one. Once running, intervals are corrected with measured condition.

Lubrication card management: one card per point: grade, quantity, interval, method, responsible person. Cards hang beside the machine or are built into the inspection sheet, so no information is lost when people change.

Oil condition tracking: oil samples are drawn periodically from key equipment and examined: discolouration, emulsification, contamination, metal particles. Hydraulic system cleanliness is judged to ISO 4406, and the result decides filtration, oil change or flushing.