Additives are the “seven herbs and spices” of the lubricant world. They often help to increase performance, or in boundary and mixed lubrication, help take…

The bulk oil additives are those which act within the volume of the lubricant – as distinct from the surfactants which tend to stick to…

The surface acting additives, also known as surfactants, are an additive type that either wants to cling to surfaces, or to oil contaminants. They tend…

Base oils are a foundational component of lubrication. In most lubricating environments, the base oil viscosity is the leading factor in lubrication performance. In this…

Mineral base oils derived from refined crude oils dominate the market by volume. API Group I – III oils are far and away the most…

When extra performance is required, or longer oil drains – we turn to synthetic base oils. When combined with a high quality additive package these…

Specialty base oils cater to niche applications as well as extreme operating environments. Maybe the application is in the chemicals industry processing a reactive gas,…

Bearings are machine elements that allow components to move with respect to each other. This is a very simple definition that allows for many variations of…

Crankcase bearings (for both engines and compressors) are a variation on a plain or journal bearing. But they have some unique requirements that makes them…

Compressors are a fascinating application. There are so many different machine designs, compressed gases and lubricants that it is probably the most variable of all…

Storage and handling is one of THE most important aspects of lubrication. You can purchase the best lubricants and the highest price, from the most…

Particles are the enemy of equipment. They cause abrasive and erosive wear, and ultimately reduce the effective life of machine components. For this reason, it…

Particles are extremely destructive to equipment. But in order to remove them, we first need to understand the level of particle contamination. This is where…

Particulates are the enemy of your equipment. Causing abrasive and erosive wear that limits the useful life of equipment, it can also have major detrimental…

There’s a good argument to be made that water is the most common of all lubricant contaminants. This is partially because it is everywhere –…

Water, being a lubricant’s number one contaminant, is in many respects also its number one enemy. There are many negative consequences of water’s interaction with…

Removing water from oil systems is hard. The preference (and most cost effective method) is to prevent ingress in the first place, but where this…

Air is all around us. You may not necessarily think of it as being a contaminant, but air can have many damaging effects on both…

Degradation of lubricants is an essential concept to understand for anyone that is involved in lubrication. Although there is so much more detail to be…

Oxidation is the nemesis of all molecules, but here we will focus on the effects of oxidation on lubricating oils. A natural process that is…

Oxidation as a process affects all oil systems. As one of the primary oil degradation mechanisms, it is important that we understand how to quantify…

Thermal degradation is a high temperature failure mode experienced by the lubricant. In many ways, the signs of thermal degradation are similar to those of…

Electro Static Discharge (also known simply as ESD) is a surprisingly common degradation mechanism for lubricants. However, it is equally mysterious. Manifesting as “lightning in…

Varnish is an interesting term. Experience says that most operators think of varnish as being the baked-on lacquer commonly found in high temperature applications and…

Varnish is a problem that affects many oil systems, but is typically associated with turbines, compressors, hydraulic and gear systems. When trying to eliminate varnish,…

Prevention is the best kind of cure. Before investing in expensive varnish removal skids, or pour-in additive treatments it is essential to understand how you…

Varnish has become such a huge problem globally that an entire industry has sprung up around varnish removal solutions. How can you as an end…

Engine oils are far and away the largest lubricant category by volume. It’s unique position as a category that straddles both consumer and commercial grades…

Light duty engines – often described as PCMO (Passenger Car Motor Oils), but also including light duty Diesel engines are the backbone of modern transportation.…

Light duty engines suffer from a range of common issues. While many bear no relation to the lubrication strategy, there are some problems either exacerbated…

Diesel engines are a staple of the transport and power generation industries. Their versatility, reliability and repairability remain more or less unmatched, and this has…

There are many common problems that affect diesel engines, and in many causes the engine oil system is either the major contributor to the fault,…

Stationary gas engines have become an essential part of the power generation business. Flexible, often skid mounted and fast to start up, they are an…

Typically when discussing lubrication, we emphasise that the cost of lubricant is an insignificant part of the overall maintenance and operations budget. However, this is…

The starting point for all professionals.

Once we have foundational knowledge about lubricants, their physical and chemical properties, what do we do with this information? It’s helpful to place this understanding…

Maintenance varies at businesses vary widely. But they can mostly be boiled down to four distinct philosophies: ReactivePreventativePredictiveProactive There is no single “correct” way to…

Choosing a great lubricant is fine and dandy, but the rubber doesn’t hit the road until you actually need to apply the lubricant to the…

Most engineers that have day-to-day interactions with lubricants are mechanically trained. Whether from a trade background as a fitter, turner or mechanic, or possibly an…

Gears are a fundamental mechanism. It is therefore essential that anyone involved in industry understands their lubrication requirements. In this introductory module we will look…

Open gear lubricants are common across a large number of industries including mining, power generation and cement. What is unique about open gears is that…

Greases are lubricant, but with more! The thickener which gives greases their unique consistency imparts another set of properties in addition to the base oil…

The thickener is what makes grease, a grease. But as with additives and base oils, there is no “best” thickener, only a thickener most appropriate…

Hydraulic oils are a little unique within the lubricant family inasmuch as they protect equipment against wear, but also transfer power throughout the system. Unusually…

If you’re looking to take the ICML MLA I exam and obtain your certification, it’s always worth brushing up on your knowledge. Here are some…

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re looking to take the ICML MLA II exam and obtain your certification, it’s always worth brushing up on your knowledge. Here are some…

Welcome to the Machinery Lubrication Level II (MLA II) course, presented by Lubrication Explained Pro. This course is designed to elevate your understanding and skills…

 

 

 

 

 

Most oil analysis reports contain a roughly similar set of test results. They differ slightly depending on the application, but the usual suspects include FTIR…

Oil sampling is the backbone of oil analysis. This is where you can truly make or break the quality of your condition monitoring program. The…

Turbines – they’re a very effective way to transform fluid energy into another form of useful work. However, the different fluids, applications and duty cycles…

Industrial gas turbines operating on mineral turbine oil systems are a foundational component of our modern power generation ecosystem. They’re a unique challenge for lubricants…

The course discusses the standard laboratory tests that are typically employed in the analysis of industrial gas turbine oils. For each test, we will briefly…

The aeroderivative turbine oils have a very different technology stack and chemistry to standard industrial turbine oils. This is largely a hangover of their aviation…

Aeroderivative turbine operating conditions necessitate the use of full synthetic ester lubricants. Many businesses and engineers may have a background in standard industrial turbine maintenance…