The DANGERS of Contaminated LUBRICANTS!

Why is Oil Contamination Bad?

As it works, oil sometimes becomes contaminated. Contamination is bad for your machinery. It eventually lowers the oil’s efficacy. As your oil is less effective, it impacts the condition and function of your assets. This can lead to equipment breakdown, costly unplanned downtime, or even a critical machine failure.

Also, oil contamination can greatly increase maintenance costs. For example, if you buy premium oil but don’t keep it clean, you will end up buying more oil. This is due to the increased need for oil changes and breakdowns. Understanding and preventing oil contamination as much as possible just continues to improve your asset/machine reliability.

Causes of Oil Contamination

Lubricant or oil contamination can come from either external factors or internal factors.

External Factors:

Dust

Water

Dirt/Mud

Cross Contamination from other Lubricants/Oils

Internal Factors:

Metal Particles from surface damage

Oxidation or Additive loss over time

Water contamination from water-cooled machinery

These are just a few of the potential contaminants and why best practices are extremely important to ensure longevity of machines and vehicles.