Sending Oil Samples For Analysis

[HillStreet]

I am thinking about sending motor oil and hydraulic fluid to a lab next time I service the tractor. I am interested to know if there are wear metals in the samples. The trouble is, what is normal? Would anybresults be able to tell me if components are wearing, or if the metals are from a pump? I send samples from the airplane but the lab knows what is indicated by certain metals. Does anybody do this, and do you have a lab recommendation?

 

[ovrszd]

Normal is established with consistent samples.

If you are currently sending samples for analysis you know that already.

Samples are a good thing but require consistency.

 

[iflywhatevr]

I can speak from an aviation perspective. I use blackstone labs on both piston and turbine engines. They can flag levels that are above the “norm” for a type of engine or numbers of hours of use but to truly establish good data you should be sending in a sample each oil Change. We do this with aircraft engines and it establishes a baseline for your specific engine. The general averages for a type of engine are great and will let you know if something is really about to go but to have truly great data you need a trend established form your own engine. Well worth the $30 for the sample on aircraft engines that range from anywhere from $50,000 - $300,000 to overhaul on tractors this is a little less common but as blackstone can tell you they do get a lot of samples from trucks, tractors, etc. I will pull up a report and post it so you can see what you get.

 

[iflywhatevr]

Here’s a sample report with the top section with personal info cropped. This was on the first sample for one of two engines on a piston aircraft that had never been sampled before.

 

[HillStreet]

Normal is established with consistent samples.

If you are currently sending samples for analysis you know that already.

Samples are a good thing but require consistency.

I send aircraft engine samples every time I change oil, and results are compared with my own engine plus a large sample of aircraft engines. From this data, they can tell me it’s a cylinder or other part failing.
I was thinking of getting a sample from the tractor, and I guess that regular sampling would compare time intervals.

 

[HillStreet]

View attachment 572030
Here痴 a sample report with the top section with personal info cropped. This was on the first sample for one of two engines on a piston aircraft that had never been sampled before.

Thanks ifly

 

[HillStreet]

I ordered test kits from Blackstone Labs and received an email from them this morning. They have data on Kubota 3-cylinder engines (55 engines in database), and Kubota hydraulic systems (35 tractors in database). This is the information I was looking for and will send in the samples when I service the machine. I did mention that I have a B2650HST.

 

[moship]

HillStreet,

For what it is worth...
I've used Blackstone labs in the past and was satisfied with their analysis, turnaround time and cost.

If you don't mind, please share your results when obtained.

 

[marchanna]

I’ve used Blackstone and Oil Analyzers. Consistent results from both.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to run a few tests in short succession. It can tell you a fair bit about your engine and how well it’s running. Keep track of your hours.

 

[BigSteve63]

Normal is established with consistent samples.

If you are currently sending samples for analysis you know that already.

Samples are a good thing but require consistency.

^^ This ^^ Trends are the most important thing about oil analysis - a single snapshot of one sample won't tell you a lot. We use a company called ALS Tribology, but have also gotten great results from MobilServ (Signum), and Specto Scientific. Most should offer basic engine or industrial oil tests for 15 - 25 USD. Costs escalate quickly with additional testing, such as particle counts, etc., but are still worth it if they prevent a problem in your equipment.

Mobil used to provide a primer on wear metals and contaminants, along with the likely source of the problem - if you have a local ExxonMobil distributor, they may be able to provide this to you. Also, local distributors typically can assist with getting the oil analysis done.

Steve