September’s issue of International Mining is nearing its editorial closing, including the annual examination of the latest in Drives and Controls. On that very subject, Lubrication Engineers (L.E.) explains that contamination is the number 1 cause of failure in any mechanical application. Since every mine has a sizeable investment in the equipment that is owned & an investment in the lubricant that is purchased to protect that equipment, it only makes sense to protect both investments from contamination. L.E. supplies a range of high performance mineral and synthetic gear oils to more closely meet the requirements for various applications found in mines.
The most popular gear lubricant contains DUOLEC, L.E.’s proprietary dual acting wear-reducing and extreme pressure additive. Others contain ALMASOL®, which is L.E.’s exclusive solid film wear-reducing additive. ALMASOL is an inert lubricating material which has an affinity for metal and a unique laminar-lattice construction that adds to the lubricating ability of the gear oil. Very often L.E.’s anti-wear additives contribute to reducing gearbox temperatures; essentially they improve film strength & reduce friction, heat & wear.
L.E.’s 1601-1609 DUOLEC Vari-Purpose Gear Lubricants contain the necessary load carrying and friction modifying characteristics required for today’s wide range of differing gear trains, including certain worm or screw types. The 1600 DUOLEC Series also provides many other benefits that this new gear additive technology is able to deliver including an FZG Test 14th Stage Pass, Timken OK Load of 165 kg, greater thermal stability, improved shear resistance, better water separation and the ability to be filtered to low micron levels without harming or removing additives. L.E.’s quality and durability in high performance gear lubricants will mean greater plant productivity and importantly lower maintenance costs for plant budgets. Specialist gear lubricants provide extended equipment life, less downtime and fewer repairs.
To protect the investment in these quality gear lubricants, L.E. recommends that all industrial customers use a ‘best practices’ approach in Reliability Centered Maintenance: Controlling Contamination. Reliability products currently in use by L.E.’s customers include:
The durable Oil Safe lubricant transfer containers are critical to best practice lubrication programs. Colour coded & fully sealing, these containers ensure the accurate delivery of clean lubricant from bulk storage to gearbox point of use every time. Proper labeling of all gearboxes then ensures that the correct lubricant is delivered in the correct quantities to the correct application in the plant. Expensive downtime is then avoided due to the incorrect application of gear lubricants.
Des-Case Breathers: since humidity & moisture are also a contaminant this is a major problem for gearboxes. Oil within a gearbox is subject to fluid volume changes, as well as temperature & pressure variations during operation. These differential pressures cause air exchange through to the breather/filter cap allowing dirt and water to be drawn into the system. Installation of Des-Case breathers at these critical ingression points is a cost-effective means to prevent contaminants from entering the fluid reservoirs as differential pressures occur.
Esco Oil Sight Glasses are reliability monitoring accessories designed for installation on any equipment with fluid lubricant systems to allow the customer to constantly visually monitor the colour, clarity & purity of the lubricant fluid. Plus they are an aid in eliminating any water contamination from the gear reservoir – as the water can be seen in the sight glass and drained off periodically.
