Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/102855
maintenance | by Tom Jackson TJackson@randallreilly.com Oil analysis in the Tier 4 era With EPA emissions compliant engines everything's the same – just more intense. E ngines run hotter. Power density increases. EGR rates rise. Combustion produces more acid. Soot thickens the oil like flour in a roux. And the emissions that used to vent out the exhaust stack are swallowed up by the oil or trapped and scalded inside downstream exhaust filters. As if that weren't enough, now everybody wants 500-hour oil changes instead of the conventional " 250-hour intervals. Welcome to Tier 4. It's a rough neighborhood, but fortunately lube oil standards have been toughened up to meet each of these challenges. The key to keeping your engines from getting mugged in this environment is to keep a close eye on the health of your oil using oil analysis. If you have Tier 4 Interim or Tier 4 Final engines you're still testing for the same indicators of oil health and life – viscosity, TBN, soot, glycol contamination, the oxidation number and dirt/silica. But in this harsher environment the impact of any or all of these elements may be increased. VISCOSITY There are a number of things that Tier 4 engines do to increase viscosity. These include: High temperature oxidation. Heat forms polymers in the lube oil that are thicker than the oil itself. The key to keeping your engines from getting mugged in this environment is to keep a close eye on the health of your oil using oil analysis. " EquipmentWorld.com | January 2013 41