Equipment with moving parts and heat processes often need oil for two purposes. The first and most important purpose of the oil is to lubricate the moving parts. The oil ensures that the metal components don't generate lots of friction and grind each other when the equipment is running. Secondly, oil is crucial for enhancing heat loss when the engine and other components get too hot. The effect of performing these functions is the accumulation of dirt and unwanted materials in the oil, necessitating oil flushing. The following piece talks about oil flushing to help you get it right for your equipment.
Rinse or Purge Procedure
The rinse or purge procedure is one of the most straightforward ways of going about an oil flush. Usually, rinsing and purging work best when you want to fill the equipment's system with a new or neutral charge or oil. You start by draining the used oil from the machine, then refilling the oil chamber to the minimum recommended level. The next step is to turn on the oil pumps to move the oil through the equipment through the usual lubricant flow path.
Typically, rinsing or purging is ideal for changing the lubricating oil. It also applies when you want to displace detergents and cleaning agents that have found their way into the oil chamber.
High-Velocity Oil Flushing
Industrial and manufacturing equipment specialists believe that high-velocity flow occurs when your equipment has a turbulent flow. Inertial forces dominate the oil movement, producing eddies, flow instabilities and vortices that enable the oil to bounce and change direction effectively as it moves through the pipes. In doing so, your lubricant works more effectively. A failure to attain the right velocity means that oil moves in a laminar manner (straight line) and does not lubricate the components well. A high-velocity oil flush rectifies this problem by using an external unit to bypass the pump's system. The process involves fitting jumper hoses (by-passers) to the bearings and other critical parts. You will also remove orifice plates to keep the oil at the desired velocity.
System Oil Flush
A system oil flush is like a high-velocity oil flush, only that it happens when you are using the system. Jumper hoses are installed close to control valves and bearings, while screens monitor the oil to ensure that it is clean. Note that system oil flushes are ideal for light-duty maintenance work, such as altering the temperature control valves and non-critical redundancy components.
