To:

OilView Users

Subject: OilView News #1, "Chemical Index repeatability"

This memo provided to share OilView information among OilView minilab users. Today's subject: "Chemical Index repeatability" You should expect to get Chemical Index repeatability within +/- 5% or +/- 2 Chemical Index units, whichever is greater. If you are having difficulty getting repeatability from the OilView Chemical index, here are some suggestions. To begin with, it is important to understand that the Chemical Index is simply the dielectric difference times 100. That is to say that if the dielectric for a used oil is 2.34 and the dielectric for the new oil is 2.26 then the chemical index is 0.08 x 100 = 8. A change in dielectric less than 0.02 is not significant. A change in dielectric of 0.10 is very serious. In other words a Chemical index less than 2 means that the new oil and used oil are indistinguishable, and a Chemical Index greater than 10 is very bad in most cases. Large Chemical Index (or large dielectric increase) is normally caused by oil degradation or water contamination. Oil degradation, such as oil oxidation, normally results in very dark oil. Water contamination normally results in milky looking oil. You can verify water contamination by 1) looking at the contaminant index, 2) use the shop microscope to view water droplets, or 3) crackle test on a hot plate. Sometimes OilView users get a high Chemical Index and corresponding dielectric increase and the oil doesn't look either dark in color or milky in appearance. There are two common reasons for this. First is the possibility of wrong oil or wrong reference. You should get familiar with the dielectric values of all the new oils in your plant. Make a list of the dielectric values and put it on the wall behind your 5100. Use this like a fingerprint. Every oil will have a dielectric that should repeat within +/- 0.02. Second is the possibility that test was not done right. Use the "Verify" test to rule out this possibility. Before you take an expensive maintenance action based on the OilView 5100, you should "Verify" that the test is valid. There are two ways to do this. The most direct way to "Verify" the Chemical Index is to do a "Short Test" on the reference oil. If everything is in order, the Chemical Index for the reference oil should be <2 and the dielectric should repeat within +/- 0.02 from the stored dielectric value. A test was run recently using nine different 5100s, nine different sensor grids, and nine different operators, with four different oils. The oils tested ranged in dielectric from 2.01 to 2.35. Repeatability within +/- 0.015 (total range < 0.03) was measured for each of the different oils. The second way to "Verify" is to use the "Verify" tab in the software, in which case you will be asked to test Fluid A to see it repeats the calibration value within 0.02. The two keys to Chemical Index repeatability are 1) daily calibration using CSI supplied fluids, and 2) cleaning. Daily calibration is needed to accommodate environmental changes such as humidity and temperature. Cleaning is needed to remove all residue from the last test and prepare the sensor grid for the next test. Here is a simple to follow cleaning sequence that works very well. It is especially important to thoroughly clean before and after each calibration fluid test. Cleaning Sequence: Wipe the previous oil from the sensor using absorbent tissue (not ChemWipes). No need to wipe "dry" yet. Apply a few drops of lamp oil or kerosene and wipe dry with absorbent tissue.

Apply a few drops of the next oil and wipe dry with absorbent tissue. Repeat this step if big dielectric change such calibration. Test next oil. To understand more about dielectric and Chemical Index, copy one of the following into your Internet Explorer and say "go http://www.compsys.com/drknow/aplpapr.nsf/38e828201e3b2af7852565a30053fd81/e6a7 5239e808a779852565a200646913?OpenDocument http://www.compsys.com/drknow/aplpapr.nsf/38e828201e3b2af7852565a30053fd81/e6aa da03698cae31852565a2006425c0?OpenDocument http://www.compsys.com/drknow/aplpapr.nsf/38e828201e3b2af7852565a30053fd81/