Understanding oil contamination in mining equipment is vital.

Oil contamination in mining equipment is a daily occurrence and very difficult to overcome.

However, oil contamination in a mine can be reduced by following a few simple steps. Mining equipment operates under extreme conditions: Often either extremely hot or cold, but even worse - very dusty. This dust contains extremely abrasive particles that can reduce equipment life, eventually resulting in
premature failure.

The two most important steps that should be taken to control oil contamination in mining.

Effective filtering to reduce oil contamination.

Filtering the oil is key in keeping, not only the oil healthy, but also the equipment. Adding filtration systems such as kidney-loop systems or even filtration carts can be a good way to control contamination, but before doing this you need to look at sealing the equipment.

Sealing the equipment against oil contamination.

This involves using the proper breathers, such as desiccant breathers instead of open vents or original equipment manufacturer breathers.

Desiccant breathers can filter dust particles down to as little as 3 microns in comparison to open vents where the equipment is allowed to breathe-in all the particles in the environment.

A good desiccant breather system is one that achieves the target level for cleanliness and dryness; has the capacity to enable a sufficient service interval between change-outs, and is easily visible for routine inspection during preventive maintenance.

The criticality of the machinery the breather is attached to, is important to consider as well. If the machine operates on close tolerances with little tolerance for particle ingression and the subsequent oil contamination, you may need to get a high-quality breather and change it more regularly.

In addition to using the proper breathers, you should also think about installing quick-connects for both the fill port and drain port. Adding quick-connects to the equipment will keep the system sealed when you need to top-up a machine or perform an oil change as well as enable you to use filtration carts on these pieces of equipment.

Another advantage of installing quick-connects on equipment that use the same oil is that you will be able to use one filtration cart on numerous pieces of equipment, as opposed to purchasing single filtration units for each piece of equipment.

Remember, if your goal is to control oil contamination, filtration and sealing the equipment from the outside environment are the two most important steps to help you reduce oil contamination in mining equipment.

Now that you’ve reduced the oil contamination of your expensive mining equipment, you need to choose an oil that’ll both increase performance and reduce running costs. That’s why you need to give Habot Synthetic Lubricants a call: We have quality synthetic lubricants for most applications.