Lube Oil System Flushing By:

When Do You Find Oil System Flush Situations?

Pickling is additional to and followed by the oil system flush. At Commissioning: Oil system flush due to: System welding, assembly and installation. Construction dirt and contamination. Reservoir fill with new oil. Be sure to consider the type of materials used for the lube oil system. Stainless steel lube oil piping is often less expensive in the overall installation due to the required pickle and passivation process required for carbon steel. Pickling is additional to and followed by the oil system flush. 

General Maintenance Flush Oil System to Remove: Gasket Material or Debris from Service or Repairs Contaminated Make-Up Oil System Wear Oil Coking Silicone and debris vacuumed from a Mars turbine after several years of operation. The synthetic oil was removed from the reservoir, polished, and reused!

Catastrophic Failure Gearbox or Main Component Failure Heater and/or Control Failure – Oil Coke Contamination Ingression: High Particle Count Excessive Water Other Whenever the Lube Oil System is Compromised Oil sample taken from the bottom of an 80 gallon turbine reservoir down for maintenance & showing high particle count. Oil was drained and reservoir mechanically cleaned removing about 1 gallon of this material (dirt and metal particulate). The oil was polished and reused!

A note concerning catastrophic gearbox or other similar failure: Flushing the entire system prior to the removal of the damaged component allows existing system pumps to flush clean fluid throughout using polished clean fluid. This allows cleaning of the reservoir and the lube oil system. Where possible, this saves time, the existing oil and allows the new component to be put into service in an entirely clean system.

Achieving the ES2184-D Specification

Critical Aspects of ES2184 Rev. D Reynolds Number - Definition and required minimum. Moderate Heat – Using a substantial external heater. Filters - The benefits of using high efficiency filter. Reverse Flush – When required. Accurate Testing Using clean new and make-up oil (fill standards).

Reynolds Number The Reynolds number can be calculated by: Nr= 3160 x GPM CS x D Where: GPM = flushing fluid flow rate - gallons per minute. CS = flushing fluid viscosity – centistokes. D = pipe/tube inside diameter – inches. Minimum Reynolds Number of 4000 required to produce turbulent flow. Heat is a major factor in improving Reynolds Number by reducing oil viscosity. Increasing Reynolds Number reduces flush time. A WOFI target Nr is between 10,000 to 24,000 to reduce flush time and improve results. Reynolds Number not generally valid in tanks and reservoirs. Mechanical cleaning followed by agitation, with heat and high flow for heavier contamination.

Benefits of Flushing with Moderate Heat (130-150oF) Direct relationship on Reynolds Number by decreasing viscosity. Obtain maximum flow of flushing system. System expansion releasing trapped contaminants at flanges and other confined spaces. Necessary when using high efficiency filters to prevent filter bypass. Moderate heat will drive dissolved water from the oil giving better performance and life. WOFI experience has shown external heaters up to 20kW are required to provide appropriate temperatures in both flushing and polishing existing oil for reuse.

Flushing With A High Efficiency Filter Recognize and use an efficient filter instead of a filter sock or screen. Achieving a passing test result at 5 micron requires filter media that is designed to remove these smaller sizes efficiently. Socks and screens generally are designed for larger particles. Using a filter with an absolute µm rating makes sure the entire filter will block the rated particles, reducing flush time to achieve required results.

Flushing With A High Efficiency Filter A filter’s Beta Ratio shows its efficiency. Beta Ratio of 2 ½ of particles are left each pass (50%). Oil with 5 micron particles. (200 per liter) Beta Ratio of 200 99.5% efficient. At WOFI, we use 1000 Beta Ratio filters for flushing. This reduces flush time and improves results! (99.9% efficient)

Flushing With A High Efficiency Filter Choosing the correct filter: We Recommend 1000 Beta Ratio filters for flushing lube oils where multiple passes are possible. New 2000 Beta Ratio filters for single pass such as day tanks and bulk oil storage.

Reverse Flush ES2184 requires that oil coolers with turbulators shall be flushed in both the forward and reverse flow directions. Also, lines that flow upward for more than 10 feet (3 meters) shall be flushed in a reverse, downward direction at least 33% of the flush time. Reverse Flushing often decreases flush time even when not required. A reversing valve assembly is the most effective and safest way to reverse flush and prevent leaks and spills. A WOFI Reversing crossover valve assembly. Allows for full reverse flow by just changing 4 valve positions.

Accurate Field Testing Laser Optical Particle Counter – Accurate, but expensive and difficult to keep calibration in the field. Field Patch Testing – Simple and accurate.

A Patch Test Is Performed In 4 Basic Steps: Patch Testing Step 1: A 25 mL sample is drawn through a filter patch to collect all contaminants. 5µ filter patch sample

Patch Testing Step 2: A solvent is used to rinse all contamination from the sample onto the filter patch.

The sample is viewed under 100X magnification. Patch Testing Step 3: The sample is viewed under 100X magnification.

Patch Testing Step 4: Sample is compared to a photo of a lab sample patch which was verified to meet the required specification. This comparison allows for confidence in determining when the ES2184 Specification has been achieved. Dirt Contamination Silica Contamination Patch Focus Stripe Actual Final Flush Sample ISO15/14/12 Lab Sample

WOFI Typical Flush Results Beginning Flush Sample: ISO 21/20/18 (ISO 16/14/12 Required) Flush Results: ISO 15/12/10 (ISO 16/14/12 Required)

WOFI Typical Flush Results (cont.) Beginning Flush Sample: ISO 19/16/14 (ISO 16/14/12 Required) Flush Results: ISO 13/12/10 (ISO 16/14/12 Required)

Filtration of New Oil Most new oil bulk or in drums will not meet ES2184 requirement or ISO 4606 16/14/12. Day Tanks and Bulk Oil tanks are typically major sources of contamination and usually not filtered when adding to the reservoir. A few very recent samples of day tank and bulk tank oil…

Recent Day Tank Sample Test Required: ISO 16/14/12 (ES2184) Day Tank Test Sample : ISO 19/16/14

Recent Bulk Oil Tank Sample Test Required: ISO 16/14/12 (ES2184) Comparison Lab Sample Bulk Tank Oil Test Sample: ISO 20/17/15

Special Considerations & Recap Reservoir Contamination Manually clean before you flush? When the contamination will not stay in suspension with limited agitation it is recommended. Catastrophic Failure When to flush the reservoir? When contamination may have gone through the turbine lube system, it is wise to consider flushing the reservoir prior to removal of the failed components. Turbine system pumps can purge contamination from the entire system with cleaned polished fluid from the reservoir.

Special Considerations (cont.) Remediation of Water How much water can be removed? We have been able to remove free and dissolved water of almost any quantity. Polishing and Reconditioning of Oil When can oil be reconditioned or reused? Removal of water and solid contaminates are always possible. Dissolved contamination is generally not possible. Simple analysis is available to determine feasibility. Savings to the customer can be substantial.

Special Considerations (cont.) Bulk Oil Make-Up Systems and “Day Tanks” What are the conditions of bulk oil tanks? Generally these tanks collect moisture and other contamination. A majority do not have breather filters or discharge filters. Filtering Make-Up Oil Is the new oil clean to Solar specification? We find that about 90% of bulk oil does not meet the cleanliness specification ISO 16/14/12.

Western Oil Filtration, Inc. 20 Years of combined experience with a solid reputation. Certifications with most major oil, gas or energy companies. Excellent safety and cleanliness record. Dedicated equipment with systems sized for Solar Turbine equipment specifically.

Western Oil Filtration, Inc. Cost savings to SOLAR and the customer. Full documentation and reports with each flush project. Cost effective and efficient by using the highest rated filters, high velocity & volumes, combined with heat to give a quality service in a limited time.

Western Oil Filtration, Inc. Our experienced team is equipped and ready to meet your flushing needs!

www.wofi.biz P.O. Box 1027 West Jordan, UT 84084 Sales & Service: (385) 204-6601 Office: (385) 215-9106 www.wofi.biz