Follow a water way, river, stream, or canal, and you may find a drawbridge. A drawbridge is a passable span across the water that can be raised for ships and boats to pass and then lowered for normal use. There are thousands of drawbridges in the state of Florida alone, not to mention the world-famous London Bridge and many more. Most of these bridges are raised and lowered by a set of gears. Usually there is a drive which [...]
Valve Lubrication with SWEPCO 165. Wherever there is a liquid or gas that is moved through a pipe or tube regardless of length, it will have a valve that needs lubrication. Years ago, most valves were lubricated with a few drops of motor oil; however, today’s equipment is much more demanding. Gate valves Gate valves require grease to be injected into the valve cavity to displace fluids and contaminates while acting a barrier to prevent further ingress. The grease acts as a [...]
SWEPCO 303 Premium Multi-Grade Automotive Engine Oil Now meets API SN Plus AND Dexos™ 1 Generation 2. API SN Plus addresses current issues prior to the release of the next engine oil specification update due out in late 2020 or early 2021. The use of turbocharged, direct injection gasoline engines has increased significantly over the last few years to improve fuel economy and efficiency with lighter weight. The higher power density of these engines makes them prone to an abnormal combustion event [...]
SWEPCO has expanded the available viscosities for SWEPCO 755 Premium Food Grade Hydraulic Oil and SWEPCO 757 Premium Food Grade Gear & Bearing Oil. These state-of-the-art fully synthetic lubricants are ideal for use anywhere food is grown, processed, handled, and packaged. SWEPCO 755 Premium Food Grade Hydraulic Oil SWEPCO 755 Premium Food Grade Hydraulic Oil is now available in ISO grades: 22, 32, 46, 68, and 100. The ISO 22 has an impressive -94°F (-70°C) pour point. This makes it ideal [...]
There is still some confusion and lack of information about which engine oil to use these days and limitations from the OEM’s. Let’s review SWEPCO Engine Oil’s… Specifications they meet and where to be used: SWEPCO 306 … Meets or exceeds API CI-4+ and SM (except for the 5W30 which only meets SL). SWEPCO 306 is recommended for off road diesel engines prior to 2010 and over the road engines prior to 2007. It can also be specified in gasoline engines requiring [...]
Most lubricant suppliers provide a Technical Data Sheet or Sales Brochure that list the typical physical characteristics and typical performance properties of their products. These typical properties provide results to various physical and chemical tests that are performed on the batch of product. A frequently asked question is “What does this result mean? Is it a good value or average?” Reading test results can be confusing. In certain tests, the higher the result, the better the performance. And in [...]
When reviewing the technical data sheet for a lubricant or lubricant specifi-cations for a piece of equipment, you will often see references to the Timken OK Load test. So what does it mean when one lubricant has a 35-pound Timken OK Load rating and another has a 100-pound Timken OK Load rating? The truth is … it may have very little relevance to the amount of EP protection you are getting. There are basically three reasons for this: First, the Timken Test [...]
Most lubricant suppliers provide a Technical Data Sheet or Sales Brochure that list the typical physical characteristics and typical performance properties of their products. These typical properties provide results to various physical and chemical tests that are performed on the batch of product. A frequently asked question is “What does this result mean? Is it a good value or average?” Reading test results can be confusing. In certain tests, the higher the result, the better the performance. And in [...]
From time to time you and we run across a competitive product brochure or an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) requirement with test methods that do not follow the standard ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) nomenclature or results. There are a number of different standards in place such as: the German DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), and SASO (Saudi Standards. Metrology and Quality, Org) to name a few. This makes reading test results, especially for [...]
Lubricating Electric Motors Electric motors contain bearings that require lubrication. Most electric motors use grease. Ideally the grease should have: dropping point above 204°C (400°F), low bleed characteristics, excellent resistance to high-temperature oxidation, and good anti-wear properties. Typical thickeners include lithium, calcium, bentonite, and polyurea. One of the biggest issues is that these thickeners are not compatible with each other which will cause problems and bearing failure if greases are mixed randomly. If the bearing size is known or can be determined, the amount of grease [...]
