Category: Filtration

Jim Fitch authored articles & papers

  • Filter Flow Rate: The Silent Opportunity

    In leading maintenance organizations, managers don’t shrug off the importance of cleanliness. Instead, we are seeing these companies intrepidly improve fluid cleanliness targets over and over in their quest to enhance machine reliability. However, this practice has led to new challenges relating to both the ability to achieve the new targets and the cost of… Read More

  • Insider Tips on Managing the Costs of Lubricant Filtration

    Insider Tips on Managing the Costs of Lubricant Filtration

    There is a price tag for removing dirt from oil. For large plants and fleets operating in dusty environments, the cost can be substantial – hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Read More

  • Taking the Guesswork Out of Filter Selection

    Taking the Guesswork Out of Filter Selection

    y now, organizations that have advanced reliability and maintenance programs understand the intrinsic value of lubricant cleanliness. Noria and many others have published extensively on this subject. Read More

  • The Anatomy of a Filter Inspection Report

    The Anatomy of a Filter Inspection Report

    When the history of the condition monitoring field is written, there will likely be a chapter, or at least a few pages, on the odd paradox surrounding how infrequently use of used filter testing was employed (in the beginning). Read More

  • Vacuum Dehydrators Explained and Illustrated

    Vacuum Dehydrators Explained and Illustrated

    Numerous methods have been developed to selectively remove water and other volatile contaminants from hydraulic and lubricating fluids. These methods include absorbent filter media and regenerable adsorbent packings and the like. In many cases, it is not economical or practical to use disposable media, and as a result, continuous scrubbing processes have been developed. These… Read More

  • Increasing Demands Bring Advancements in Oil Filtration

    Increasing Demands Bring Advancements in Oil Filtration

    Filtration has two primary objectives. The first objective is “protective”. This refers to creating a barrier to protect particle-sensitive machine components from the invasion of contaminants capable of causing sudden-death machine failure. Read More

  • The Rationale for Using Magnetic Particle Collectors

    The Rationale for Using Magnetic Particle Collectors

    Let’s face it: Machines in industry are largely made of iron and steel. Ferrous metals both encase these machines and bear the brunt of most friction, wear and corrosion. Often, the most critical machine components, parts and surfaces are those that possess the greatest intrinsic strength and wear resistance. In more than 90 percent of… Read More

  • When a Filter is Not a Filter

    Just like lubricants, filters have a life expectancy, and it’s not indefinite. Users should be aware that there are certain operating conditions that can abruptly alter a filter’s performance and shorten its service life. These events can silently turn what you think is a filter into a non-filter. The unpleasant consequences of most filter failures… Read More