Hot oil has typically received the most press, even in this publication. After all, oil is not like fine wines that get better over time. In fact, even the very best wine will stress-out when exposed to too much heat. For instance, most wines will age roughly twice as fast at 77°F compared to 55°F, which is why connoisseurs and collectors prefer cellar temperature to store their liquid assets.

In 1903, Svante Arrhenius won a Nobel Prize when he figured out the relationship between temperature and most chemical reaction rates. Often called the Arrhenius Rate Rule, it relates to the fact that lubricants, once they’ve exceeded their base activation temperature, will degrade or oxidize twice as fast for every 10°C (18°F) increase in temperature.

The post The Effects of Temperature on Lubricants (Why oil is like an egg) appeared first on Tesibis.

Most of us know that healthy lubricants are generally clear and bright. However, as oils age they can lose their luster, and many become dark and opaque. These optical changes are often important symptoms of impending problems that, if occur prematurely, merit further analysis and corrective action.

However, in other cases they can be benign or simply the result of the oil’s normal aging process. So how do we know the difference, especially without having to perform complex laboratory analysis? Like much in the field of oil analysis, answering such questions depends first on better understanding the nature of the problem.

We can score an oil visually the same way gemologists grade diamonds; by color and clarity. An oil’s luster or brightness is influenced by both of these options.

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