Oil mist system

[Pulpboy]

I just had a vendor give me an overview of oil misting systems that replace oil lube in pumps etc. He painted a very rosy picture but I'm wondering about the disadvantages. I'm talking about a closed system where the oil mist is returned back so it doesn't coat everything in a film.

 

[unclesyd]

We used them with great success on highly loaded bearings. The most common use was with big high temperature blowers/fans with high loadings on the bearings. There were several very large pumps that also had mist systems.
I don't remember any problem with oil mist around the equipment.
It usually takes several big failures to justify changing to oil mist system.

Our equipment was made by:

http://www.lubriquip.com/

 

[Ralph2]

From a mechanical view point oil mist is very good. But from an enviromental view it's a mess.... literally. Perhaps "closed" systems have improved..
Just my 2 cents
Ralph

 

[Texaco]

Having been a major user for many years, the only downside to closed loop oil mist is the cost. Having said that, the payouts that I know about are between 6 months and 2 years. That is not bad considering that you can reduce bearing failures by as much as 90%. I know of one user in West Texas who achieved a 98% reduction; they are the ones who paid out the project in 6 months. As for the environmental aspect, if the mist density is correct, the pressure is correct, and the reclassifiers are properly sized, the mess around the equipment will be far less than those pumps which have sump lubrication. Oil mist requires only some minor maintenance about every 6 months. In between times, the operator need only to be concerned that the reservoir is filled and that there are no warning lights on.