Water Ingress Tip

According to Martin Williamson, Senior Technical Consultant, Noria UK Ltd., although water-removing type filters can remove small amounts of water from a gearbox, significant levels of water require addressing the root cause of the water ingress. "Too much water subjective, buy technically, if there is visible emulsified water (cloudiness of the oil), this is too much," says Williamson. "As such, there is an ingress source that needs attention. Typically water will be an issue dependent upon the unit location (indoors/outdoors), proximity to any process water, or any wash down activity that may take place near the gearbox. or any steam source in the vicinity. The use of a desiccating breather of expansion diaphragm-type sealed unit may also reduce the moisture ingress, as will deploy8ing better quality seals and education the personnel responsible for wash-down activity."