Proper lubrication is crucial for agricultural machinery to operate efficiently and avoid premature wear and tear. However, with rising prices, agricultural lubricants can get expensive for farmers and equipment owners.
Using cost-effective maintenance strategies can help save significant amounts of money on lubricants over time. This article explores useful tips on extending lubricant life, choosing quality products, and practices to reduce lubricant expenses.
The Importance of Proper Lubrication
Lubricants such as engine oil, hydraulic fluid, and grease allow machines to run smoothly by minimizing friction between moving parts. Insufficient lubrication leads to increased operating temperatures and accelerated wear. It can cause complete breakdowns or shortened equipment lifespan. However, too much lubricant also hinders efficiency.
Proper lubricant levels, change intervals, and products compatible with machine specifications are vital. Investing in suitable agricultural lubricants and maintenance boosts productivity and equipment longevity. It prevents expensive repairs or replacements over years of use.
Extending Lubricant Life Through Maintenance
Certain maintenance practices can significantly extend lubricant drainage intervals before needing a change. This reduces the total consumption and cost of lubricants per year. Here are some key strategies:
- Strainers: Installing fluid strainers helps capture contaminants. It prevents abrasive particles from circulating through the system and damaging components. Straining ensures lubricants last longer.
- Filtration Systems: High-efficiency filtration systems remove moisture, acids and dirt from fluids. They purify lubricants for reuse instead of frequent change-outs. Although filtration systems require an initial investment, they offer subsequent savings.
- Oil Analysis: Used oil analysis determines if lubricants are still suitable for service. Instead of adhering to fixed change intervals, oil tests check qualities like viscosity, acidity and metal contaminants. Draining oil earlier than required wastes unused additives. Analysis maximizes utilization up to safe limits.
- Surface Coatings: Component coatings protect against corrosion and wear. Smooth contact surfaces with protective barrier coatings also minimize damage to lubricants from metal debris. This retains lubricant integrity longer.
Choosing Cost-Effective Lubricant Grades
While premium lubricants can enhance performance, they strain budgets due to high prices. Opting for more affordable yet quality products can substantially decrease expenses. Consider these tips while selecting lubricants:
- Match OEM Specifications: Compare off-brand lubricant specifications against Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommendations. Ensure alternative products meet standard quality thresholds for safety and efficiency.
- Check Approval Certifications: Many brands display API, SAE, ISO, or other approval ratings that verify lubricant quality. Certified products confirm that cheaper alternatives still provide adequate protection without compromising operations.
- Buy In Bulk Quantities: Purchasing high-volume bulk containers instead of numerous small packages offers major per-unit savings. However, one must have sufficient storage space onsite and consistent usage rates.
- Compare Synthetic vs. Conventional: Synthetic lubricants last over twice as long as petroleum-based counterparts before needing replacement. The greater initial price gets justified by fewer change intervals and long-term savings.
Proactive Usage Practices
Alongside maintenance and product selection, proactively monitoring lubricant conditions prevents overuse and waste. Helpful practices include:
- Record Consumption Rates: Tracking lubricant usage helps forecast future demand more accurately. Data-driven estimations prevent overstocking excess materials that ultimately get discarded unused.
- Inspect Storage Tanks Regularly: Check storage tank levels routinely to plan timely reorders before completely depleting. Letting equipment run dry risks equipment damage and workflow disruptions.
- Fix All Leaks Promptly: Even minor leaks or spills accumulate into substantial lube losses over days. Attending promptly to any dripping lines, seals, or gaskets avoids continuous wastage.
Proper Storage and Handling
How lubricants get stored and handled before application also affects their usable lifespan. Improper storage accelerates product deterioration while careless handling causes contamination. Some helpful guidelines include:
Storage Location: Store lubricants indoors in a cool, dry place away from external elements like sunlight, rain or temperature extremes which degrade oil additives faster. Ideal storage temperatures range from 50-80°F. Keeping inventory outside also risks spillages, dust or wildlife contamination.
Totes and Drums: Store lubricants meant for bulk use in sealable spill-proof containers with dispensing pumps. Move around larger capacity totes and drums using drum handlers instead of Makeshift leverage tools that might puncture containers.
Shelf Life: Label storage vessels with purchase dates and write reminders to use older lubricants first i.e. ‘First-In-First-Out’. Discard products exceeding shelf life as additives deplete over time even without opening containers.
Spill Kits: Keep sufficient spill absorbents like pads, booms and granules nearby to contain any leakage incidents quickly. Timely spill response is vital to prevent environmental contamination or safety hazards.
Funnel Filtration: Pour lubricants through a fine-mesh funnel when dispensing into equipment reservoirs to catch stray particulates. Contaminant ingress during oil top-ups reduces intervals between complete lubricant changes.
With some care around storage, transfer and contamination prevention, agricultural lubricants enjoy greater preservation integrity until full consumption.
Lubrication Best Practices
Alongside product and maintenance factors, certain good practices while lubricating equipment also promote optimal use without over-application. Useful tips include:
Apply to Clean Surfaces: Always wipe down lubrication ports, gaskets and application areas to remove old residue buildup before applying fresh lubricant. Oil applied on soiled surfaces picks up impurities faster.
Avoid Mixing Incompatible Products: Check compatibility before topping up existing lubricant with different brands or viscosity grades. Incorrect mixing degrades fluid properties. Completely flush systems beforehand if required.
Follow OEM Recommendations: Adhere to equipment manufacturer specifications on lube type, SAE ratings, viscosity grades and change intervals suited for the machine. Conflicting product parameters risk warranty cancellations.
Inspect Often: Periodically check sight glasses, filter indicators and fluid levels to detect abnormalities before operation disruptions. Proactively topping up also provides sufficient lube circulation.
Train Operators: Educate equipment operators on conducting pre-operation fluid level inspections. Training helps ingrain lubrication best practices across the workforce.
Overall, following simple discipline around storage, contamination avoidance, mixing guidelines and general lube upkeep improves utilization rates of agricultural lubricants. The small habitual efforts end up saving farms and businesses money indirectly.
Final words
Agricultural lubricants represent a significant recurring operational expense for equipment owners. However, the right combination of maintenance strategies, affordable yet quality lubricant selection, and usage best practices can lead to major long-term savings. The little time invested into optimizing lube management saves thousands of dollars annually that gets freed up for other farm investments.
Employing one or more of the outlined cost-reduction tips here will help cut back lubrication costs drastically. Investing in machinery protection should not mean breaking budgets. With some informed decisions, farmers can operate equipment safely while spending less on vital agricultural lubricants.
