Real-time oil analysis from Tan Delta can lower the operational costs of running and maintaining large generators, by reducing the material and labour costs associated with fixed schedule oil changes, extending oil life by up to 50%.
In the last five years there have been nearly five million planned outages, and almost ten times as many unplanned outages in the UK alone. It is estimated that a single hour of downtime costs an SME an average of £800, and a large commercial organisation can be facing a bill of up to £8,500, not including any incidental equipment damage, e-commerce downtime, missed deadlines and interrupted production runs.
The best protection against power outages is having an effective standby power system. It is a common misconception that the oil will last for years as it’s only been used for an of once a week. However, standby generator oil is actually susceptible to accelerated degradation due to effects of blow-by when engines are cold, and any water/moisture will not fully evaporate when a generator is only run for short periods. Failure to start or perform effectively is therefore predominantly due to ineffective or insufficient maintenance procedures.
Typical generator maintenance involves weekly visual inspections of oil and fuel levels, and complete oil changes every six months. This preventative routine is fraught with issues and is fundamentally time consuming and costly. Scheduled oil changes don’t account for the fact that generators run on variable and unpredictable loads, therefore intact oil is likely getting changed unnecessarily meaning inflated operational costs. Also, due to the intermittent duty cycles and often exposed locations, oil contamination is common, and contrary to popular belief scheduled oil changes will not fix ongoing contamination issues, meaning engine damage caused by contaminated lubricant will continue and often increase in severity.
Whereas preventative maintenance does minimise the need for repairs and reduces genset lifecycle costs, in today’s competitive market, successful maintenance means mitigating the risk of failures and downtime by making decisions based on smart operational and real-time data. Oil quality analysis is fundamental in extending generator life, reducing maintenance and ensuring efficient performance. Monitoring the oil condition in real time ensures that the oil is changed at the optimum point, maximising oil life and minimising costs associated with a routine overhaul.
Tan Delta is a global leader in the development and supply of advanced oil condition monitoring technologies, products and systems. The specially designed Genset – Engine Monitoring Kit can be simply installed on new or used generator systems to allow the monitoring of the lubricating oil condition and temperature in real-time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. This ‘fit-and-forget’ installation gives owners and operators peace of mind that their back-up equipment is peak condition and in an event of a power outage their business will suffer minimal disruption and negligible costs.
Tan Delta products are supported by global warranty and customer support. Contact us today for further information: info@tandeltasystems.com