Sloan Lubrication Systems is the leading expert in lubricant reduction with 100 years in business and over two hundred years of collective industry experience. During our tenure, our teams have pretty much seen it all, continually improving how things work through their skills and expertise. 

One of the most consistent issues we see is over lubrication. Many people seem to believe that if a little bit of lubricant is good, a lot must be better. In most applications, this is far from accurate. In fact, over lubrication causes a variety of problems, including increased operating costs and carbon footprints, pipeline restrictions, fouled filters and metering stations, poor valve life, and damage to end user equipment such as turbines. 

In its latest issue, Gas Compression Magazine reported on Sloan Lubrication Systems’ efforts to help customers reduce their lubricant consumption. If you have not read it yet, click the link for this informative article that covers all of our lube reduction solutions, from TriCip, which enables up to a 90% reduction, to our Watchman and Custom Systems, which enable up to a 50% reduction, to our newly redesigned Oil Recovery System (ORS).

The ORS is different from our other systems in that it is not a lubricant delivery system. Most gas compressors leak some amount of oil into the distance piece from the crankcase through the wipers. The ORS collects and filters this oil and returns it to the crankcase instead of the oil ending up in a waste tank. 

The volume varies, but it can average up to three gallons per unit per day. Spread across an entire pipeline footprint of say, 500 compressors, you are looking at a cost of $3,613,500 per year at a 60% utilization rate and assuming $11/gallon. That is significant savings. And each gallon of oil saved reduces your carbon footprint. 

If you want to learn more about our Oil Recovery System and other solutions for lube reduction, we will have them on display at this year’s Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, from May 2-4, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.