What are the sources of Water contamination in an oil?

Over 70% of the world is covered in water, so its no surprise that water can make its way into an oil. Detecting water in oil is important when the amount of water content exceeds design limitations of equipment using oil, especially when continuous lubrication is a must. Too much water in fuel can also cause a malfunction.

Some examples of how water creeps into systems is through condensation in tanks, leaking heat exchangers, leaking coolers or even the presence of water from a process. It is not always possible to ensure that a design has a “water tight” system and that ingress or contamination never occurs.

What kind of damage can be caused by water in oil?

Water in oil can cause components to function less optimally than what they were designed for. The most obvious evidence is normally the presence of corrosion (rusting) as well as fatigue on rotating parts like bearings. Component wear, jamming and even the formation of ice crystals needs to be avoided in systems where their effects can cause unwanted damage, capital loss and in some cases even the safety of personnel.

Sampling of Water in Oil vs Continuous Measurement?

At any moment of the day, there are people taking samples of oil to test for water content either using a centrifuge method or some laboratory device e.g. Karl Fisher laboratory testing. Sampling frequency needs to be increased when water contamination needs to be “caught” in a timely manner so that action can be taken. In many cases, this excessive sampling is not only costly but also time consuming and where measurements are necessary at all times it is not so effective. The EASZ-2 online water in oil/fuel analyser is an instrument that has been designed by EESIFLO International to give operators a chance to not only immediately detect the presence of water in an oil system but also to accurately measure the amounts present at any time.

Why use the EASZ-2 for water in oil measurements?

The EASZ-2 is a modern day “Easy 2 Use” online instrument that is far more accurate and repeatable than it’s predecessors. It has been designed to faithfully maintain accuracy/repeatability in industrial environments without compromising precision, especially in lower concentrations of water.

The EASZ-2 display will give not only a visual indication of the water content but also a backlight status e.g. green for normal condition, yellow/amber for approaching limits and red for alarm conditions. The electronics give the user a choice of a milliamp output, a contact output or Modbus communication as standard. The unit is also CE compliant and has been designed and tested to meet the most recent European EMC requirements.

The EASZ-2 Ex is also available for oil and gas industry applications. The electronics are housed in an Exd enclosure with a choice of intrinsically safe outputs. The EASZ-2 was released in late 2017 and is currently now in full production. If you would like more information to see if EESIFLO can meet your needs.