Gear Oil Maintenance, Thruster | Harbour Tug
Customer case
System — Thruster
Vessel: Harbour tug “VB PORNIC”
Thruster: AQUAMASTER US 1401 AZIMUTH Starboard Thruster
Gear oil: EPONA Z 100 (marine mineral gear oil)
Viscosity: 100.7 cSt @ 40 °C
Oil volume: 850 litres
Challenge
Entry of seawater into the gear oil of the thruster of the tug (starboard side). The mineral oil was contaminated from high level of seawater (0.39%) and sodium particles (22 ppm). Since the next inspection in the dry dock was scheduled in 6 months, our customer was urgently looking for a solution to continue vessel operation.
Harbour tug “VB PORNIC”
Solution: CJC® Thruster Filter
A CJC® Thruster filter consisting of Desorber D5 and oil care system 15/25 was installed. The installation of the CJC® Thruster Filter in the offline circuit ensures continuous dewatering, fine filtration and maintenance of the gear oil (24/7/365). Water — free, emulsified and dissolved — as well as wear particles and oil degradation products (varnish, acids) are removed from the gear oil very efficiently.
Water separation capacity: > 150 ml/h
Dirt holding capacity: approx. 1.1 kg
Filtration degree:3 μm absolute, 1 μm nominal
Filter material: 100% natural fibres (cellulose)
BEFORE — without gear oil maintenance
Result of gear oil maintenance
Weekly oil samples were taken to follow the oil condition and trend. After a week, the CJC® Thruster Filter had removed the water from the gear oil — the water content in the oil dropped from 3,904 to 163 ppm. According to Noria Corporation, this corresponds to a lifetime extension factor of 5-6 for the oil and equipment. The recommended water content in the gear oil is < 300 ppm. Moreover, the CJC® Thruster Filter removed solid particles from the gear oil — wear debris such as iron (FE) and copper (CU) were lowered from 29 and 4 ppm down to 17 and 1 ppm; the sodium/salt content (NA) decreased from 22 to 13 ppm. The content of these impurities should not exceed 25 ppm as recommended.
Oil samples
BEFORE — without gear oil maintenance
Water: 0.39%
Sodium: 22 ppm
After 3 weeks with CJC® Thruster Filter
Water: 0.05%
Sodium: 14 ppm
Savings and Benefits
The installation of the CJC® Thruster Filter results in the following advantages for our customer:
- cost-intensive emergency inspection in dry dock avoided
- oil filling service life and thruster components extended by 5 to 6 times
- oil change avoided and 850 litres of gear oil saved
- permanently clean and dry gear oil ensured – free of water, wear particles, and salt crystals/sodium
By avoiding the oil change and drastically extending the service life of the oil filling in the future, the CO2 footprint of the tug improves – a valuable contribution to BOLUDA’s strategic goal of becoming a CO2-neutral company.
Customer comment
Regional Technical Manager, Mr. Olivier GLOAGUEN:
“The CJC® Thruster Filter allows us to keep the tug in operation until the scheduled dry dock inspection in 6 months. The results of the oil analyses are clear and clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the CJC® Thruster Filter.”
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