Used Oil Analysis
How your Blackstone sample is processed
by David Newton
Used Oil Analysis – we all talk about it, and many can understand the results, but few people have had the opportunity to actually see how the process works.
One of the more popular analysis labs is Blackstone Laboratories of Fort Wayne, Indiana. If you want to learn more about Blackstone (location, history, available services, people …) you can visit their website at blackstone-labs.com . Blackstone’s website is very informative, and laced with personal notes and a wee bit of humor! BITOG is proud to have Blackstone as one of their longest-running site supporters. On January 13th, 2012, I visited Blackstone Labs for the purpose of documenting the process that our samples go through when being tested. My guide for the morning was Ryan Stark. Please note that it is not the intent of this article to reveal the minute details of lab technology, but rather give an oversight as to what happens to your sample. Stark notes that they are a “production lab” set up to serve the lubricant industry, and are not a science lab rooted in research and development.
Blackstone processes approximately 200 samples a day. The samples, most of which are received via US mail, are segregated upon receipt. The fluids are tested in group lots of 36 samples. Because Blackstone serves many industries, they take in many types of sample lubricants; automotive engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, differential fluids, hydraulic oils, etc. Of note, they serve a large portion of the aviation engine oil analysis market. Because those piston-engines still run on leaded fuel (!), those samples can have upwards of 5000ppm of Pb in their oil samples. They are therefore run at the end of the 36 piece sample grouping, so that the very-high lead counts won’t contaminate automotive oil samples. Most samples are run in 12-48 hours after being received, simply dependent upon oil type grouping, etc.
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