No, its not "too dirty" I'm saying that compared to a 55 gal drum per example, it is dirty. The fresh oil is of course cleaner. Cat does sel their oil in gallon jugs, but do you ever expect a dealer to say, sorry this oil is dirty dont buy it. (CAT oil is actually mobil oil with a cat label) THat is why it is best to have a dealer service a machine with their bulk oil machines. THen again, CAT does have very strict standards when it comes to contaminatino control, which is why the gallon size jugs do not actually pass tests on the particle counter machine.

It has been introduced to more and more contaminants as it is handled over and over. By no means is it too dirty to use. I simply stated that it is more dirty than other oil that can be had. I use gallon size jugs as well so..

 

Thats the silliest thing I've ever heard. Ranks right up there with not drilling for oil so the price of gas is driven up, so we'll be forced to develop alternative energy sources, so we'll not depend on those thieving arabs, so we can finally have a nice clean environment to live in while we all farm our back yards by hand and live off vegetables. Babbling idiots have developed the ability for find a problem in anything they put their mind to, and the government and courts don't have the good sense god gave a crowbar to stop them.

Warren

 

This does seem a little strange. But like somebody said earlier the real test would be to send a sample in and have it tested.

 

Im just passing on to you what Caterpillar passed on to me. Maybe I can find the actual text on it for those interested.

 

Nic:

I understand what you're saying, but there are several things that make your position difficult to defend, and perhaps even not applicable to the motor oil we run in our engines. Let me explain myself here, and I'm speaking from nearly 25 years of manufacturing experience that has been focused on technical issues in many chemical processes, including extensive QA/QC implementation and management.

1. So far, there is no data or Caterpillar (or third party lab) sourced & verifiable statements to support your position. It may very well exist, but right now you're making a hard-to-believe claim with no support.

2. We have not yet seen an explanation or proposal regarding "how" the oil gets dirtier just by having it processed in smaller containers. From my experience, product contamination is an extremely high-level concern for all manufacturing processes, and this is particularly true in the petroleum and chemical industries. Granted, the pharmaceutical industry is probably more concerned, but we're not dealing with paharceuticals here. Given the high level of attention to prevent contamination, it is very hard for me (and many others) to see how smaller containers will be more likely to contain higher levels of contaminants. I can see a theoretical potential for a very slightly higher level, but cannot see where it would be significant enough to warrant a "ban" of using smaller containers due to higher levels of dirt contamination in the manufacturing process.

What I CAN see happening is a higher potential for contaminated hydraulic systems when they are filled or topped off IN THE FIELD with smaller containers due to induced IN THE FIELD contamination because of using more containers for a single fill.... but NOT because of dirt contamination in the manufacuring/filling process before it is shipped to the customer.

3. The level of extremely low level of tolerable contamination that has caused Cat to make this policy you're referring to is probably completely inapplicable to our motor oil concerns. At the same time, though, the same principles I've discussed above still hold true for motor oil users. With every container I open and use to pour oil into my fill tube, I risk the potential for knocking loose some extraneous "under hood" dirt into the fill tube as well. Again, though, this is only a material handling issue that is related to the "post manufacturing" process, and does not suggest that the oil in smaller containers is dirtier than the oil in larger containers.

I hope I explained my thoughts clearly enough, and will be glad to see any data you can come up with.

Thanks again, Nic, for speaking up on this and holding to your guns... I really believe, though, that the contamination issue is not one associated with the manufacturing process as much as it is related to ingested field contamination at teh "point of entry" into the equipment. In simple terms, what I am saying is that the oil in smaller containers is no dirtier than oil in larger containers, but when people use smaller containers to fill with, they are more likely to contaminate the process because they are physically handling the system more.

 

I agree with you completely Pete. I believe I made it clear in one of my first posts in this thread that it may not be completely applicable to our engines. For example, Cat filters fuel and hydraulic systems to 2 microns. Engines are 15 microns. So as you can see, the engine oil is not as big of a deal. However, I decided to raise the topic anyway.

I will see what information I can dig up. I may even be able to use a particle counter just to get some rough ideas here. We will see.

 

15qts puts mine right in the middle of the min and max marks, is that normal?

 

No.... Do you fill the filter before installing it???