ASTM D6224 Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Lubricating Oil
ASTM D6224 Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Lubricating Oil for Auxiliary Power Plant Equipment
7. Examination of New Oil on Delivery
7.1 Deliveries of new oil should be examined when (1) the criticality of the equipment warrants the testing, (2) there is a question about the oil quality, or (3) baseline data is desired for trending purposes. The size of the reservoir which could potentially be contaminated should also be considered.

7.2 Experience has shown the need for standardizing procedures and acceptance criteria for the sampling, examination, and acceptance of incoming supplies of lubricating oil. It is essential that personnel responsible for sampling and testing shall have the necessary experience and skills, and that scrupulous attention to detail be applied at all times to avoid erroneous results.

7.3 It is equally essential that all incoming supplies of oil be adequately monitored to guard against incorrect or contaminated material being delivered. The cleanliness of the delivery container should be noted; if the container is dirty on the outside, there may be particulate contamination of the oil inside. Particulate contamination can also be a problem when the lubricant comes in contact with dirty or poorly maintained equipment. Final filtration while filling equipment may be used in lieu of or in addition to particle counting. The final filter should be as fine or finer than the lubrication system filter of the equipment being filled.

7.4 Sampling of incoming supplies should be in accordance with proper sampling procedures (see Section 6.)

7.5 All samples should be immediately examined for appearance.

7.6 Testing schedule guidelines for various types of new oils are provided in Table 1. With drums, tests should be completed on a composite (or bulked) sample before the oil is used in service. Individual samples should be retained until the bulk sample is passed as satisfactory.

7.7 With tanker deliveries, the additional tests to be completed before the tanker is discharged can only be judged from the risk involved by the acceptance of nonspecification product. That is, can the charge be readily recovered and corrected before passing into service if the subsequent tests indicate this is necessary.

7.8 The product specifications for new oils should be clearly communicated between the user and supplier. If a sample of oil fails to meet the product specifications agreed upon by user and supplier, the sample should be retested to verify the initial test result. A resample should be taken and tested if needed to verify that the sample is representative of the shipment. If the retest or resample still fails to meet product specification, an investigation should be made to determine whether the problem is due to transportation, handling, or product formulation. The user must recognize that typical values are not the same as purchase specifications.