Color Change in Oil for Single Screw Air Compressor

Waaaaooouuhhhhh!! Unless someone else add some wrong lubricant there or something else non compatible with what is supposed to be in it then we'll assume that or the compressor are running out of range which will include speed-temp.-load conditions out of the specifications for that Puppy which may cause such symptoms.

Who Know's? Probably is an old Puppy ? When was the last time the oil & air filter was replaced? Did they check acidity and viscosity in it? By manufacturer specifications. Hmmmmnnn!!!

It will come to you eventually hang in there but it will be wise too to have an stand-by backup Puppy until you get this one up back to standards so your operations "will keep downtime to a minimum". Try get all you need to make up a nice tune-up on that Puppy and this will be a nice 'Saturday Morning' -JOB- just don't forget the Coffe Thermo and a nice Sandwich as well. Ventilate area first, Lock and Tag,a whole bunch of rags, a good dry floor to start and a nice extension cord with GFI protection, Oh and couples extra rough service bulbs and two flasligths to be on the safe side. And Absolutly a nice Tools Box with all the toys in it. Ahhh HooHooHaaaahhh!!! Done Completed Allset...'Hasta La Vista BaBy' Vamonossss....

CigarTime,

MC

Have that lube analyzed to be certain no trick is in the works

Yes the lube has analyzed and every thing seems normal except the colour.the viscosity, acid number and even its IR spectrum is very closed to the new oil. the Fe/Cu/Zn/Al metal content is very low, and the oil is also transparant.

Well then you're setting pretty

This is not uncommon with my compressors. I have 3 Quincy screw compressors and they use the Quin-Sin synthetic oil. When the oil get use on it it is supposed to turn purple. it is a design spec for the oil. As the oil gets older it get a deeper purple.

Very common and nothing to worry about. By the way, 1000 hours is about the recommended change interval for the oil. The oil should be about a medium darkness on the purple coloration and still have a decent amount of transparency to it.

It's common for lubricants to change the colour to brown or dark brown after a period of using, while the colour of purple is very seldom. I have involved in lubricants field for almost 20years, It's the first time for me to meet such a phenomenon.

You may want to check your specs again. I believe Quincy screw compressors using Quin-Syn should be good for up to 8000 hours...

I will have to do that but the tech service I use comes out about every 3 months and changes the filters and oil retightens the belts and gives it a once over. i am probably paying to much to have all this done but its worth it to me to have them warranty their service. I have found him to be very trustworthy and I have done comparison pricing and found him to be the median in pricing but affordable.

But I will look into that and see if I should let it lag to twice a year instead of quarterly.

Took the words right out of my mouth, I have Quincy screw compressors also. The oil turns violet and as it nears the end of it's useful life it starts getting darker. As long as the lab analysis' comes back with something wrong, run it.

I am going to guess that you left out a "doesn't" somewhere in that last sentence.

I thought the same about that comment.

I have some experience of Quincy screw compressors lubricating with Quin-Syn Synthetich oil with di-ester as the basestocks. Generally this oil can run 4000-8000h depending on the working conditions.I once experienced a problem on this compressor with serious coking of the oil and the screw was serious damaged after a running of about 3000h with the appointed lubricants. Still, the change to purple or violet was not happend offen and I am pursuing the root factors.

Simple answer is to use a free compressor oil analysis service. They'll advise you on the condition and life expectancy of your oil - and be happy to sell you some if you need it :)

Try <a href="http://www.qualitydiscountlubricants.com/">www.qualitydiscountlubricants.com</a>

They have a tool that provides recommendations for what oil to use for your tool. I also understand that if you jam 005 in the 'additional instructions' box at checkout, they'll deduct 5 percent from your total before they charge your card.

Howdy,

I also had a color change in the oil of my Quicy 30 hp screw compressor,(yellow to purple), using Rogers CLS46 oil. The rep. at Rogers machinery says this is normal. Just keep up with those filter changes!

Rig

Hi

It's unusual for the oil changed from yellow to purple.About how many running hours for CLS46 oil before this colour change?