Lubricant Health & Viscosity

As a lubricant begins to breakdown it undergoes significant changes in viscosity. These viscosity changes can play a critical role in the life and performance of moving parts. For example, knowing when to change the engine oil in a car is fairly straightforward, with every 3,000 to 5,000 miles is a good rule of thumb. Going beyond the recommended scheduled oil change runs the risk of critical component failure leading to engine damage. However, what if you don’t have a convenient method, such as miles driven, to gauge the health of your lubricant? How will you know when the lubricant begins to breakdown? The solution to this is knowing your viscosity!

Using a microVISC-m viscometer we measured the viscosity of new Penzoil 5W-30 vs used Penzoil 5W-30. The data in table (1) illustrates the accuracy of the microVISC-m: the % difference is less than 0.5% when comparing referenced viscosity and with measured viscosity. And, the data in table (2) shows the significant viscosity change of used Penzoil 5W-30, a measure viscosity increase of 28.5%, 19.9% and 17.1%.

Table (1) New Penzoil 5W-30

Table (2) Used Penzoil 5W-30

Lubricants play a critical role in the life and performance of moving parts. RheoSense viscometers are designed to be easy to use and are fast and accurate which provide an excellent way to monitor lubricant health.

Download our application note to learn more!