Gear Oil Care, Thruster | Tug

System: Thruster

Vessel: Tug “BUGSIER-4”
Thruster: Wärtsilä LCT CS225-S/WN-K 1.600 kW at 1.000 rpm
Gear oil: Shell Omala S2 GX 150
Classification: CLP DIN 51517-3
Oil volume: 1,500 litres
Engine running time: approx. 17,315 operating hours (RHS) at the start of the test
Operating hours per year: approx. 1,548 RHS

Challenge

Continuous ingress of water into the oil system of the thruster drive gearbox. Just 66 operating hours after the last complete oil change, the water content in the gear oil amounted to 1,080 ppm (> 0,1 %) and increase to 2.033 ppm (> 0,2 %) after further 179 operating hours. The shipping company was looking for a system that efficiently and reliably reduces the water content within a short time and keeps the water content permanently at a low level, even with high water ingress.

Solution: CJC® Thruster Filter

For test purposes, a CJC® Thruster Filter consisting of Desorber D5 and Oil Care System 15/25 was installed. The in-house pump unit ensures continuous dewatering, fine filtration and maintenance of the gear oil (24/7/365). Water — free, emulsified and dissolved — as well as particles, oil degradation products and acids are removed from the gear oil highly efficiently.

Water separation: permanent
Dirt holding capacity: approx. 1.1 kg
Filtration degree:3 μm absolute, 1 μm nominal
Filter material: 100% natural fibres (cellulose)

CJC® Desorber D5 combined with a CJC® Oil Care System for gear oil care installed on the thruster

Result of gear oil care

The CJC® Thruster Filter has reduced the water content from 903 ppm (0.09%) to 109 ppm (0.01%). The zero sample and the oil sample, which were taken two months later, were analyzed by the oil manufacturer’s oil laboratory (Shell LubeAnalyst). The CJC® Thruster Filter removes free water (2 phases) as well as emulsified and dissolved water from the oil (not visible). This is important because dissolved water can be released during pressure and temperature fluctuations and is then just as harmful as free or emulsified water.
Minimizing the water content – not only reducing it to the saturation limit (max. 800 ppm for CLP oils) – is essential to avoid abnormal wear, corrosion, cavitation, the impairment of lubricity, and accelerated oil degradation and thus premature oil changes.

Savings and Benefits

By installing the CJC® Thruster Filter and achieving the highest oil cleanliness, the following advantages result for our customer:

• Less wear
• Fewer unplanned downtimes and off-hire times
• Fewer losses

Customer Comment

“Only with the CJC® Thruster Filter could the gear oil finally be dried satisfactorily.
Without CJC®, we would have had to change the 1,500 litres of gear oil soon. By avoiding the oil change, we were able to save 4,890 EUR (3.26 EUR/litre) – a significant contribution not only in terms of budget but also in terms of resource protection.
The excellent results convinced us, so we purchased two further CJC® Systems for our tugs, “Bugsier 5” and “Bugsier 6”.

Technical Superintendent “BUGSIER-4”