Motor Oil Tester

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Looks very interesting, but I don't see how it can tell what the contaminates are in the oil... I'll keep my eye on it though.
 
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M1 does not have high Fe to begin with. I like the idea of this device, would sure save money for UOA's. Most of the general public is so "ingrained" to believe that oil changes are to be done at a certain magic time or mileage or just really don't care that I don't see the popularity right now.

OTOH: WHEN oil becomes more and more expensive, this device may become popular, could be a good investment
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Ahh put me down for one, even if it saves me 1 oil change it already paid for itself at 30 dollars..
 
The guys mentioned acid as being the biggest issue for motor oil. Is that the only thing this thing tests for? A test between this tester, and a full blown uoa from different labs, to see if they have the same results would be interesting.,, t
 
You can use a q-tip to absorb the oil or a paper towl etc, then you clean the sensor with alcohol and let it dry.

It has been discussed in the past, you can search lubricheck and oilyzer which is the old name for the product. They got hammered under the oilyzer name, thus they renamed the product. The primary problems under the oilyzer name was supply from the manufacturing facility and skeptics hammering the product on forums even though the technology is used in industrial applications.

SKF TMEH-1 Oilcheck
 
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We have packed this technology into a convenient, affordable package. The Lubricheck will soon be the only consumer oil tester on the market. It matches the results of commercial oil testers selling for over $1,000.


I doubt this claim has any merit.

It appears to basically check pH and conductivity.

Analytical instruments use a spetrophotometric system whcih cannot be duplicated using just pH and conductivity.
 
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Quote:
We have packed this technology into a convenient, affordable package. The Lubricheck will soon be the only consumer oil tester on the market. It matches the results of commercial oil testers selling for over $1,000.


I doubt this claim has any merit.

It appears to basically check pH and conductivity.

Analytical instruments use a spetrophotometric system whcih cannot be duplicated using just pH and conductivity.


It detects changes in dielectric conductivity which are caused by soot/solids, wear metals and changes in TBN/TAN. The commercial oil tests they are refering to is the SKF oilcheck I linked above. The lubricheck uses preset values where as the SKF model is calibrated to a unused sample before testing. The SKF model retails for over $1200 at current pricing.

I currently own 1 of each.

They are trying to make a unit with similar capability of the SKF unit but at a much lower price point and easy for the average consumer to use and interpret.
 
OK Tater, thanks I see what the reference was pointing to.


From the Website Jacek referenced to in his own experience:

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Why repeat tests are necessary? Well, I noticed that not every test result makes sense. Sometimes fresh oil would measure high or used oil would measure #1. I think problem is with cleanness of the sensor during the calibration and test phases.


That will be one of it's challenges; repeatability.

I suspect it contains a programmed PIC with various resistivity and dielectric constants programmed in and some type of comparison algorithm.

Well, I wish them luck. It might be ok as a first order checking tool, but I would not call it an oil analyzer in the accepted, industrial sense.
 
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Originally Posted By: TaterandNoodles
It detects changes in dielectric conductivity which are caused by soot/solids, wear metals and changes in TBN/TAN.

The same concept is utilized by oil life monitors on modern day BMW engines.
 
I actually was a kickstart backer for this oil tester and I will report on its validity as soon as I get mine. I also got 3 more for friends too.
 
which doesn't match the benefits of UOA:

my wife's 325i was sampled at 20K and 15K on the last 2 oil changes - in both cases the dealer told us to wait for the sensor to tell us to change the Oil. (which was showing up to 9 months left on the oil)

my UOA results showed elevated wear metals like alluminum and copper, and more importantly the viscosity was elevated indicating that the oil had begun to oxidize.

if making this kind of analysis was that easy there would be an app for that!
 
I was a backer too, still waiting on mine in the mail, I will report back on how it works when I get it...
 
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