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Oil Analysis, anyone tried this?


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Here is a copy of my Oil analysis for the last oil change on my 99 Monsoon II. My friend, a pilot/aircraft mechanic, talked me into sending in the sample. The narrative tells me not to worry too much, but it gives more information than I understand. Sometimes more information is not a good thing. Any ideas?

Scan120990001.jpg

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Boz, in the elements part, the first six items are wear metals from the engine. The rest are additives in the oil, and those number will vary by brand. The properties show the condition of the base oil, and where they should be for a 40 weight oil. Low viscosity and low flashpoint are evidence of gas dilution in the oil, which could be caused by not completely warming the engine up with each use to bring the oil up to operating temperature. This prevent the gas from cooking out of the oil. Our 160* thermostat could help contribute to that too. Any more questions, just ask. Blackstone's web site also has info on analysis.

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I got an analysis from Blackstone last fall. My main reason for doing it was finding out if it was safe to run Amsoil for extended drain intervals in the boat. Some people say not to, because of moisture reasons in a boat, but I had zero moisture in the oil. I also had a very high TBN number after 85 hours, so I think I'm safe out to at least 100 hours on Amsoil. (I think this Amsoil runs at 12 TBN new).

The 2 "bad" things they found were silicon (thought it might have been sealing compound- this is a 2010 motor, so there might still be some inside somewhere breaking off). The other thing was high fuel percentage in the oil, but that's because this boat was "warmed up" on a fake-a-lake inside our warehouse, then winterized..... So, it never came up to full operating temperature to boil the fuel out of the oil. So, I'm not really concerned about the fuel.

I was also wondering if the silicon may have been from the oil drain tube?? Running the oil out through a long rubber drain tube might have picked something up?? I'm not sure....

VTXOil.jpg

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I got an analysis from Blackstone last fall. My main reason for doing it was finding out if it was safe to run Amsoil for extended drain intervals in the boat. Some people say not to, because of moisture reasons in a boat, but I had zero moisture in the oil. I also had a very high TBN number after 85 hours, so I think I'm safe out to at least 100 hours on Amsoil. (I think this Amsoil runs at 12 TBN new).

The 2 "bad" things they found were silicon (thought it might have been sealing compound- this is a 2010 motor, so there might still be some inside somewhere breaking off). The other thing was high fuel percentage in the oil, but that's because this boat was "warmed up" on a fake-a-lake inside our warehouse, then winterized..... So, it never came up to full operating temperature to boil the fuel out of the oil. So, I'm not really concerned about the fuel.

I was also wondering if the silicon may have been from the oil drain tube?? Running the oil out through a long rubber drain tube might have picked something up?? I'm not sure....

i assume your engine is still under warranty, so i would follow indmar guidelines that state synthetic oil is acceptable for use in an engine supplied with conventional oil, but only after the 100 hour mark (which you are at), but it goes on to say "the use of synthetic oil does not change the requirement of 50 hour (25 hour in severe conditions) oil change intervals". See page 6-7 of your 2010 indmar manual.

Edited by Cervelo
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Silicon is also in dirt, sand, and dust, which may be getting past your air filter. Do you operate near a windy, sandy beach a lot? With a base number of 6.5, your oil was not even 1/2 way spent.

Edited by electricjohn
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Boz, in the elements part, the first six items are wear metals from the engine. The rest are additives in the oil, and those number will vary by brand. The properties show the condition of the base oil, and where they should be for a 40 weight oil. Low viscosity and low flashpoint are evidence of gas dilution in the oil, which could be caused by not completely warming the engine up with each use to bring the oil up to operating temperature. This prevent the gas from cooking out of the oil. Our 160* thermostat could help contribute to that too. Any more questions, just ask. Blackstone's web site also has info on analysis.

So nothing big to worry about? Not that I would or could do anything about it.

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i assume your engine is still under warranty, so i would follow indmar guidelines that state synthetic oil is acceptable for use in an engine supplied with conventional oil, but only after the 100 hour mark (which you are at), but it goes on to say "the use of synthetic oil does not change the requirement of 50 hour (25 hour in severe conditions) oil change intervals". See page 6-7 of your 2010 indmar manual.

I'm not all that worried about it. Thanks.

Silicon is also in dirt, sand, and dust, which may be getting past your air filter. Do you operate near a windy, sandy beach a lot? With a base number of 6.5, your oil was not even 1/2 way spent.

No. My boat never sees dust!!! LOL. If you knew me, you'd know I was very anal.... If it was dusty, my boat would stay in the garage!!

Yeah- Lots of life left in that oil..... My main concern was moisture, but there was 0 moisture.... I'm moving onto a lake this year, and the boat will be on a lift, so I'll probably run it the recommended 50 hours then change it, to see if the boat being on a lift changes how much moisture is in the oil.

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