Caterpillar® has responded to the demands for faster, more powerful, easier-to-operate
equipment. In doing so, they have designed fluid systems with higher pressures and extremely
close metal-to-metal clearances - systems susceptible to even the smallest particles, much
smaller than the human eye can see.
Contamination is measured by counting particles and reported by comparing those results to
an International Standards Organization (ISO) code. A 21/17 rating means a one milliliter
sample contains 221, or about two-million, particles five microns and
larger, and 217, or 130,000, particles 15 microns and larger. A 55-gallon
barrel with a 21/17 rating would have a half-teaspoon of fine dust. That is not clean enough
for today's machines. A hydraulic pump operating at 32 gallons per minute, eight hours a day,
200 days a year, would run 625 pounds of dirt through the system in a year. By improving
cleanliness to ISO 18/15, you'd cut dirt to 80 pounds per year, and ISO 16/13 cuts it to
20 pounds a year.
This contamination accelerates component wear, robs equipment of efficiency (up to 20%
before an operator detects a problem), and can eventually lead to catastrophic damage.
Fabick CAT is committed to controlling Clean Facilities, Clean Components, Clean Fluids
and Clean Processes, and making sure that our customers know the importance of contamination
control and everything they can do to keep Cat machines running at peak efficiency.
