Lubricheck engine oil tester
 

Original post for the idea:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...hlight=diy+oil

I have found this lubricheck engine oil tester seems to work pretty good as far as I can tell.

Here is a product for anyone with an internal combustion engines who changes their own oil and likes using less oil and wearing out less engines.

Changing oil is necessary, it costs money, takes time, uses oil and produces hazardous waste so those factors need to be balanced.

If you change the oil too often then the engine will last until something in the engine just breaks or outside corrosion gets it. If you don't change the oil often enough then acid, dirt fuel build up, additives that protect the metals inside the engine deplete and the engine goes down hill rapidly.

So do what I did and get a lubricheck. I got mine for $50 shipped to my door and I am pretty sure it has already paid for its self, saving 1 oil change the day I got it.
It has a range of LED indicators ranging from 1 to 10. 1 being the best, 7 meaning change soon and anything 8 through 10 being "change now".
The way it works according to some people is pure magic. Others say it works off PH and conductivity.
For the first phase of testing the lubricheck is going straight to war.
Now I am trying it out in Afghanistan on all kinds of different engines. Mostly diesel engines both turbo and non turbo air and liquid cooled. Also gasoline engine air and liquid cooled.
All engines burning the dirtiest burning fuel I have ever seen.
Testing at least a few oil samples every day.

So far I am finding:
It does not work on ester based additiveless gas turbine engine oils.
That's alright because I didn't expect it to.

Little air cooled gasoline engine that hold a little oil and run wide open all the time such as found on pressure washers run through their oil the fastest.
Seems almost as if anything with an oil filter keeps its oil good for a very reasonable amount of time.

Diesel engine that have had their oil changed with in the last month ran almost daliy show a 1 out of 10. The lightly used engines are showing a 1 out of 10 after 6 months of mild use.
The pressure washer show any where from an 8 to 10 out of 10 after less than 6 months of oil change use.
So if something is showing a 1 out of 10 after 6 months its oil is not getting changed, that has saved me a lot of time at work. Since I don't have any frame of reference for what a 5 or 6 really means I am just going a head and changing that oil since it wont get a chance to be changed for another 6 months.

I did not expect air cooled gas engines to ruin their oil so fast and I did not expect the diesels oil to last so well.

The next phase of testing is going to cost some money.
I think I should take oil samples at different indicator reference points and send them to blackstone oil analysis labs to see how good or bad they truly are.
I am thinking I should send off some oil samples in the good range such as 3s and 4s. Then some questionable ones in the 6, 7 and 8 range and really see how they are. Only problem is, last time I checked the oil analysis was $20 in 2008. Looks like they are $28 each now.
I am most curious about 7 and higher. For $30 each I think I will focus there.

To make the tests consistent but varied I am going to use the same oil in all of my different test subjects back home.

Will post a pic later.

I have (had) 3 of these.
I thought it would make great gifts for my sons.
I tested all 3 on 3 different cars ... yup you guessed it ... all of them gave different results on the same cars.
So my opinion is thumbs down, waste of money and time.

I have read about inconsistent tests with the earlier generation of testers that's why I started out testing samples 3 or 4 times. But after always getting the same number almost all of the time I only test once or twice now.

I found the same, also, I've been able to show a steady progression testing oil monthly, slowly losing quality, I've never had a sample 'improve' with age.

All that remains is to cross check those numbers with a lab test.

I ran a liquid cooled diesel that was due an oil change for about an hour and a half then tested it. It showed a 4 out of 10. Couldn't get to it for an oil change for 5 days so I figured that I would test it again since I knew it hadn't been ran in 5 days to see what sitting does to the oil.
It tested as a 1 out of 10.
The individual lubricheck unit it's self is consistent. The prime mover's oil is not as consistent as we would like to think.

Remember the device and oil to be tested should be at the same temperature. I've always used mine on cold oil.

I am thinking it might be better to use on an engine that has been ran with in at last the last few hours.

Oil lasts pretty good in liquid cooled diesel engines with an oil filter. Oil is still showing condition 1 after as much as 400 hours.
On air cooled no oil filter gasoline engines the oil starts to go bad after they burn several tanks of gas.
The most unexpected thing was how long the oil in liquid cooled oil filtered systems and how fast the oil goes bad in air cooled splash oiled gas engines

Have you tried testing, change filter, run it a few miles and testing again? Curious what the outcome would be.

I don't think that putting a new filter on buy its self will improve the oil as much as the oil that gets added to replace what was in the filter.