"Faire dinkum" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
It's been a while since I checked the condition of the engine oil on my
Westerbeke 13... last time was at purchase.. about 18 mos. ago.

An old oil sample was sent off for analysis as a condition of the
purchase, and nothing out of ordinary was found, but I changed the oil
anyway.

I'm thinking that it's that time again, and I was going to send away to
have a sample tested when I ran across this article. It's a heck of lot
less expensive to test it this way vs. the $45 the last time for a
one-time test.

Has anyone done this? It seems to be fairly new.

http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Engi...st-210344.html

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"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

The oil analysis that we used to do looks at a lot more than the fluid or
chemical contaminants that the kit you reference does.

Typically, a report would consider various metal traces found in the oil
and suggest possible sources.

The full lab analysis gave great comfort.

In my opinion (and for my engine and conditions, your mileage may vary) 18
months is too long to leave oil in an engine. Oil is relatively cheap and
easy to change compared to pistons, valve lifters, etc. I have elected to
change ours twice a season. Probably overkill but provides a lot of peace
of mind.



I like Larry's suggestion of every six months. That's not a big deal. In the
spring and then at the end of the sailing season would be about right.

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"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com