Flushing system and method for flushing contaminated lubricant from gear-driven rotary equipment

Abstract

A method for washing contaminated lubricant from gear teeth of an industrial gear set, while leaving a boundary layer of lubricant on the gear teeth, comprising: generating images of the contaminated lubricant with at least one image generator of an image generation system to provide images; either a user viewing the images and determining that an upper contamination threshold has been reached or a computer of the image generation system analyzing the images and determining that an upper contamination threshold has been reached; under control of the user or computer, activating a pressure controlled washer or controlled delivery system, including nozzles; and spraying a wash lubricant into the contaminated lubricant on the gear teeth between the lubricant delivery times while the industrial gear set is operating under normal operating conditions, thereby washing contaminated lubricant from the gear teeth while leaving a boundary layer of lubricant on the gear teeth.