Water in a lubrication system is one of the most destructive contamination scenarios on board - and one of the hardest to catch without continuous monitoring. At concentrations as low as 0.05%, water begins to reduce oil film strength and promote corrosive attack on bearing surfaces. At 0.1% and above, emulsification sets in, microbial growth accelerates, and the oil's ability to protect components deteriorates rapidly. None of this is visible to the naked eye, and none of it shows up in a routine manual inspection.
The source can be a cooling water leak, a heat exchanger seal failure, condensation in a system that runs intermittently, or water ingress through a compromised shaft seal. Whatever the cause, the damage accumulates quietly - until it expresses itself as a bearing failure, a seized component, or an engine that requires significant unplanned repair.
Continuous in-line water monitoring is the only reliable defence. By measuring moisture content in real time and alarming when levels exceed safe thresholds, the EASZ-2 gives your crew the opportunity to identify the source and respond before contamination reaches damaging concentrations.
