How to analyse oil?

TwoHooter

TwoHooter

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I am looking at a possible boat purchase on Tuesday. The boat has two engines with shaft drive gearboxes, and a generator. I want the oils analysed (so that's 5 tests) and I'd appreciate feedback on which labs people have used. The boat is in the UK. I would need to use a lab which can be relied upon to send the test kits to Southampton by Tuesday lunchtime at the latest. I noticed in his current thread that Whitelighter used The Oil Lab - anyone else used them?

Grateful for any advice from people who have actually done this.
 
Can't remember who we used last (think it might have been the Oil Lab) but they tend to turn things round fairly quickly. Only did the main engines and not gearboxes or genny.....focussed on the very expensive bits :)
 
Greg2 said:
Can't remember who we used last (think it might have been the Oil Lab) but they tend to turn things round fairly quickly. Only did the main engines and not gearboxes or genny.....focussed on the very expensive bits :)
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My tests shows the gearboxes were highly worn and may well need replacing or at least serious work. £3-4k each I would include those as expensive bits. £5-7k on a genny, that goes on the expensive bits list too
 
Whitelighter said:
My tests shows the gearboxes were highly worn and may well need replacing or at least serious work. £3-4k each I would include those as expensive bits. £5-7k on a genny, that goes on the expensive bits list too
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Wouldn't disagree, although there is a big difference between £20k+ and £3-7k. We just didn't go that way at the time :)
 
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TwoHooter said:
I am looking at a possible boat purchase on Tuesday. The boat has two engines with shaft drive gearboxes, and a generator. I want the oils analysed (so that's 5 tests) and I'd appreciate feedback on which labs people have used. The boat is in the UK. I would need to use a lab which can be relied upon to send the test kits to Southampton by Tuesday lunchtime at the latest. I noticed in his current thread that Whitelighter used The Oil Lab - anyone else used them?

Grateful for any advice from people who have actually done this.
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I don't think you will get any analysis complete by Tuesday. Ours took just over a week.
 
aquapower said:
Have used a lot in the past, very good service and if you call and ask nicely they will push through quickly, have had results same day they received samples before.
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Great, thanks for the advice. I've been thinking about it some more; speed isn't the biggest issue because so far as I know there are no other potential buyers competing for this boat at the moment. What I need is advice about taking the samples (never done this before, didn't bother on my one-and-only previous boat purchase), and a clear report, with advice about what I need to focus on, from an analyst who the broker (and the seller) will accept as being reputable.
 
You can buy the test kit from people like RK Marine. When you have the sample, you send the bottle(s) off to the lab, and the result come back in due course. Finnings are very good, and specialise on Cat engines.
 
rafiki_ said:
You can buy the test kit from people like RK Marine. When you have the sample, you send the bottle(s) off to the lab, and the result come back in due course. Finnings are very good, and specialise on Cat engines.
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Thanks - searched the RK site (lots of different search terms) - nothing listed. Will give them a call tomorrow morning.
 
TwoHooter said:
Great, thanks for the advice. I've been thinking about it some more; speed isn't the biggest issue because so far as I know there are no other potential buyers competing for this boat at the moment. What I need is advice about taking the samples (never done this before, didn't bother on my one-and-only previous boat purchase), and a clear report, with advice about what I need to focus on, from an analyst who the broker (and the seller) will accept as being reputable.
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I would not worry about whether the broker and seller accept your agent's credentials, you are the buyer after all. Ultimately you may make an offer based upon survey, etc. How you conduct the survey process is entirely up to you, and I would make sure the sale contract places no obligation on you to have to share the survey report if you wish to reject. If there is not a queue of potential buyers then a sensible vendor would accept such clauses being written into the contract. If there is a queue then find another boat.

I have been thinking about this following an issue with a boat I am interested in where the seller has misrepresented the boat regarding the fuel tanks (amongst other things). His view was that it would be up to my surveyor to determine the tanks status to his satisfaction, and then he would consider the price consequent to this.

My view is simple, I may make an offer based upon what I know about the boat, and this would be subject to survey which may reveal things I don't know. The latter may affect the agreed price for which the vendor would have to either accept a price adjustment or cancel the sale.

Mind you observing Whitelighter's recent plight I would be loathe to pay anything out until the survey process is complete. In the case of the boat I am interested in it is clear I cannot trust the vendor as he has misrepresented the boat. He has also done nothing to correct the misleading statements in his boat's advert. If he lies about his vessel, why should I trust him with a deposit (this is a private sale). Having said this he has agreed to survey before offer, the only issue with this approach of course is he is under no obligation to accept my price after the survey is concluded, should I wish to make an offer. I have outlined the approximate price I would offer, and he has currently made it clear that is below his pain threshold, so presently my search continues, and his boat remains for sale, the price slowly descending.

Apologies for the thread drift.
 
superheat6k said:
Mind you observing Whitelighter's recent plight I would be loathe to pay anything out until the survey process is complete. In the case of the boat I am interested in it is clear I cannot trust the vendor as he has misrepresented the boat. He has also done nothing to correct the misleading statements in his boat's advert. If he lies about his vessel, why should I trust him with a deposit (this is a private sale). Having said this he has agreed to survey before offer, the only issue with this approach of course is he is under no obligation to accept my price after the survey is concluded, should I wish to make an offer. I have outlined the approximate price I would offer, and he has currently made it clear that is below his pain threshold, so presently my search continues, and his boat remains for sale, the price slowly descending.
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I am luckier than you and Whitelighter because I am dealing with a trustworthy broker who has an undoubted reputation built up over many years. Believe me, I have researched the firm thoroughly and I have spoken to 4 owners who have dealt with them. Call me naive if you like, but I do trust them. I have made no offer and signed no contract. If I can't agree the price after the survey then I've lost the cost of the survey but it's my personal choice to do the survey first and then make my offer. It seems to me there is less risk of unpleasantness if I do it that way round - it avoids having to go back and say, "Well I know I offered £x but I've now discovered these things that are wrong with the boat so I want a reduction of £y in the price." I don't want any unpleasantness. If I can't agree the price of this boat I'll wait until another one comes along. The cost of the survey is peanuts compared to the cost of the boat. When another of these boats comes along it will probably be handled by the same broker who specialises in this type.

This approach requires me to be very thorough right from the beginning which is why I want to have all 5 oils tested.
 
Dougal Tolan said:
Just to get the samples and have the lab post the mailing kit to your house...
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Oh, right, got it now :o

Best to put the samples straight into proper containers labelled with the boat name and the date, which the broker can see, and ask the lab to quote exactly what's on the label in their report so everyone knows the samples haven't got all mixed up or something.
 
When I was at Berthon, I used to have the oil sampled and analysed with the annual maintenance. I was always impressed by the reports (maybe just a case of being blinded by lots of numbers and charts). I wish I could remember who they used for testing. I presume they were local to the Solent area. I did have a look through my old papers but appear to have handed the oil tests overs with the rest of the maintenance paperwork when I sold that boat.

Maybe a call to Berthon would get a helpful answer?
 
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