About Brucemarine particle counting

On-Site Particle Counting & Oil Condition Monitoring

Know What's Happening Inside Your Oil System

Don't wait for a hydraulic system to fail before investigating the oil.

Contamination is one of the biggest threats to hydraulic and lubrication systems. Particles that are too small to see can cause wear, damage precision components and progressively reduce system reliability.

Bruce Marine brings on-site fluid condition monitoring directly to your equipment.

Using our Filtertechnik ParticlePal, we can analyse oil directly from a tank or from a live hydraulic system, providing rapid, on-site cleanliness results with a detailed printed report.

From diesel fuel to hydraulic oil and heavy gearbox oil — we can test a wide range of fluids.

Test It Where It Lives

One of the biggest advantages of our service is that we can come to the equipment.

Tank Sampling

We can take samples directly from:

Hydraulic reservoirs

Gearboxes

Lubrication systems

Diesel fuel tanks

Storage tanks

Other compatible fluid systems

Live System Sampling

Where suitable connection points are available, we can take samples directly from pressurised hydraulic systems up to 200 bar.

That means you can assess the condition of the fluid while the system is operating, rather than relying solely on a bottle sample taken elsewhere.

Filtertechnik confirms the ParticlePal range is designed for live-system sampling with the appropriate pressure-reduction equipment. �

Filter Technik

What Are We Looking For?

The ParticlePal measures particulate contamination and reports cleanliness using recognised cleanliness standards including ISO 4406. The equipment can also provide additional particle-size information depending on the instrument configuration. �

Filter Technik +1

This can help identify changes in fluid cleanliness before they become equipment failures.

We can identify and monitor contamination associated with:

Dirt

Wear particles

Rust

Metallic debris

Fibres

Other particulate contamination

With the advanced digital-imaging versions of the ParticlePal, particle shape can also help differentiate categories such as fatigue wear, sliding wear, cutting wear and fibres. �

Filter Technik

ISO 4406 — Turning Contamination Into a Number

ISO 4406 provides a standardised way of reporting fluid cleanliness.

Rather than simply saying:

“The oil looks dirty.”

we can provide an objective cleanliness code.

For example:

19 / 17 / 14

represents the measured particle-count ranges at the standard ≥4 µm(c), ≥6 µm(c) and ≥14 µm(c) size thresholds.

This allows the result to be compared against the cleanliness target appropriate to the particular hydraulic or lubrication system.

The important point is not simply getting a number.

It's understanding whether that number is appropriate for your equipment and what action, if any, should follow.

Full On-Site Results

Our ParticlePal system allows results to be generated on site, providing customers with immediate information rather than waiting days for a laboratory report.

Depending on the equipment configuration, ParticlePal systems can provide ISO, NAS and SAE cleanliness reporting, with data export available on supported models. �

Filter Technik +1

Bruce Marine provides a full printout of your results.

That means you leave the job with documented evidence of the condition of your fluid at the time of testing.

Why Test Hydraulic Oil?

Hydraulic systems rely on extremely precise components.

Contamination can contribute to wear and damage involving:

Pumps

Valves

Servo valves

Proportional valves

Cylinders

Actuators

Motors

Filtration systems

A hydraulic system can continue operating while contamination is progressively causing damage.

By the time a component fails, the contamination problem may have been present for a long time.

Particle counting helps you identify the problem earlier.

Don't Just Test — Trend It

A single sample tells you what your fluid looks like today.

Repeated testing tells you what is happening over time.

Bruce Marine can help establish a condition-monitoring programme where appropriate, allowing you to compare results and identify changes in cleanliness.

For example:

Initial sample

↓

Maintenance / filtration

↓

Re-test

↓

Record result

↓

Monitor over time

This can help determine whether your contamination-control measures are actually working.

Particle Counting & Hydraulic Cleaning

This is where our services really start to work together.

Bruce Marine also operates a self-contained hydraulic cleaning unit capable of cleaning service lines and onboard hydraulic tanks.

We can therefore:

1. Test

Establish the existing cleanliness level.

2. Clean

Circulate and filter the hydraulic system to remove contamination.

3. Pulse

Use our pressure-pulsing system to help address varnish and accumulated contamination where appropriate.

4. Test Again

Take further samples during or after cleaning.

5. Verify

Use the results to establish whether the required cleanliness target has been achieved.

We're not simply cleaning the system and saying it's clean.

We can test it.

That is a much stronger proposition.

Oil Condition Monitoring

Particle counting is only part of the picture.

Depending on the equipment and testing configuration, fluid condition monitoring can provide additional information about the state of the oil.

The ParticlePal range includes configurations capable of monitoring factors such as particulate contamination, water content, viscosity and oil condition. �

Filter Technik +1

This can help support decisions around:

Is the oil contaminated?

Is the system becoming dirtier?

Has cleaning worked?

Is there evidence of abnormal wear?

Does the oil require further investigation?

Should the oil be changed now — or can its condition continue to be monitored?

What Fluids Can We Test?

Our equipment is versatile and suitable for a broad range of compatible fluids.

Diesel Fuel

Assess particulate contamination within stored or operational fuel systems.

Hydraulic Oil

Monitor cleanliness within hydraulic systems and reservoirs.

Gearbox Oil

Assess contamination in heavier lubrication oils.

Lubrication Oils

Monitor the cleanliness and condition of compatible lubrication systems.

The ParticlePal Pro range is specified for synthetic, organic and mineral oils as well as diesel fuel, with certain configurations supporting high-viscosity fluids. �

Filter Technik +1

When Should You Consider Particle Counting?

Particle counting can be particularly useful:

After hydraulic component failure

Following hydraulic repairs

After replacing or flushing a system

Before commissioning equipment

During preventative maintenance

When filters are repeatedly blocking

When hydraulic components are failing prematurely

Following suspected contamination

After tank cleaning

When purchasing used machinery

During troubleshooting

As part of a planned condition-monitoring programme

Or simply when you want to know what's happening inside the system.

A Practical Alternative to Guesswork

Traditional maintenance often works on:

“Change the oil because it's due.”

Condition monitoring gives you another option:

“Let's test the oil and see what it is actually telling us.”

That information can help engineers make better maintenance decisions and potentially identify problems before they become expensive failures.

Why Bruce Marine?

On-Site

We bring the testing equipment to your vessel, machinery or facility.

Live-System Capability

Where appropriate, we can test hydraulic systems under pressure up to 200 bar.

Immediate Results

Results can be produced on site rather than waiting for a laboratory turnaround.

Printed Report

You receive documented test results for your maintenance records.

Marine Engineering Experience

We understand the equipment behind the oil sample.

More Than Testing

If contamination is identified, Bruce Marine can also offer hydraulic cleaning, filtration and other engineering support.

From Testing to a Complete Maintenance Package

Particle counting doesn't have to be a one-off service.

We can build it into a wider maintenance programme:

Initial condition assessment

↓

Particle count

↓

Hydraulic cleaning

↓

Live monitoring

↓

Post-cleaning verification

↓

Scheduled re-testing

↓

Condition trend monitoring

This provides a much more complete picture of the health of your hydraulic or lubrication system.

Find Out What's Inside Your Oil

You can't always see contamination.

You can measure it.

Bruce Marine brings professional fluid condition monitoring directly to your equipment, helping you understand the condition of your oil, identify contamination and make informed maintenance decisions.

Book an On-Site Particle Count

Tank sample or live hydraulic system.

Up to 200 bar.

On-site results.

Full printed report.

Bruce Marine

Particle Counting • Oil Condition Monitoring • Hydraulic Cleaning • Fuel Polishing • Marine Engineering

One thing I'd make very prominent on the actual page

I'd put a big visual callout immediately underneath the hero:

ON-SITE PARTICLE COUNTING

Tank sampling or live hydraulic systems

Up to 200 bar

ISO 4406 • NAS • SAE

Results printed on site