Yes - I get it. I see the mantra here; run a fixed exposure; test. Then extend a bit and test again. Repeat and extend a bit further, right? In some manner I understand. The plan is to safely extend a little bit at a time.
I'm not going to engage it on the matter of dumping oil too early; that's obvious, and you acknowledged it. I think I'm correct in saying that this wasn't your choice; just your actions; is that right? You (dhellman12) have posted a LOT of UOAs over the last two years, and I'd think I see the pattern developing. I'm not saying this to pick on you. I also realize a lot of these are not your personal equipment, too. Seriously, I'm not saying this to pick on you; rather I'm trying to understand the greater picture here. What is your function when you're engaged in these UOAs? Do you do the maintenance on a large farm/ranch? You have access to a lot of equipment, and that is my presumption. I'm not saying this to taunt or tease; it would just help me understand. Are you being forced into OCIs, being instructed to do so against common sense? Perhaps you could fill us in on your function in these UOAs and then we'd have more ability to understand. I, as much as anyone else (maybe moreso), become aggitated when I see such waste. I need to keep in mind that it may not be by your choice. But it would be helpful if you'd explain a bit more up front.
The UOA itself above is obviously good to go; after 16 hours, no one would expect otherwise. Good oil down the drain followed by a UOA that proved it to be nothing more than what anyone would have expected; ultra low wear from ultra low exposure. Wasted oil followed by a wasted UOA. That oil was so clean it bordered on a VOA.
While not important to this UOA, I'm going to relate something that might show how I can "put my money where my mouth is".
This year, we had a DRY year. So, the hours on my Kubota and my Scag and my Dmax are all very low. (Very little mowing and the hay harvesting was practically non-existent). I'm not going to OCI any of them, and instead run all the way into fall next year. I run dino Rotella 10w-30 in all of them. I don't need a UOA to tell me it's the right thing to do; I just use my common sense and the data I've seen elsewhere to make a reasonable decision. I did UOA my Dmax this fall, but not to prove it to myself; I did it to prove it to OTHER people that the practice is sound. So perhaps that is your path? You did this to purposely show it's a waste to not extend in this circumstance?
