Slick Talk (Blackstone Labs) Podcast episode 102 10/23/2023

[cptbarkey]

This might be worth a listen to forum members. I took away a few things:
1) Blackstone labs has no intention of improving its flashpoint or fuel dilution tests. The same tests since 1985 are OK.
2) Blackstone labs continues to grow.
3) Delays in UOA results are due to growth. My last one about 3-4 months ago took nearly a month.
4) Interesting comments about universal averages, they selectively remove results out of deviation for appropriate reasons.

I have to say, hearing comments from the owner was interesting. I have learned a bunch from the podcast series and appreciate their open knowledge. I cannot say that I will tolerate that long of a UOA result though. I also am not really glad to hear about their stance on fuel dilution. It seems to be ignoring modern engine development and concerns surrounding their design and they are loudly saying they will not invest in better equipment or manpower to do so. That to me reflects poorly on top leadership. Happy listening.

 

[BISCUT]

Thanks for sharing. I decided a while ago I would continue with Blackstone for continuity with the 17 Outback and 15 F150 as that is the only UOA provider I've used. Likey my next vehicle will be DI and I'm turned off by the effect on the low-end consumer (me!).

 

[buster]

They don't offer oxidation and I think that's crucial to have.

 

[himemsys]

I listened to it too and feel much the way you do. The turnaround time alone has caused me to permanently switch to Oil Analyzers. I get results within 5 days of shipping the sample. 3+ weeks is intolerable.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I listened to it too and feel much the way you do. The turnaround time alone has caused me to permanently switch to Oil Analyzers. I get results within 5 days of shipping the sample. 3+ weeks is intolerable.

Not defending Blackstone's delays due to growth, I think it's as much the "cache" of incoming samples as it is lack of capability expansion. If you drop your sample off in the drop box at their facility over the weekend, you get the report by that Monday afternoon. It appears that they prioritize local samples over what comes in the mail, but that's just a guess.

 

[DuckRyder]

I'll watch this later, but agree, my last one took over a month - there's no excuse for that, not for what they change. You want to have the longest turn around you better have the cheapest price. Or there better be no other options,

 

[himemsys]

Not defending Blackstone's delays due to growth, I think it's as much the "cache" of incoming samples as it is lack of capability expansion. If you drop your sample off in the drop box at their facility over the weekend, you get the report by that Monday afternoon. It appears that they prioritize local samples over what comes in the mail, but that's just a guess.

Another thing they mentioned in that podcast episode is that there is a bottleneck after the sample has been tested, during the report writing process. Apparently report writing takes a huge chunk of the total turnaround time. They mentioned that often if there is a questionable result, the report writer will have the sample retested, which can delay results another day or more. That's not a bad thing!

An observation that I have made is that my BS reports are always emailed to me between 4:30 and 5:00pm. I'm in the same time zone as they are. Oil Analyzers results (I'm also in the same time zone as their Indiana lab) are often emailed to me later in the evening (7pm) or early in the morning (3-5am). This leads me to believe that Oil Analyzers works multiple shifts while BS only works one 8am-5pm shift. If that is true, then probably running multiple shifts would drastically descrease their turnaround time if they chose to go that route.

 

[himemsys]

The latest sample I sent Oil Analyzers took less than 5 days. UPS picked up my sample from work on Monday afternoon. The sample was delivered to OA Indiana lab on Wednesday morning. I got my results this morning (Friday) at 2:48am! And I didn't even check the RUSH box on my sample submission.

 

[72C10]

The 2 I had done by Blackstone were done in less than a month. About 3 weeks on average from shipping date. In my case, I haven't needed results to be rush, so I don't have any complaints.

 

[dezlpwr]

The 2 I had done by Blackstone were done in less than a month. About 3 weeks on average from shipping date. In my case, I haven't needed results to be rush, so I don't have any complaints.

How long ago was that? Seems like in the last 6 months, the turnaround time has exponentially increased.