Cummins QSB5.9 oil sample testing labs

JCastilla

Member
Jul 20, 2021
37
Seabrook, Texas
Boat Info
2012 Sea Ray 450 Sundancer, RM Quantum2 Doppler Radome, twin Axiom 12+ MFD's
Engines
Twin Cummins QSB5.9 380 HP w/Zeus pod drives
I want to hear back on any recommendations on the best labs to send in oil samples to.
Thanks!
 
I just sent 10 samples to Blackstone Laboratories, Waiting for the results any day.
I like the way they do the trends and the comment section.
 
I just sent 10 samples to Blackstone Laboratories, Waiting for the results any day.
I like the way they do the trends and the comment section.
Same. Will be sending samples to Blackstone after I change the oil in my QSC 8.3, transmission, and generator. Likely next weekend.
 
I liked black stone for my old boat and also use them for my truck. CAT offers it and it’s a little cheaper than blackstone, does Cummins have a similar service?

The most important thing is probably to just pick one and stay with them so the notes carry forward year over year
 
I’ve been using Blackstone and have been very pleased with their service and personal explanation regarding the results. They send the test kits out with a paid UPS package to return the samples. I also bought their oil extractor for $35 as it makes getting a sample very easy.
 
I’ve used CAT SOS Service on all my boats. Just went up to $16 from $13 at my CAT Dealer. CAT checks more parameters than Blackstone
Blackstone seems to have a pretty large data set of normal results for Cummins engines, perhaps since Cummins doesn’t have their own service. They provide comments on oil results based on those data sets.

Would the CAT service be able to do something similar? I’d expect CAT to be testing oil mostly from CAT engines and not too many other brands. Maybe that’s a bad assumption?
 
Blackstone seems to have a pretty large data set of normal results for Cummins engines, perhaps since Cummins doesn’t have their own service. They provide comments on oil results based on those data sets.

Would the CAT service be able to do something similar? I’d expect CAT to be testing oil mostly from CAT engines and not too many other brands. Maybe that’s a bad assumption?
The surveyor on the boat I just bought used Cat for the oil samples, They use a red, Yellow or green color square and the numbers on the test page with very little comments.
On the boat I tested all the oils, The hydraulic oil gets change every 5 years so the results came back as yellow with high PPM and the comments said change oil and retest the oil in 10 hours.
So I called cat up to talk to someone and they just said the PPM is high and can be anything, So I ask them with the oil 5 years old and 280 hours on it would this be normal and they basically said to change the oil and test in 10 hours they never really answered my questions.
In my opinion when I call Blackstone they take there time to explain the results and what to look for, I have been on the phone 20 minutes to a half an hour going over the samples.
To me the couple dollars more that they charge for the sample is worth it.
If you prepay for 6 oil sample they cost $ 27 instead of the $ 30
 
CAT does not send comparisons with other engines. They just comment on whether your readings are "Normal" or point out what readings are "Abnormal".
 
CAT does not send comparisons with other engines. They just comment on whether your readings are "Normal" or point out what readings are "Abnormal".
Ah, thanks. To me that’s where Blackstone offers a better service. They provide a written analysis specific to each oil sample. Something like, we see high levels of unobtainium here, but the engine is only 100 hours old and still working out assembly lube. This is expected and should be fine at the next oil change.

I got one done at a survey that said “the levels in this oil are consistent with 200 hours runtime. Reported time is 5 hours, this merits investigation.” The transmission had bad noises in it.

Blackstone will compare prior samples for the same engine too, and note trends. That higher level of meaningful analysis is useful to me.
 
Thanks all for the insight and recommendations. I plan to try Blackstone for engine oil on main engines and generator.
Do you get the hydraulic fluid on the pod drives tested also?
 
Thanks all for the insight and recommendations. I plan to try Blackstone for engine oil on main engines and generator.
Do you get the hydraulic fluid on the pod drives tested also?
I do, Just sent 10 samples to Blackstone for testing.
It's cheap insurance.
 
I've also used Schaeffer's oil analysis as well as Blackstone. Does Blackstone measure TBN or BN now as they call it? I seem to recall there was one test that Schaeffers did but Blackstone did not? Schaeffers also has an online portal so you can view old reports as well.
 
Cummins does have a branded oil analysis service, see https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/fluidanalysis.

I've used it for over 10 years as I've always had Cummins engines. There are at least two levels of diesel oil analysis available, basic and advanced (which adds TAN, TBN and water). The prepaid kits include the sample bottles and the submission form. They can be submitted manually but the way I do it is go to the web site, enter the authorization number off the form and the date and engine hours. The site already has the engine, trans and gennie info and will calculate hours on the sample based on the last submission.
Even though the samples are sent to "Cummins Laboratory" they end up at Polaris Laboratories, who Cummins has partnered with. Polaris is clearly large fleet-oriented. Once the samples are analyzed, I get an email with a detailed report. The web site stores the reports and also has trend graphs for several parameters.
The sample kits can be had at Cummins dealers, or on the web. I used to get them from Ryder Fleet Products until they went out of business last year, but I bought in bulk.
The kits cost on the order of $20/ea for basic, a little more for advanced. So, I think they are more pricy than some of the other options cited here. I'm sort of locked in since my history is held by Polaris, but I'm OK with that.
One year, I had a dealer winterize due to some health issues. I always use Rotella and that was stored on the website so I left it that way. The lab detected the difference and flagged the report and recommended I enter the oil that was actually used. It didn't cite any harm from the other oil so I never pursued finding out what was put in, but will remember to inquire before I outsource the job in the future.
 

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