About LubeSuite
LubeSuite is a free, browser-based toolbox of lubrication and reliability calculators — built to put the everyday math of the trade one click away, with no login, no cost, and nothing to install.
This all started on spreadsheets. As a lubrication and reliability practitioner in industrial plants, I kept Excel calculators for the interval, viscosity, flush, and contamination math I needed on the floor. Spreadsheets are a pain to run in the field, so I started converting them to local HTML files. One calculator became two, two became three — and now LubeSuite is 37 plant-floor tools, with more likely to come if folks want them.
I’m a lubrication practitioner. I’ve run lube routes, designed systems, flushed tanks, cleaned up spills, fought for improvements, and a lot more of the unglamorous work that keeps rotating equipment alive. These calculators aren’t academic exercises — they’re the same calculations I use on real equipment, cleaned up and collected in one place.
I hold ICML certifications as a Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT I and MLT II), Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA II and MLA III) and Machinery Lubrication Engineer (MLE), and I’m certified as a Category I Vibration Analyst. I’ve written for industry trade publications, and I’ve taught lubrication, oil analysis, and report-interpretation classes — certification and non-certification.
LubeSuite stays free — no login, no paywall — so millwrights, lube techs, reliability engineers, and anyone else doing this work can use the tools when they need them.
Every calculator is built on published engineering methods and industry standards. The principal sources, grouped by domain, are listed below. Where a specific manufacturer method is used (e.g., an SKF nomogram), it is named on the calculator itself.
Rolling-element bearings & re-lubrication
- SKF General Catalogue & Bearing Maintenance Handbook — grease re-lubrication interval nomogram; minimum required viscosity (ν₁); mounting clearance reduction and residual internal clearance for spherical roller (SRB) and CARB bearings. (Re-Grease Interval, Min. Required Viscosity, Bearing Installation Clearance, Bearing / Housing Lookup)
- ISO 281 — rolling bearing dynamic load ratings and rating life (L10 / L10mh); viscosity ratio (κ) framework. (Min. Required Viscosity, Component Life)
- NSK technical data — heat-balance oil-flow method for forced-circulation lubrication. (Forced Circulation Oil Flow)
- NTN Ball and Roller Bearings catalogue (2203E) — friction coefficients by bearing type and friction-heat equation (ch.10); fit interference for load and temperature (ch.7); clearance lost to inner/outer ring temperature difference (ch.8). (Bearing Friction & Heat, Bearing Installation Clearance)
- SKF Rolling bearings catalogue 17000 — contamination factor ηc guideline values (Table 6). (Component Life)
- ISO 15243 (as presented in SKF Bearing damage and failure analysis) — rolling bearing failure-mode classification. (Root Cause Analysis)
Bearing defect frequencies & vibration
- Standard bearing kinematic equations — ballpass frequency outer/inner race (BPFO/BPFI), ball spin frequency (BSF), and fundamental train frequency (FTF), derived from bearing geometry and shaft speed. (Bearing Defect Frequencies)
- SKF / NSK bearing geometry tables — rolling-element count and pitch/element diameters underpinning the defect-frequency database. (Bearing Defect Frequencies)
Electric-motor bearing lubrication
- Baldor / ABB motor lubrication guidance and NEMA frame conventions — re-lubrication intervals, grease volumes, and single-point lubricator sizing. (Electric Motor Bearing Lube)
Viscosity, viscosity index & blending
- ASTM D341 (Walther equation) — viscosity–temperature relationship used for interpolation and comparison. (VI Comparator, Lubricant Recommendation, Reynolds / Flush, ISO 4406 Cleanliness)
- ASTM D2270 — calculation of viscosity index (VI). (VI Comparator)
- ISO 3448 / DIN 51519 — ISO viscosity grade (VG) classification. (Gearbox Viscosity, Viscosity Blending)
- Refutas method (ASTM D341 blending index) — two-fluid blend ratio to a target grade. (Viscosity Blending)
Gear & drivetrain lubrication
- ANSI/AGMA 9005-F16 / ISO 12925 — industrial gear lubricant selection and specification; Annex B pitch-line-velocity viscosity tables. (Gearbox Viscosity)
- Power / output-speed / reduction lookup table — rule-of-thumb ideal ISO VG table as used in Interlub’s gearbox ideal-viscosity calculator, with an optional ambient / sump temperature step. (Gearbox Viscosity)
Fluid mechanics
- Bernoulli energy equation — pressure / velocity / elevation head balance. (Bernoulli Calculator)
- Reynolds number — laminar / transitional / turbulent flow-regime criteria for flushing and circulation. (Reynolds / Flush Analyzer, Tube Flush Volume)
Contamination control & filtration
- ISO 4406 — fluid cleanliness coding. (ISO 4406 Cleanliness)
- ISO 16889 — multipass filter performance / beta (β) ratio. (ISO 4406 Cleanliness)
- Contamination mass-balance modeling (Noria / Schroeder approach) — particle ingression vs. filtration over time. (ISO 4406 Cleanliness, Reservoir Breather Sizing)
Reliability & root-cause methods
- Established RCFA methodologies — 5-Whys, cause-and-effect (Ishikawa/fishbone), FMEA, and related structured pathways for lubrication and reliability failures. (Root Cause Analysis)
How sources are chosen
Each calculator starts from a published source: an international or industry standard (ISO, ASTM, AGMA, SAE), a recognised engineering method from the technical literature, or the equipment maker’s own technical documentation (catalogues, handbooks, manuals). The source is named on the calculator, down to the table, equation or page where practical. Where no published method covers a plant-floor need, the calculator uses a LubeSuite method and says so, with its assumptions.
Method labels and dates
- Published standard: the calculation follows a named standard.
- Published method: a textbook or technical-literature method that is not itself a standard.
- Maker method / Maker data: the method or data come from a named equipment or lubricant maker.
- LubeSuite method: LubeSuite’s own calculation or estimate, with a short note on its in-house assumptions.
Last reviewed is the date the page’s content last changed in the site’s change history. It is not updated for layout or metadata-only changes.
How calculators are checked
Where the source publishes a worked example, the calculator is run on the same inputs and its results are compared with the printed values. Where it doesn’t, results are compared with an independent hand or script calculation of the same equations. Each calculator lists its documented checks under Validation; a calculator without that section has no documented check yet. Any change to a calculator is tested before and after on the same inputs, so its results only change when a change is intended.
Corrections
To contact the creator or report an error, use the help email link: help@lubesuite.com. Please include the calculator name and the inputs you used so the result can be reproduced. A confirmed error is fixed on the calculator, the fix is tested the same way, and the page’s Last reviewed date moves to the date of the fix.
Independence and trademarks
LubeSuite is independent. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any bearing, lubricant, filter, breather, coupling or motor maker, or by any standards body. Product names, brand names and standard designations mentioned on this site (for example SKF, NTN, NSK, Baldor, Falk, Des-Case, ISO, ASTM and AGMA) are trademarks or designations of their owners. They are used only to identify the source of a method or data, or the product being referred to.
All calculations, outputs, and recommendations on LubeSuite are based on established mathematical principles, published engineering models, and industry standards. Those models necessarily rely on simplifying assumptions.
Every application is unique. The math here cannot capture every variable present in a real machine — contamination, misalignment, transient or shock loads, ambient conditions, duty cycle, wear state, additive chemistry, and manufacturer-specific design details among them. A result that is correct for the numbers entered may still not be appropriate for your specific equipment or operating context.
Treat these tools as an engineering aid and a starting point — not as a substitute for the equipment manufacturer's (OEM) recommendations, your lubricant supplier's data sheets, applicable standards, or the judgment of a qualified professional. Always verify critical decisions against those sources before acting on them.
LubeSuite is provided free of charge, "as is," without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Use of these tools and any reliance on their output is at your own risk; no liability is accepted for any loss, damage, or consequence arising from their use.
Found a bug, spotted a number that looks off, or want to suggest a tool? Get in touch:
Messages sent here are forwarded to the site maintainer. Please include the calculator name and the inputs you used so anything reported can be reproduced.