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Operator Duties
Oil level - how high?
In the figure shown here we see that the lower part of the bearing is immersed in the oil. As the bearing rotates, it picks up the oil and spreads it to the other regions of the bearing.
In some cases, the bearing is designed to be above the oil level in the oil reservoir. In that case, an “oil ring” (also known as the "slinger" or "flinger" ring) is installed on the shaft. This ring is free to move on the shaft. The diameter of this ring is about twice that of the shaft. The lower part of the ring dips in the oil. As the shaft rotates, the oiler ring picks up oil from the bottom and flings it around – some of it is caught by the bearing. In recent years some users have decided not to use the flinger rings, since they bounce around and damage the shaft.
In low speed applications the bearing may be immersed to the halfway point in the oil. The bearing should not be immersed more than the halfway point, since it will cause the oil to churn and create all kinds of problems (foam, increase in temperature, etc.)
There is no universally right answer to the question: how high should the oil be in the reservoir? The operators simply need to find the design specifications and follow them.