Fluid analysis, or "Oil Samples" are usually reserved for diesel engine surveys. It is usually recommended that there be at least 25 hours of operation on the engine oil, and the sample taken with the engine(s) fully warmed up. Those basic requirements are often hard to find in early season, just launched boats, because invariably the yard will have changed the oil either over the winter, or during spring commissioning. If the oil has had a chance to pick up a good spectrum of contaminants, the analysis will give a fairly good picture of the wear status of the engine. The labs I use generally have a very broad sampling base of the important wear components. When an oil sample comes back with a "high" reading in any of the 25 or so components of the sample spectrum it is an imperative "heads-up" that should trigger a mechanical inspection of the targeted section(s). Often the Lab will call for a complete oil and filter change, along with additional running time to see if the wear indicators remain persistent. Sometimes you will find that there was simply a "skipped oil change" I will usually recommend an oil sample on every diesel survey, so as to begin a tracking file that can be compared with previous samples. In this way, a good preventative maintenance program can be implemented, that will add many hours / years of service to the engine(s), and allow you to target and schedule your maintenance to avoid high value cruising times. Other fluids can also be analyzed, such as Transmission oil, and occasionally anti freeze / coolants. Fuel samples are not as commonly analyzed due to the higher expense of transporting Flammable liquids. As usual it all depends on the reasons for the need, but the service is available if required.

"I ALWAYS GO THE EXTRA MILE"