Blackstone Processing Times Slowing Even More?

[Maximus Gladius]

I read everyone living all over the US having to wait so long for their reports because they are sending their samples to Blackstone. Are there no other labs, anywhere?

I am very fortunate to live in Calgary which has a lab in town. In Edmonton, just 3 hours north of me, I know of two other labs.

The lab I use in Calgary emails me in 24 hours my report. Do the city’s in the US not have other labs besides Blackstone that you can drive your sample over to them and can analyze oil for you all?

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[Lunentucker]

I read everyone living all over the US having to wait so long for their reports because they are sending their samples to Blackstone. Are there no other labs, anywhere?

I am very fortunate to live in Calgary which has a lab in town. In Edmonton, just 3 hours north of me, I know of two other labs.

The lab I use in Calgary emails me in 24 hours my report. Do the city’s in the US not have other labs besides Blackstone that you can drive your sample over to them and can analyze oil for you all?

Cities? Ewwwww!

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Cities? Ewwwww!

No towns, communes, villages that have labs?

 

[Lunentucker]

No towns, communes, villages that have labs?

mayyyybeeee?

https://www.oaitesting.com/submitting-sample.aspx

 

[Hootbro]

I read everyone living all over the US having to wait so long for their reports because they are sending their samples to Blackstone. Are there no other labs, anywhere?

I am very fortunate to live in Calgary which has a lab in town. In Edmonton, just 3 hours north of me, I know of two other labs.

The lab I use in Calgary emails me in 24 hours my report. Do the city’s in the US not have other labs besides Blackstone that you can drive your sample over to them and can analyze oil for you all?

There is a couple in my area but they are setup for industrial accounts for either heavy industry or agriculture customers. Walk ins are going to cost close to $100-$150 for testing.

Blackstone pretty much has been the defacto standard for individual consumer level oil testing for as long as I can remember and is what most people are comfortable with.

Most people are not time sensitive for the results. So it would have to go way past 4 weeks for me to reconsider changing to another source for testing.

 

[Lunentucker]

There is a couple in my area but they are setup for industrial accounts for either heavy industry or agriculture customers. Walk ins are going to cost close to $100-$150 for testing.

Blackstone pretty much has been the defacto standard for individual consumer level oil testing for as long as I can remember and is what most people are comfortable with.

Most people are not time sensitive for the results. So it would have to go way past 4 weeks for me to reconsider changing to another source for testing.

Same here. My primary concern was whether or not they every actually received it. I had a few Amazon orders disappear lately in the USPS system. Hard to believe a government run system that loses billions of dollars could lose something, I know, but here we are.

 

[Hootbro]

Same here. My primary concern was whether or not they every actually received it. I had a few Amazon orders disappear lately in the USPS system. Hard to believe a government run system that loses billions of dollars could lose something, I know, but here we are.

Their return shipping labels usually have USPS tracking numbers on them. I just record that and track when I send my samples in.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Why not try this company. See if turn around time is quicker.
https://polarislabs.com/

I get that sending samples off to the lab requires special mail or currier, which to me is crazy because I’m spoiled and can drive my sample to the lab in 20 minutes and can sit down with the lab tech and have a tour of the lab… I wish you all could experience that too ?.

I don’t get how samples can’t be received by the lab in a day or two from where we all live. Turn-around time is critical for this type of data especially if you’re running a massive transport company or mining operation or it’s just your private vehicle.

It shouldn’t matter that a lab deals more on a corporate scale, they’ll take your private oil sample and do those too. They will up here in Canada. I personally know a member here that uses FINNING’s lab for their personal vehicle. Quick access is key to this kind of data that shouldn’t be down to Blackstone that makes you wait forever.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah, I'm sticking with every 5,000 on this one. I don't drive much more than you do, and I don't care if it costs a bit more, I don't trust it to go 10,000.

10k is "ideal driving conditions.
I have noted the oil life percentage will drop faster than the miles accumulate if you tow, or do several short trips. They've got it figured in.
If I wait until it says go, then the timing is usually less than convenient or there are other reasons, so i do it sooner. Something always comes up.

I read everyone living all over the US having to wait so long for their reports because they are sending their samples to Blackstone. Are there no other labs, anywhere?

Not for consumer level.
It's not that cheap to be set up and hire good people who stay, there's disposal of the oil, EPA regulations and so on.

It shouldn’t matter that a lab deals more on a corporate scale, they’ll take your private oil sample and do those too. They will up here in Canada. I personally know a member here that uses FINNING’s lab for their personal vehicle. Quick access is key to this kind of data that shouldn’t be down to Blackstone that makes you wait forever.

It does matter. It's that way with a lot of things. Try taking bit parts to a plating company. Some will take small bags of parts, others will send you elsewhere. And if they take them it's "we'll work them in when it's convenient". This isn't typically a mom and pop shop for industrial testing on a large scale.
Individuals aren't going to want to pay the costs associated with the larger scale labs. It's not as simple as it might sound.
Blackstone furnishes the supplies, the shipping costs both ways for that cost.

Same here. My primary concern was whether or not they every actually received it. I had a few Amazon orders disappear lately in the USPS system. Hard to believe a government run system that loses billions of dollars could lose something, I know, but here we are.

The only amazon orders I have had a problem with were not USPS - but Amazon themselves sending it as far as Bondurant (30 minutes from me) and instead of coming down here, they send it from their facility up to MN, yeah, the Twin Cities, then back down to Ankeny, then finally here. Amazon is the screw-up in every single case I've had issues with - which fortunately have been few.
Things coming direct from China from Amazon actually make it pretty easily - China Post, then USPS and once they land in the states, it's only a couple of days. Often I wish Amazon relied more on the USPS than their own underpaid, underappreciated delivery people.

 

[Lunentucker]

E-mail response from Blackstone (At least now I know they have it).

Good afternoon,

Your sample is here and is getting checked in. You should see your test results via email sometime around 9-10 business days. Right now the full turnaround is about 18-20 business days- we're very busy! Be sure to check your spam/junk folder as we've been having that issue occasionally. Please note that we were off on the 22nd, 25th, 29th, and the 1st. Please let us know if you have any other questions/concerns.

Thanks,
The Blackstone Team

 

[Darel]

Just got mine back today, sent out sometime around the first week of Dec.

 

[Lunentucker]

Just got mine back today, sent out sometime around the first week of Dec.

Mine came today as well.

 

[Rusty PW]

Why not try this company. See if turn around time is quicker.
https://polarislabs.com/

I get that sending samples off to the lab requires special mail or currier, which to me is crazy because I’m spoiled and can drive my sample to the lab in 20 minutes and can sit down with the lab tech and have a tour of the lab… I wish you all could experience that too ?.

I don’t get how samples can’t be received by the lab in a day or two from where we all live. Turn-around time is critical for this type of data especially if you’re running a massive transport company or mining operation or it’s just your private vehicle.

It shouldn’t matter that a lab deals more on a corporate scale, they’ll take your private oil sample and do those too. They will up here in Canada. I personally know a member here that uses FINNING’s lab for their personal vehicle. Quick access is key to this kind of data that shouldn’t be down to Blackstone that makes you wait forever.

At the power plant. I would send about 30 oil samples to Polaris every 3 months. Reply time was about 5 weeks.

Have to remember now that more people are using these labs to get their oil checked than 5 years ago. So wait times are longer.

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