Jim Stark

Blackstone Laboratories was Jim's brainchild back in 1985. A Purdue University graduate, Jim is an A&P aircraft mechanic and has his private pilot's certificate. When he's not sniffing oil or writing reports, Jim enjoys flying the skies of Indiana, rebuilding his shed, and contemplating ways for Blackstone to take over the world. To see Jim's most recent report, please click here.

Ryan Stark

Ryan started at Blackstone in 1997 after graduating from Purdue University with a mechanical engineering degree. Ryan is responsible for writing and maintaining Blackstone's software program, setting up and managing the lab, writing reports, and a million other things that need to be done in a business. When he's not kicking ass in the lab or writing code, Ryan enjoys putting his pilot's license to good use, working on his '84 Chevy 3/4 ton, and teaching his son to play ball. As an experiment, Ryan is currently running Aeroshell W65 — an oil with (gasp!) no zinc or phosphorus in it — in his Chevy to determine if the hype over ZDDP (zinc dithiophosphate) is all that or not. If the experiment ruins his engine, well, he's rebuilt it before. To see Ryan's most recent report, click here.

Kristin Huff

Kristin deviated from the family flock by attending Indiana University, earning an English degree. She worked as an editor and writer in Colorado and Michigan before the siren call of Blackstone brought her back to Indiana. Kristin started at Blackstone in 2001 and has since learned to love the intoxicating world of oil analysis. When she's not working on the website, creating newsletters, or writing reports, Kristin runs triathlons and enjoys hiking with her husband and kids. To see Kristin's latest report, click here.

Jerry Young

Jerry is Blackstone's lab operator, and he runs the operation with a precision rivaled by no one. Jerry recently completed a course in spectrometry in New Hampshire, so he's now not only the fastest lab guy in the west, he's an ace troubleshooter and keeps us running when the machines are being finicky. In his free time, Jerry enjoys playing basketball and keeping his kids on the straight and narrow.  Click here to see Jerry's latest report.

Adrianna Manaugh

Adrianna Manaugh is a 2003 Taylor University graduate. Adrianna mainly does bookkeeping and logs in all the pertinent information about your oil samples, but she can and does do more than that when needed. If there's a problem with your sample, Adrianna is often the first to catch it and she is probably the person who will hound you for more information. When she's not slaving over oil, Adrianna dreams of becoming a missionary and manages to travel to the Philippines or another exotic (read: warmer than Indiana) location each year for missionary work. Click here to see Adrianna's latest report.

Billy Cunningham

Billy Cunningham joined Blackstone as an analyst and backup lab guy, but he has evolved into a true jack of all trades. Billy has 40 years racing experience, starting out in drag racing, then switching to speedway. Eventually he became an official and wrote racing stories for national publications. In the 1990s he owned his own company as a business manager of speedways. In his free time, Billy enjoys marrying off his daughters and spending time with his grandkids. He's also an avid NCAA fan and manages win our office NCAA pool regularly, despite Kristin's insistence that "women's intuition" would conquer all. To see Billy's latest report, please click here.

Ricardo Mendez

Ricardo Mendez is currently earning his bachelor's degree but could not resist the allure of oil analysis (and the income of a job). Now that he knows more about what oil analysis can do, he wishes he'd had a sample done on his Saab before buying it. In his spare time, Ricardo enjoys piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, and going on adventures. Adventures to where? Only Ricardo knows, and he ain't telling.

Erik DeMarco

Erik DeMarco took to Blackstone like a Labrador takes to the water. Erik spends part of his day in the lab improving processes and setting up new machines, and part of the day analyzing your oil. He has been known to spend his free time tearing apart engines and fixing them himself. That’s our kind of guy. Take a look at Erik's latest report here.

Sam Johnson

Sam Johnson is our kit builder extraordinaire, when he's not busy wrestling lesser men to the ground on his high school men’s wresting team. He loves Blackstone, for we provide the funds that will eventually become his new (used) car.

Judy Thomas

Judy Thomas builds kits, paints things that need to be painted, and does all manner of odd jobs for Blackstone, and we don't know how we ever got along without her. She recently spent a week in Alaska and saw bears, moose, and other huge animals; happily she returned to Blackstone safe and sound.
    Are you changing your oil often enough? Too often? Is synthetic oil really worth it?
Years ago, the commercial multi-weight oils on the market were ...
    New diesel engines cost up to $20,000 each, so it only makes sense to take care of yours.
Oil analysis can identify insidious problems that ...
    You want to keep your motorcycle running as long as possible, and oil analysis is a
terrific tool for doing so. We've seen samples from most of the motorcycles ...
    Industrial groups have traditionally changed oil on an elapsed time basis.
This can result in dumping millions of gallons of good oil annually ...
    Air-cooled aircraft engines are twitchy, heat-sensitive machines that vary widely in wear
depending on the aircraft, the cylinders, and how they’re operated. ...
    Sea-going engines require special attention in oil analysis. They tend to pull heavy and constant
power for long periods of time, in holds with little air ...
    Transmission and gear oils can be contaminated with metals and moisture,
and those contaminants should be removed before they can damage the system ...
    We will email your results to you, though they are also available online.
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