ENVIRONMENT

Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil (TBI) Discontinued

New Bio Oil Available Soon
AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil (TBI) is out of stock and discontinued effective immediately.  The product will be replaced with a new, high-quality biodegradable hydraulic oil that will be available for shipment in four to six weeks.

New AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil is a blend of high oleic oils, synthetic esters and ashless additives that meets the U.S. Federal bio-based procurement guidelines as defined in section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.  It can be used in any mobile or stationary application requiring an ISO VG 46 fluid where leakage or spillage would present an environmental hazard.  Applications include construction, logging, farming, lawn and turf care or any environmentally-sensitive task where biodegradability and low aquatic toxicity is desired.

New AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil meets the Vickers M2950-S and I-286-S standards, is hydrolytically stable and oxidation resistant.  It provides excellent rust and corrosion protection, and a 12-stage FZG rating demonstrates its ability to protect gears and bearings against wear.

New AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil is compatible with TBI and most synthetic and petroleum-based hydraulic fluids.  Optimum results will be obtained by draining the previous fluid and refilling with new AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil.  Excessive contamination by other fluids will adversely impact its biodegradability and aquatic toxicity performance.

New AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil will be available in 5, 55 and 275-gallon package sizes.  There are currently no plans to introduce other viscosities to the biodegradable hydraulic fluid line, but this decision will be continuously reevaluated.  Further details on the new AMSOIL Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil, including the new product code, will be announced soon.

Taking on the Elements with AMSOIL

Taking on the Elements with AMSOIL

AMSOIL has signed on as one of the Sponsors of TWISTEX (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes EXperiment), a project aimed at collecting storm data in field experiments. In a series of tests designed to better understand tornadoes and increase warning lead time, TWISTEX utilizes weather instruments and cameras to measure cause and effects of tornado activity.

Leading the way is Principal Investigator Tim Samaras, who is a speaker/lecturer for National Geographic in his field. In this mission he is joined by a team of scientists and students as they travel throughout the Midwest tracking the areas where tornado activity is most likely to occur. No small operation by any means, Samaras and team will have their expedition covered by the hit Discovery Channel TV show ‘Storm Chasers’. Their vehicle is also a feature display at the SEMA show, generating even more buzz for this exciting venture.

As this project gets underway over 30,000 miles will be covered in the span of 3 months. Rather than stop in the middle of a chase for vehicle maintenance, they liked the idea that AMSOIL can provide 25,000 miles of protection in one single oil change. In this field, plans switch with the wind direction and can be changed at a moment’s notice. Mechanical failures in the vehicles that get them to their destinations are not an option, which is how AMSOIL came to be the only lubricant they rely on. In the world of a storm chaser, every second counts and AMSOIL ensures not one second is lost on account of engine performance or excessive maintenance.

Tomorrow the TWISTEX team is heading to Kansas for a major encounter with Mother Nature. We’ll keep you posted.

A Deeper Look At Motor Oil Consumption

A Deeper Look At Motor Oil Consumption

by Ed Newman
AMSOIL Director of Advertising
This article appeared in National Oil & Lube News, April 2010

Have you ever met people who have simplistic answers to complex questions and never want to take time to think a little more deeply about the subject? To be honest with you, I think we all fit that description from time to time. Many issues are so complicated that we just don’t have the time to really study them in depth. So we opt out for the simple answer. For example, let’s talk about motor oil consumption.

Ever had a car where you had to top off your oil now and then? Who hasn’t? In my case, I always assumed that this was due to the oil’s volatility. That is, when the engine was hot, the oil’s lighter molecules would vaporize.

I once attended two days of training at a quick lube (part of a major oil company chain) wherein they showed how their conventional oil lost up to 30 percent and their synthetic only 12 percent in a volatility test. It sank home the message I’d already adopted, that synthetics were more resistant to oil loss than conventional oils. While this may be true to a large extent it is not the end of the discussion.

I saw a Technical Service Bulletin called The Reasons for Motor Oil Consumption, and seven pages later I could no longer stand on my simple one sentence answer to the problem. The problem of abnormal oil usage is far more complicated and, in fact, most of the causes are mechanical, not lubricant related at all.

Here are just the first of 40 explanations for oil consumption: External Oil Leaks.
“Some of the many points where external oil leaks may occur include, oil lines, crankcase drain plug, oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, oil pump gasket, fuel pump gasket, timing case cover and camshaft bearing seal. No possible source of leakage should be neglected because even a very small leak can cause extremely high oil consumption. For example, it has been estimated that a leak of one drop of oil every 20 feet is approximately equal to a loss of one quart of oil every 100 miles. One way to check for external leaks is to road test the vehicle with a large piece of light-colored cloth tied under the engine. Oil on the cloth will indicate a leak which should be traced to its source.”

But the list goes on. The problem may be front or rear main bearing seals, worn or damaged main bearings, worn or damaged connecting rod bearings, worn or damaged camshaft bearings, worn crankshaft journals, distorted cylinders, honing abrasive, worn ring grooves, cracked or broken ring lands, problems with the wrist pins, clogged oil passages, or even unequal tightening of various bolts.

Item 20 on the list had to do with the radiator, and I initially thought this was just a bit much. Until I read the explanation. A defective cooling system can cause overheating of the engine which may result in the development of localized hot spots in some of the cylinders which can lead to scuffing and scoring of cylinders, pistons and rings resulting in high oil consumption.

And the list goes on. Dirty oil, too much oil in the crankcase, worn or broken piston rings, improper valve timing, incorrect oil pressure, piston slap, internal gasket intake breach, spark knock, aftermarket performance chips and modifications, lugging engines, inappropriate operation of overdrive, leaking turbocharger seals, restricted air intakes and fuel dilution can all contribute in various ways to oil consumption.

In short, few things are as simple as they might initially appear. When all is said and done, however, even though there may be multiple reasons for oil loss, in a mechanically sound engine it boils down to one: the volatility issue. In this, synthetic motor oils make a difference. For this reason, if your customers’ vehicles are mechanically sound they should be using synthetics to reduce their oil consumption. Benefits include reduced oil usage, reduced emissions and improved fuel economy.

Here’s another simple answer that is more complicated than it looks, the cost of synthetics. People who say synthetic motor oils are too expensive have often never gone into depth analyzing the real life cycle costs of a premium synthetic motor oil versus conventional petroleum. The initial cost appears quite a bit higher, but the life cycle cost is the true measure. The annual cost of a premium extended drain synthetic is comparable to or even less than conventional oils these days, and the benefits too numerous for this short summation. When your customer is driving a vehicle with a mechanically sound engine, I always recommend a synthetic solution.

Conventional Oil, Synthetic Oil, Synthetic Blend -

 What You Should Know Before You Choose

Author: Justin S. Roessler

There seems to be much confusion these days about the differences between conventional petroleum oil, synthetic blend, and full synthetic oil. Which oil is better? What is fact, and what is fiction? Etc, etc, etc. This article seeks to get you on solid ground with regard to this somewhat “slippery” subject.

Conventional motor oil is refined from crude petroleum oil. Crude oil is a naturally occurring substance that contains millions of different types of molecules, many of these are similar in weight but differ in structure. Because refining separates products by weight, it groups molecules of similar weight including those of dissimilar structure. Refined oils contain a wide variety of molecules, many of which are not necessary or even compatible in the oil. Some of the molecules found in refined oils are detrimental to the lubricated system or even to the oil itself. For example, paraffin, a common refined oil component, causes refined oils to thicken and flow poorly in cold temperatures. Some refined oil molecules may also contain sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen, which can act as contaminants and incite the formation of sludge and other by-products of oil breakdown. Synthetic lubricants, on the other hand, are not refined; they are pure and uniform.

Because they are engineered from pure chemicals, synthetic lubricants contain no contaminants or molecules that don’t serve a specific purpose. Synthetic oils only contain the molecular agents necessary to lubricate and protect components effectively and efficiently. Because synthetic oils contain only smooth lubricating molecules, they slip easily across one another. The ease with which lubricant molecules slip over one another affects the lubricant’s ability to reduce friction, which in turn, affects wear control, heat control and fuel efficiency. Uniformity also helps synthetic oils to resist thinning in heat and thickening in cold, which helps them protect better over a system’s operating temperature range and helps synthetic oils provide better sealing than conventional oils.

There are five basic types of base oils, and really three different classifications of “synthetic” oils recognized in the United States. This has resulted in some confusion.

Group I Base Oils

Group I base oils are the least refined of all the groups and are usually a mixture of jagged molecular hydrocarbon chains with little or no uniformity. While some automotive oils on the market today still use Group I base stocks, they are more commonly used in less demanding applications.

Group II

Group II base oils are common in most conventional (petroleum based) motor oils. They have good performance in lubricating properties such as volatility, oxidative stability etc, while having only fair performance in areas such as pour point, cold crank viscosity and extreme pressure wear.

Group III Base Oils

Most of the Major Brands of “Synthetic Oil” are really “Synthetic Blends”. These are known as Hydrocracked or Hydroisomerized API Group III base oils. Chevron, Shell, and other petrochemical companies developed processes involving catalytic conversion of feed stocks under pressure in the presence of hydrogen into high quality mineral lubricating oil. The best of these base stocks perform much like polyalphaolefin (PAO) based oils. Group III base stocks are considered synthetic motor oil ONLY in the United States. Europe does not recognize Group III based oils as synthetic oil.

In a 1999 law suit brought by Mobil filed against Castrol essentially for false marketing practices, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor Castrol paving the way for them (and any other oil manufacturer) to market this group as “Synthetic Oil”. Castrol successfully argued that since group III base stocks were refined further than “conventional” or Group II oils, and the best of them performed somewhat similar to group IV base stocks, that they were essentially synthetic. Group III base oils are rapidly gaining in popularity in the USA.

Group IV Base Oils

Full Synthetics are just that 100% Synthetically Engineered PAO (Polyalphaolefins) oils. Synthetic base stocks are man-made and tailored to have a controlled molecular structure with predictable properties, unlike mineral base oils which are complex mixtures of naturally occurring hydrocarbons. Polyalphaolefins (PAO’s) synthetics, when combined with additives (mostly from the group V base oils below), offer excellent performance over the widest range of lubricating properties. In addition to very stable chemical compositions PAO oils offer highly uniform molecular chains. Group IV base oils are becoming more common in the manufacture of synthetic and even synthetic-blend products.

Group V base oils are non-PAO synthetics including diesters, polyolesters, alklylated napthlenes, and alkyklated benzenes among many others. These are primarily used in the formulation of oil additives. Because high concentrations of these chemicals can cause damage to components such as seals, Group V synthetics are generally not used as base oils themselves, rather they serve to add beneficial properties to the other groups of base oils. It is important to note that these additives are NOT among the variety of aftermarket oil additives commonly available; do not add them to your engine oil.

Among the Benefits of PAO Group IV synthetic oils you will find: Temperature (Heat) Control, High Viscosity Index, Thermal and Oxidative Stability, Cold Temperature Fluidity, Friction Control, and Low Volatility which translate in common English to:

· Increased performance · More power · Reduced emissions · Better fuel mileage · Increased engine life · Fewer breakdowns · Extended drain intervals (fewer oil changes) · Less oil waste (unbelievable Environmental Benefits ) · Decreased dependence on foreign oil

Fully Synthetic oils are the future of lubrication; PAO Synthetic oils are highly synthesized, fully engineered, state of the art lubricants that are used in every type of jet engine in the world, in every form of motorsports racing, every type of industrial machinery, and just about every mechanical application imaginable.

Amsoil was the first API (American Petroleum Institute) recognized Synthetic Lubricant approved for use in automobiles. In 1972 Amzoil (original spelling) introduced the first can of 10W-40 onto the market. Two years later Mobil1 would be introduced in 1974. Others followed slowly but surely realizing the benefits. Now many of the automobiles sold in the world come pre-filled with synthetic oil of various brands. Regardles of the brand of oil, you are far better off to choose either a high quality synthetic blend, or a full synthetic PAO oil. Conventional petroleum oil is slowly going the way of the dinosaur (sorry I couldn’t resist).

You can read more about the benefits of synthetic lubricants at www.worldsbestsynthetics.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/conventional-oil-synthetic-oil-synthetic-blend-what-you-should-know-before-you-choose-1951416.html

About the Author

My Name is Justin Roessler and I am the owner of World’s Best Synthetics.com.

I strongly support buying American Products from American Manufacturers made by Americans and I am unabashedly unapologetic about it. I have been involved in Industrial Maintenance and Lubrication in the Paper, Logging, Lumber Mill, and Pharmaceutical industries for over 20 years. I am currently working as an Equipment Reliability Engineer at a major Midwest pharmaceutical manufacturer. I manage a reliability program for the special glass-lined chemical reactors that many of the medications you may get from your physician are made in. My job is to increase production by analyzing the mean time between failures and make recommendations to improve the “up” time of the equipment. In the Pharmaceutical Industry “down time” can cost millions of dollars every day so it is absolutely critical that the equipment be maintained and operated in the best possible manner.

World’s Best Synthetics

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NAIAS in Detroit Remains a Spectacle

Thursday, January 14, 2010

NAIAS in Detroit Remains a Spectacle

It’s the beginning of the New Year, and car companies are pulling out all the stops to show the world their new and innovative concepts. The 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit is a premier event for creating buzz and AMSOIL Director of Aftermarket Products Karl Dedolph has been present to keep an eye out for upcoming and developing trends in the industry. All eyes are on Ford, General Motors and Chrysler this year, but they aren’t the only companies capitalizing on the slowly stabilizing economy. Honda, Toyota, Audi and BMW are also aiming to garner consumer attention with hybrid, electric and luxury vehicles that appeal to all ends of the consumer spectrum. With the onset of ‘going green’ in today’s market, most car manufacturers are trying to keep ahead of the curve to incorporate this theory into their design and production.

Have we finally reached the advent of the electric car era? Roger Huntington addressed the demise of the internal combustion engine in a 1969 Popular Mechanics story titled “How Far Can We Go With The Piston Engine?” The article begins like this. “An early death for the age-old internal combustion piston engine is the prediction of some people. They say the exhaust can’t be cleaned up enough to meet future air-pollution and antismog laws and that we’ll be running around with batteries, steam, fuel cells and atomic engines in another ten years.”

Forty years later and the NAIAS gives evidence that many very smart people have spent a lot of time and money to move the auto industry in a greener direction. The degree of cleanliness in modern diesel technologies was inconceivable in 1969. But the range of alternative solutions to the internal combustion engine is also highly in evidence this week. The outcome of all this will be anyone’s guess.

This year’s NAIAS features a special section called Electric Avenue where companies large and small have electric model vehicles available for test drives around a ¼ mile indoor track. At the turn of the last century (1900) electric cars were quieter, cleaner, and offered a much more pleasant motoring experience than the alternatives. And they could run at a pretty decent clip as well. The 1899 Belgian-built La Jamais Contente was clocked at 100 km/hour (68 miles per hour), setting a world land speed record. Its gas powered counterpart was a hand-cranked contraption that smelled, vibrated a lot and made a lot of noise. La Jamais Contente, pictured here on the left, is on display in Detroit this week.

Open to the public from January 16-24 and unlike any car show you’ve ever been to, we encourage you to try and make it out to see what’s headed your way in the auto industry. AMSOIL will continue to watch these trends as they are developed and tested, utilizing shows like this one to stay ahead of the game in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.