Looking after your heavy equipment keeps your site running and your productivity high. Providing the highest quality lubricant for your machinery is one of the best investments you can make to ensure your equipment is protected from unexpected breakdowns. At Oil & Energy, we supply a wide range of premium oils and lubricants to ensure your machinery is able to operate at its optimum performance. Our team can help you find and replace your current oil with the best choice for your vehicle.
We also understand that you might have concerns about product compatibility. Based on our product knowledge and previous testing, our expert advisors can provide guidance as to when compatibility testing would be needed and should be utilised.
The three explanations below will help you understand the options available to you when it comes to making the decision to change your oil, and point you in the right direction as to which will best suit you.
Complete Drain and Clean
When switching to a new oil brand, our preferred choice is to do a complete drain and clean. We entirely drain your previous oil, change the filters, purge your system with compressed air and replace it with your new choice of lubricant. In doing so, we are confident that you are leaving with a tank full of your new choice of oil only.
At Oil & Energy, we prefer this method as it eliminates any concerns about product compatibility entirely. More importantly, it ensures you will get the best performance out of your new, high-quality product. However, we understand that you might not want to commit to an entire system clean and refill, or it might not be a practical choice for you which is where compatibility testing or topping up your oil comes in.
Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing involves mixing the two oils in different ratios. This mixture is then stored for a specified period of time at an elevated temperature. By examining the mixture at the end of the test period, we can determine how the oils will interact with each other. We measure changes in visual appearance and look for additive dropouts. Some industrial products require testing under sub-zero temperatures.
At Oil & Energy, we use this information to save you time and money by not conducting unnecessary testing. Based on our industry knowledge and experience, we have observed that lubricants from the same product family that use similar additive chemistries are fully compatible. Meaning, if we can find the information we need to understand if the additive chemistries of the two lubricants are similar, we can avoid compatibility testing altogether.
We know the following lubricant families usually don’t require compatibility testing when switching:
- Passenger car engine oils
- Heavy-duty diesel engine oils
- Natural gas engine oils (with similar ash content)
- Automatic transmission fluids (within specific application type or category)
- Universal tractor/hydraulic fluids
- EP automotive gear oils with sulphur-phosphorus extreme-pressure additives
- EP industrial gear oils with sulphur-phosphorus extreme-pressure additives
- Anti-wear hydraulic oils with zinc-phosphorus antiwear additives
- Paper machine oils with zinc-based formulations (ashless paper machine oils may require compatibility testing)
- Anti-wear hydraulic oils with ashless (non-zinc) anti-wear additives
- Food Grade anti-wear hydraulic oils certified by NSF
- Ashless R&O circulating oils
- TO-4 specified fluids
Topping Up your Oil
Even though your oils might be compatible, we don’t recommend mixing your oil regularly if you can avoid it. If you are investing in a high-quality product like a Phillips 66 lubricant, we want you to get the best performance you can from your oil and your vehicle. This is especially important if you are switching from conventional oil to synthetic oil, or if there has been a specification change for your oil. That’s why we recommend waiting until there is as little of your old oil left in your tank as possible before you top it up.
Changing your oil doesn’t have to be complicated. Our expert team at Oil & Energy can work with you to help you find the right choice for your vehicles. They can advise you if compatibility testing is necessary and estimate how long your oil change service could take.
If you’re looking to switch your lubricant contact Oil & Energy on 1800 015 580 for our expert advice.
