Where to Start: Choosing a Lubricant for Cold-Temperature Operations by Pour Point

By considering the pour point of your industrial lubricant oil, you can ensure dependable pumpability, performance, and lubrication protection.

To ensure proper fluidity at low temperatures, it is suggested that the pour point of a lubricant be more than 20°F (10°C) below the application’s lowest operating temperature.

KEY INSIGHT: Pour point is lowest temperature at which lubricant is designed to flow.

By adhering to this rule of thumb, you help ensure that your lubricant can flow to reach its intended lubrication points in a timely manner at startup and continue to lubricate, protect, and remove heat during normal operations.

What can happen if the pour point is not low enough?

Inadequate lubrication flow can lead to:

• Excess friction
• Wear
• Heat in the system
• Equipment damage or failure

If a lubricant does not flow properly at setup, the risk of equipment failure is significantly greater.

As heat accumulates in the system, it reduces the system’s operating efficiency. It also accelerates lubricant breakdown which, in turn, leads to even more friction, wear, heat, and equipment damage. This vicious cycle can be avoided easily by using a suitable lubricant with an appropriate pour point for the application.

In addition to considering the lubricant pour point, suitability means that the lubricant possesses all other characteristics important to the application.

In refrigeration applications, a suitable lubricant:

• Is designed for use with the system’s specific type of refrigerant.
• Minimizes oil carryover to the evaporator (because oil carryover degrades thermal efficiency) and promotes oil return to the compressor.
• Maintains sufficient viscosity at all lubrication points to keep moving parts separated during all stages of operation.
• Builds its full layer of protective film quickly, in less than a minute, for critical wear protection, especially at start-up.

KEY INSIGHT: Viscosity is a measurement of a fluid’s resistance to flow, often described as its “thickness” or “stickiness”.

DuBois Chemicals offers a wide range of lubricants designed for reliable pumpability, performance, and lubrication protection in cold operating environments. These include lubricants specialized for refrigeration applications as well as products for virtually any other type of application.