Hydro Oil Question
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jtthibault
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Here's some info I got from my neighbor that used to sell all of GH's oil to them (their factory is about 45 minutes from us):
A little history about oils with Moridge Mfg (Grasshopper Lawn Mower) in McPherson. When I was the Mobil Oil rep for the area, we supplied this plant with all of their hydraulic oil. It was Mobil 1 15W-50. I went to work for XXXXXXX Oil and got a call to come in and talk with one of the R&D engineers. He brought in some failed hydraulic orbital motors from their test stands. He and Parker (Mfr of hyd pumps and motors) said that the failures were due to the lack of anti-wear in our Mobil 1. They were not happy. What had happened is the EPA mandated a change to the levels of sulfur and zinc allowed in engine oils to reduce emissions. So Mobil Oil changed the formulation of their Mobil 1 to meet the EPA mandates and didn’t tell us on the industrial side of the business. Because Grasshopper was using Mobil 1 in an industrial type application, it was overlooked by Mobil Oil to let Grasshopper know. Mobil Oil and XXXXX Oil lost the business. Mobil 1 was the initial fill hydraulic oil for 20-30 years. However, it is not recommended by me to use Mobil 1 any longer, because there is not enough anti-wear in the new EPA approved Mobil 1 oil to protect the orbital motors in your mower. All of the blogs you see on-line are going off of old history that Mobil 1 is the best product to use, but they are not getting the protection they need. Also, I would not use anything but a synthetic oil, even though it is more expensive. Synthetics will give better wear protection also. So what I recommend is a synthetic oil, loaded with anti-wear additives. This RP product is what I would use and what I recommend. It will give you all of the protection you will need in any temperature. http://www.royalpurple.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/RP-PDS-Max-Cycle-2019.pdf
cpurvis
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Can you point out the API Service Grade where this change occurred? The same thing happened to diesel motor oil when the API Service Grade went to CK-4; CK-4 oil has been found to not meet the specifications of previous Service Grade (CJ-4). Ford issued the following statement: https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/additionalinfo/Ford Motor Company CK-4 FA-4 Position Statement.pdf
Motor oil backward compatibility has always been a given, and even now, the fact that CK-4 oil is not backward to CJ-4 is not widely known. Thanks to ever-more restrictive EPA mandates, diesel motor oil API Service Grade is no longer a reliable indicator of whether an oil is suitable to use. That's why many oils now carry Manufacturer's Specifications listed on the container.
I may be wrong, but it sounds to me like the same thing has happened to gasoline engine oil. In the case of hydros using motor oil, it would be surprising to see a Parker spec listed on a bottle of motor oil.
This is one case where I'm glad a Lazarus thread was resurrected.
Motor oil backward compatibility has always been a given, and even now, the fact that CK-4 oil is not backward to CJ-4 is not widely known. Thanks to ever-more restrictive EPA mandates, diesel motor oil API Service Grade is no longer a reliable indicator of whether an oil is suitable to use. That's why many oils now carry Manufacturer's Specifications listed on the container.
I may be wrong, but it sounds to me like the same thing has happened to gasoline engine oil. In the case of hydros using motor oil, it would be surprising to see a Parker spec listed on a bottle of motor oil.
This is one case where I'm glad a Lazarus thread was resurrected.
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I was thinking the same thing with the gasoline rated oil, around the API SN oils, Maybe that is why Hydro-gear has came out with their own oil.