Serviced a twin screw compressor this weekend

[afoulk]

My boss had me service a truck for Norfolk Southern on saturday, did the truck, on board welder/generator, and the air compressor. Anyways, my question concerns the air compressor. One of our guys ordered all the filters ahead of time for the truck, but they did not get oil for the compressor. It looked like the compressor oil had never been changed before, so I figured if they're having me change the filters on it, I better figure out what oil to use. It has a pto driven Vanguard twin screw compressor. I tryed searching online for what oil to use, but did not have much time to do so, and didn't have any luck finding the spec for it. All I could find was the factory Vanguard oil, but it does not tell me what weight it is or what type. My boss wanted me to use our regular 15w-40 HDEO oil, and I said i'm pretty sure most compressors use a non-detergent oil. I wound up using oil we keep in stock for our shops twin screw compressor, AEON 800 oil for Garner Denver twin screw compressors. I don't know what type of oil or weight it is either, but it seems about the same viscosity as the old stuff when I poured it out, but it is dyed red, where as the old stuff I drained out of the resevoir was almost clear like engine oil. Will this stuff be ok in it, or did I screw up? This was what my boss wound up wanting me to use in it, and i figured it was better than the HDEO he wanted me to use originally. Wish he actually gave a [censored] every once in awhile

 

[spackard]

The specs on it look okay (regular petroleum, use on rotary screw type compressor); max change interval 2000 hours. If you want to operate in low temperature one of their synthetics may be a better choice. I'm guessing 0F and below, as AEON 800 says n/a for a pour point temp, but their AEON 500 says 0F.

 

[afoulk]

That's good to hear. We rarely see temps close to 0 around here, so hopefully it will do the job. I'm mainly worried about the " type " of oil, if it will work ok and mix alright with any of the residual stuff left in it from the old stuff

 

[Clevy]

Use Amsoil compressor oil. We use it from temps as cold as-40c to 40c. It's the best possible oil made and its great cold flow characteristics makes it a must in anything that will be outside.
I've got alot of experience in this area. We have 12 pumps that works outside from dawn til dusk and no matter how cold it gets we run out tools.
I was a serious Amsoil fan til cost became an issue. This is one of those things where my tools have to work,at any and all costs.
An hdeo will foam up and lubricate nothing in the process.

 

[afoulk]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Use Amsoil compressor oil. We use it from temps as cold as-40c to 40c. It's the best possible oil made and its great cold flow characteristics makes it a must in anything that will be outside.
I've got alot of experience in this area. We have 12 pumps that works outside from dawn til dusk and no matter how cold it gets we run out tools.
I was a serious Amsoil fan til cost became an issue. This is one of those things where my tools have to work,at any and all costs.
An hdeo will foam up and lubricate nothing in the process.


I ran across their stuff when I was quickly trying to research on line what they use. I noticed they make a few different viscosities. Not that it matters, we rarely service these trucks, so I wouldn't be able to talk them into stocking something that expensive

 

[MolaKule]

Bean counters most always look at initial cost.

However, if the synhthetic compressor lube lasts three time longer and reduces wear and pump rebuilds, it should show a return on investment.

 

[Gotch]

...for what it's worth, screw compressors do use detergent oil...

 

[camelCase]

If the compressor has an oil filter and small sump - using a detergent oil would be fine. Detergents just keep particles in suspension to allow the filter to "grab" them. Large compressors normally don't run detergents because they allow any particles to settle in the large sump tanks.

Screw compressors should run a high grade 46 or 68 cSt fluid. There are lots of great fluids on the market formulated for screw compressors. Try not to cheap out on them - as carbon and sludge in a screw compressor can really hamper their performance.