I've been doing some experimenting in the kitchen with the microwave, a couple of clear drinking glasses, and a digital thermometer. From what I can tell, 10W-30 at 171 F is about the same thickness as water at room temperature; maybe slightly thicker. 10W-40 at 188 F is about the same thickness as 10W-30 at 171 F. I've been dipping a plastic spoon in the glass of oil and letting it run off the end of the spoon to get a basic idea of the thickness. What's the hottest an oil gets inside a car's engine?
How hot does oil get?
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Water is 1cst at room temperature, so an XW30 at spoon shear rates it 10 times as thick.
My 3.8 gets to 105-110C on my commute, and if I hold it in "2", 3,800-4,000RPM), in 10 mins I can have 130-135C.
Bearing exit temperatures are 100-150C...piston ring belts 250C+.
My 3.8 gets to 105-110C on my commute, and if I hold it in "2", 3,800-4,000RPM), in 10 mins I can have 130-135C.
Bearing exit temperatures are 100-150C...piston ring belts 250C+.
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Microwaving oil.
Almost did something similar. I bought some 85w-140 for my Jeep's rear differential to borrow some time. It was too thick to pump.
My first thought was to stick it in the oven. Luckily, I realized how bad of an idea that was before I did it.
I left it on the dash and ran the defroster.
Almost did something similar. I bought some 85w-140 for my Jeep's rear differential to borrow some time. It was too thick to pump.
My first thought was to stick it in the oven. Luckily, I realized how bad of an idea that was before I did it.
I left it on the dash and ran the defroster.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Sheesh. Guess we should go ahead and call the fire department now. This is why the rest of us pay too much for homeowners' insurance, folks.
And you're risking your house for what- to do a totally un-calibrated, non-scientific "how fast does it drip off a spoon" comparison?
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Sheesh. Guess we should go ahead and call the fire department now. This is why the rest of us pay too much for homeowners' insurance, folks.
And you're risking your house for what- to do a totally un-calibrated, non-scientific "how fast does it drip off a spoon" comparison?
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
1100 watts into an "empty cavity" can't be a good thing. Surprised you haven't seen sparks.
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
1100 watts into an "empty cavity" can't be a good thing. Surprised you haven't seen sparks.
Internally it can get pretty hot; a gauge is going to tell you the temp at the point you are measuring. If that's in or just after the sump (where it mixes with cooler stored oil) you will get different numbers than if you are measuring elsewhere where the oil has just come from the heating points in the motor. So, temp numbers from a gauge are relative.
I would not rely solely on some number (as in "it gets to 240F"); rather compare temps in normal light load operation vs high load operation with your particular setup, and don't expect that the gauge is reading the highest possible temp point.
In other words, as your question is posed, the answers may be of limited use.
I would not rely solely on some number (as in "it gets to 240F"); rather compare temps in normal light load operation vs high load operation with your particular setup, and don't expect that the gauge is reading the highest possible temp point.
In other words, as your question is posed, the answers may be of limited use.
I've seen +300F at the track before. Oil test always came back OK to keep using though. M1 5w30.
I have two points I can check oil temp. One is the OEM location up by the cam solenoids. The other is for my Aftermarket gauge and is after the oil filter. Usually the OEM one up in the head will run hotter after the oil temp has stabilized. But if I let the car idle then the oil filter one will come up to the cam location one. The engine block, timing cover and oil pan provide quite a bit of cooling.
I have two points I can check oil temp. One is the OEM location up by the cam solenoids. The other is for my Aftermarket gauge and is after the oil filter. Usually the OEM one up in the head will run hotter after the oil temp has stabilized. But if I let the car idle then the oil filter one will come up to the cam location one. The engine block, timing cover and oil pan provide quite a bit of cooling.
From memory, I believe bearings have a difficult time about 300 F (150 C). Oil can be that hot without issue, when it is cooling certain parts in the engine.....bottom of the piston crown, etc.
The oil in the sump would be a problem for most engines, once it got above about 275F. But if something is running that hot, synthetic is your friend.
Please do not attempt to duplicate these temps on your stovetop. Oil is really, really hard to extinguish.
The oil in the sump would be a problem for most engines, once it got above about 275F. But if something is running that hot, synthetic is your friend.
Please do not attempt to duplicate these temps on your stovetop. Oil is really, really hard to extinguish.
Ford has said oil temperatures of about 210F (100C) is about right for oil longevity, meaning designers aim for that. Of course some of the oil cooks in the ring pack for a few seconds before exiting and cooling down a bit. Ring pack temperature is probably around 300F for a few moments.
Originally Posted By: spackard
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
1100 watts into an "empty cavity" can't be a good thing. Surprised you haven't seen sparks.
+1 - Microwaves heat up by vibrating the molecules and it works on polar molecules
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
1100 watts into an "empty cavity" can't be a good thing. Surprised you haven't seen sparks.
+1 - Microwaves heat up by vibrating the molecules and it works on polar molecules
I have never seen over 224*F in my 5.7L! That was towing a small 2klb trailer with 97*F ambient temp.
Normal operation it stays around 200-210*F.
Normal operation it stays around 200-210*F.
Oil temp in Most cars and light trucks when under decent loading run around 50 degrees hotter than water temp. the hottest oil temps are found on air cooled gas engine lawn equipment, my 1 cly.and 2 cly. lawn tractors are 310+ degrees crankcase oil temp. on a hot day!! i measure often with a handheld temp gun. i find that amazing.
Originally Posted By: spackard
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
Yes. A similar effort was voiced here a while ago, and I tried to explain the exact same thing then. IMO, someone who can't understand the futility of trying to heat motor oil in a microwave does not have the technical acumen to interpret any "results" of their "experiment" anyways.
Time to give it up.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The microwave is taking forever to heat up the oil. I may have to move the oil over to the stove to get the oil up to 135C.
Yeah, water is a polar molecule, oil is non-polar.
A microwave is meant to heat water, and other polar molecules.
Yes. A similar effort was voiced here a while ago, and I tried to explain the exact same thing then. IMO, someone who can't understand the futility of trying to heat motor oil in a microwave does not have the technical acumen to interpret any "results" of their "experiment" anyways.
Time to give it up.
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Wasn't there a member here who used muffin tins and heated the oil up on his bbq grill? This was several years ago if I remember correctly. But I think he compared synths of the same viscosity instead of comparing different viscosities,which would've been very interesting.
I love BITOG cooking experiments!
I can see the conversation with the fire department.
"Looks like you had an oil fire ... what were you frying? A turkey?"
"Oil"
"Yeah - we know it was an oil fire but what were you making?"
"Oil"
"Looks like you had an oil fire ... what were you frying? A turkey?"
"Oil"
"Yeah - we know it was an oil fire but what were you making?"
"Oil"
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
Oil temp in Most cars and light trucks when under decent loading run around 50 degrees hotter than water temp. the hottest oil temps are found on air cooled gas engine lawn equipment, my 1 cly.and 2 cly. lawn tractors are 310+ degrees crankcase oil temp. on a hot day!! i measure often with a handheld temp gun. i find that amazing.
With my John Deere mower the oil was crazy hot after a mow. The hydraulics uses motor oil and is below the motor. I would get over 300F usually when the temps were in the 90fs. This was measured by inserting a probe into the oil fill tube.
I finally added an old tube and fin oil cooler. This didn't do much so I doubled up. Still didn't help a whole lot so I went the the tank style ATF coolers. This has dropped the temp about 50f.
Oil temp in Most cars and light trucks when under decent loading run around 50 degrees hotter than water temp. the hottest oil temps are found on air cooled gas engine lawn equipment, my 1 cly.and 2 cly. lawn tractors are 310+ degrees crankcase oil temp. on a hot day!! i measure often with a handheld temp gun. i find that amazing.
With my John Deere mower the oil was crazy hot after a mow. The hydraulics uses motor oil and is below the motor. I would get over 300F usually when the temps were in the 90fs. This was measured by inserting a probe into the oil fill tube.
I finally added an old tube and fin oil cooler. This didn't do much so I doubled up. Still didn't help a whole lot so I went the the tank style ATF coolers. This has dropped the temp about 50f.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I've been doing some experimenting in the kitchen with the microwave, a couple of clear drinking glasses, and a digital thermometer. From what I can tell, 10W-30 at 171 F is about the same thickness as water at room temperature; maybe slightly thicker. 10W-40 at 188 F is about the same thickness as 10W-30 at 171 F. I've been dipping a plastic spoon in the glass of oil and letting it run off the end of the spoon to get a basic idea of the thickness. What's the hottest an oil gets inside a car's engine?
You trying top win the 2015 Darwin Award for burning your house down?
I've been doing some experimenting in the kitchen with the microwave, a couple of clear drinking glasses, and a digital thermometer. From what I can tell, 10W-30 at 171 F is about the same thickness as water at room temperature; maybe slightly thicker. 10W-40 at 188 F is about the same thickness as 10W-30 at 171 F. I've been dipping a plastic spoon in the glass of oil and letting it run off the end of the spoon to get a basic idea of the thickness. What's the hottest an oil gets inside a car's engine?
You trying top win the 2015 Darwin Award for burning your house down?
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