Oil question

Woodchucker, Mobil DTE Light is NOT a hydraulic oil. Mobil DTE 24 IS a hydraulic oil. The Mobil 20 series oils are for hydraulic applications. Again just wanting to make sure Tom doesn't purchase oil based solely on the ISO number as both lubricating oils AND hydraulic oils can have the same ISO number.
 
Jeeper, Please remember that hydraulic oil is for hydraulic systems NOT gearboxes. If this is going in a gearbox you want lubricating/turbine oil.
This is not true! The machine shop I worked at, 20 acres under roof, massive burkhardt weber, waldrich colburg, ingersoll, and even some old massive cincinatti milicrons, all used DTE 24 in the transmissions. These were 100hp plus horizontal and portal milling machines, some which were 30 years old with minimal issues with the gear train.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants...ial/lubricants/products/products/mobil-dte-24

Link of mobiles site says for "Systems containing gears and bearings"

On top of that, nearly every farm tractor and much of the construction equipment uses a form of "universal tractor fluid" that is a gear and hydraulic fluid in one. Most are common systems that the hydraulic supply is from the transmission case.
 
Link of mobiles site says for "Systems containing gears and bearings"

On top of that, nearly every farm tractor and much of the construction equipment uses a form of "universal tractor fluid" that is a gear and hydraulic fluid in one. Most are common systems that the hydraulic supply is from the transmission case.

I use the universal in my tractor. It uses the same tank for the hydraulics and manual gear box plus the rear end. I've wondered about using it on my lathe and mill but never have. It's been holding up to my 90hp tractor with some heavy use.
 
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Yes the distinctions among the various lubricants can be subtle and I’m pretty convinced they rarely matter in low-duty-cycle use. My surface grinder uses common lubricant for ways and hydraulic control. Gear oils may have some performance edge in the high-pressure contact zone. Of course there are some fluids destructive to yellow metal.
 
I used to build racing go kart engines and the "which oil" arguments were endless. I shipped my engines with a quart of oil and whenever someone wanted to discuss it I would give a recommendation which began with "use the proper quantity and change it frequently".

Now these were Briggs utility engines which had been modified to put out 3 or 4 times their original power so they were pretty stressed. In all the years I did this I saw maybe 2 or 3 engine failures not related to running too little oil (seems like some folks thought having the right amount of oil would rob them of power):confused:

So, I think I'll stay with my Tractor Supply hydraulic oil. My research says the most important thing is buying something that won't attack brass or bronze like some of the new oil additives can for gearbox oil. Way oil just needs to be tacky so it doesn't drip off before it can do it's job. If you want to seek out the OEM oil or equivalent for your machines I have nothing against that, I just realize that when manufacturers spec a lubricant they're thinking about a machine running 8 or 16 hours a day. My hobby machines get a lot less use than that....

John
 
The difference between Mobil DTE named and numbered lubricants is the amount of anti-wear additives. Some older equipment might not be compatible with the higher levels of AW additives that newer machines require, so that is why both are offered. Both are used for machinery lubrication.

From my “The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication” published by Noria (experts in machinery lubrication):

The functions of a hydraulic oil can be summarized:
1. Transmit power from one point to another.
2. Lubricate and protect the system components from friction, wear and contamination.
3. Transfer and disperse heat generated in the system.
4. Provide a seal and maintain pressure.

Hydraulic oil’s main focus is transmitting power, a lubricating oil’s main focus is reducing friction, so depending on the application, one might be better than the other. But, hydraulic oil is excellent at reducing friction provided it is offered in the required viscosity range and is used in many types of machinery for lubrication of bearings and gearing. Just because it has characteristics that make it better at transmitting power than industrial lubricating oils does not mean it is not suitable at lubricating bearings and gears. The most important characteristic of an oil selected for anti friction applications is it’s viscosity, the other features are a distant second. In the calculations for selecting an oil for bearing lubrication, viscosity is the only characteristic used.

The industrial centrifuge manufacturer I used to work for specified Mobil DTE 26 for lubricating bearings for machines running at 3,500 rpm as well as the cycloidal gearboxes used to drive the scroll drive. It functioned very well at lubricating the components, as well as removing heat from the bearings. We switched that to SHC 626 (a circulating oil) since in the larger machines in hot environments the bearings were running around 90c and dino oil was oxidizing quickly requiring more frequent oil changes. I don’t think anyone here is running their headstocks so hard that the bearings are reaching 90C and need a circulating oil.

All this talk about the differences between the different oil classifications is splitting hairs. Very few of us here use our machines in an industrial environment where the differences might make a difference. Select an oil with the right viscosity and anti wear additives and you will probably never notice a difference between Mobil, Shell, or even Tractor Supply oil in our lifetimes.
 
Motor oil is very bad to use in machine headstocks and such.
+1
As I understand it, motor oil for a car engine for example, is designed to pick up and remove any grit, grime to be caught in the filter which is replaced regularly.
On machine tools, you want that grit/grime to stay in the sump or areas of the castings that will stay put and not be flushed through the bushings and bearing surfaces.
That’s the way I understand it anyway.
 
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