At Deere Rotary, we tried turbine oil for the metering oil in a short test.
The seal wear was fine, but the engine was surprisingly dirty. Could have
been overoiling the engine. We deliberately did not use the oil for the
bearings mainly because the viscosity is all wrong. I am quite sure the film
thickness will be inadequate leading to high wear and more importantly
possibly catastrophic fatigue of the bearing material. The role of antiwear
additives in conventional oils is not well understood in terms of the
rotary's needs. There may be long term wear issues with side housings.
I think it will be an interesting test, but I'm not too optimistic about the
outcome.
Jon Lauter
Rotary Power Marine Corporation
www.rotarymarine.com
I don't plan on using it for the seals and that includes the side
seals as two cycle oil is proven for that. No telling what turbine oil
does when mixed with gasoline.
I am mainly interested in its anti coking properties.
As long as it does the bearing lube job at typical oil temps of 210 F
I'll be happy.
They have made some changes since then Jon. Robin just brought home
some Exxon 2197. It pours at room temp about the same as Mobil 1
15W 40. Can't say what the viscosity of either one is at 210 F.
Turbine oil could be higher. I do know we don't need the sliding
wear additives in motor oil designed for cam shafts.
Paul Lamar
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