Garden Railway Forum

The kitchen at work had a tidy up and put this out to be disposed of.an old can of BP Energol EM150.
It was used on the old meat slicer.as such I'm guessing its a fairy light vegetable oil. It's thicker than 3in1 and doesn't soak into paper towel as quickly. Would this be any good for our purposes of lubrication? I have a gallon of the stuff in a nice old can that must be from the 70's looking at the logo.

Don't put it on an engine..Or in it..Oil breaks down with age. use it on some gate hinges or door hinges shed even? Residue and a lack of repellent flow are all reasons not to use it...

Sounds a bit like the stuff I use... I have a can of machine oil that seems to be ok on my locos... No idea what oil it is though... I think it might be Tellus 37 or something similar

I second that, Shed hinges etc, etc. I would not oil anthing that could be classed as a mechanisim (locks etc) as veg oil has a habit of going solid at low temps.

thanks for the replies. An internet search hasn't thrown up much, or at least not in english
I found one chart that lists is as a mineral oil and compares it to
Castrol Manga150, Shell Vitrea150, Mobil Vactra extra heavy and OMV Arcadia 150.
I'm actually non the wiser for the info so emailed BP, worth a shot.

Are there any signs when an oil breaks down, it look fine to me good even colour and smells like oil.

If nothing else I've got a life time supply of gate/shed hinge oil

My understanding is that with modern oils (synthetic types) it is not so much the oil base that breaks down but the additives. This may not be a problem with veg oils or mineral oils.
However some oils are hydroscopic, that is they absorb moisture from the air and obviously an emulsion of oil and water will not have the same lubrication properties of a pure oil.
Oils used for lubricating food equipment is normally anything from rapeseed oil to palm oil.
If it is a mineral oil of an uncertain grade then by all mean use it on the assumption that any oil is better than none.
But, and no offence meant, is it worth using on a precious loco?
IMHO stick to using it on hinges or wiping on the mower blades to stop them rusting over winter.

Gremlin:93915 wrote:The kitchen at work had a tidy up and put this out to be disposed of.an old can of BP Energol EM150.
It was used on the old meat slicer.as such I'm guessing its a fairy light vegetable oil. It's thicker than 3in1 and doesn't soak into paper towel as quickly.  Would this be any good for our purposes of lubrication? I have a gallon of the stuff in a nice old can that must be from the 70's looking at the logo.

You are assuming that what is on the label is what is in the tin. It could be anything oily.....

Energol EM150 was an industrial lube oil, medium weight from the number, but it isn't a current BP product.

Some mineral oils can be used with food machinery, it depends on the additives, but the data sheet will list if it is suitable for use around food. Paraffin oil used for medical purposes is just a pure mineral oil.

Vegetable oils can go off over time from oxidation. Apart from getting thick and sticky, a vegetable oil that has gone off will contain organic acids like acetic acid (vinegar).

If there's no water and slime in the bottom of the tin, this stuff is probably OK for squeaky gate hinges.

I wouldn't use an unknown oil on my locos under any circumstances. A good quality mineral lube oil is cheaper than repairing/replacing parts........

Graeme

All relies taken on board and a very swift response from BP

Hi David

My data suggests this is a straight naphthenic oil – these are used in various applications – I would suggest you dispose of it as it sounds like it could have been there a while.

Can't see it doing the gate and shed hinges any harm though.

cheers all

Well if its got naptha in it, it might keep the moths away!