Any real stats on syn oil use in the Actic..?

[addyguy]

In the late 1960's, synthetic oils were just starting to be developed, and one of their first uses was for cold weather operation. That made them perfect to assist companies drilling for oil in Alaska; and subsequently building the Alaskan Pipeline. They must have been a godsend for people working up there, as they would have been worlds different that the group I petroleum oils availiable at the time.

As we know, over time, conventional oils, even HD ones, have gotten much, much better in cold-weather performance. Synthetics are still probably the best in extreme cold, but the gap has closed.

What I'm wondering is, in general, how much have synthetic crankcase fluids been an 'important part' of working in the artic? When they were first developed, were they the godsend that they seemed, and EVERYBODY used them, and they are what helped work progress, or were they still a 'novelty' used by a few people/companies, and most still used conventional oil and heaters...etc. as they had before?

In moving forward to today, with the advances in conventional oils, and how much costs have gone up, what is the situation today? Do most outfits just get by with good HDEO, and only have probles on the coldest days, or are most outfits using one of the many HDEO syns on the market to get the best performance?

Does anyone have any hard numbers on the amount they are used, and how this number may have changed over the years?

 

[02zx9r]

not sure of any numbers but would be interested in seeing them.

 

[Johnny]

Very good question. Wonder what oils they use on the base stations on the North Pole and South Pole.

 

[Cyprs]

Not much help but I remember in around 1978-79 using a product called Shell Artic Oil 5-30, loud yellow quart with the big red shell logo, on top can big red font Artic Oil 5-30. I believe it was a semi blend, at time one could buy full syn Mobil 1 in grey and black quart cans for $6.00 quart, 10-30. This shell 5-30 stuff was about $2.35 quart.

Everyone at the time told me to get that thin 5-30 oil out as soon at temps increased to 0F or -18C. That was a brutal cold winter in S.E. Saskatchewan that year, -40 to -45C with brutal windchill. I do remember my car being the car of choice to go anywhere in those conditions, my Datsun cold started everytime with that then contervesial 5-30 oil, everyone else was using 10-30 dino, molasses.

Wish I had the specs on that Shell Arctic Oil too, it was one of first 5-30 I ever saw and definately used, it disappeared when I looked for it the next year. Now, nothing but 0-XX year round.

Cyprs

 

[wavinwayne]

I've wondered about this, too; especially after watching "Ice Road Truckers", as well as the other shows about Alaska that the History Channel shows once in a while.

I'll bet the shops in and around the "Ice Roads" use a lot of 0w30 & 0w40 HDEO's. I wonder how gear oils, and wheel bearing greases react to extreme cold. I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that any of these guys has gone to the trouble of repacking their wheel bearings with synthetic grease, and I'll bet they use dino gear oil, too.

 

[OilGuy]

Ice road truckers (and many other regular truckers) likely do not use a #2 grease, but rather a synthetic gear lube for their wheel bearings.

The Alaska Pipeline work was where Mobil Delvac 1 was first developed.

 

[wavinwayne]

I guess if any of us wanted to know for sure, we could always look up the repair shop that the "Ice Road Truckers" use, and give the guys a call.

 

[BennyL]

hmmm, interesting topic. i'm sure someone on here knows a guy who knows a guy who has an uncle that works those parts...

 

[Cyprs]

Back in 1970 to 1974 I lived in Uranium City Sask as a kid. My father started his Sasktel (telephone truck 1966 ford) every morning in -45 to -60 F with 10w oil. Plugged in it never failed once to start in 4 long harsh winters, took a lot of cranking to get er goin though. I went back up there in 1977 and again in 1981 close to when the mine shut down, that truck was still running great. They used straight 30 summer. That truck is now restored at Sask Tel in Swift Current Sask, I am told it is original drivetrain and still runs.

Temps at the NWT border where I was in early 70's may have been colder then than extreme north is now considering global warming. I watch extreme northern temps now, they do still get cold but the cold does not seem to last months uninterrupted like it did back then.

In early 1970s they had to cross Lake Athabaska winter road on 3 day journey hauling mine equipt from Fort MacMurray. (did it with barge in summer) They had to put heavy canvas tarps on the engines and run them full time when stopped too in well below -45C temps. They carried a lot of fuel with them. This was all pre-syn oil, that dino mono light weight oils did pretty good for those conditions.

Cyprs

 

[addyguy]

Interesting stuff, Cyprs, and a funny coincidence too - my MIL moved to Uranium City in the early 1980's b/c her boyfriend at the time worked in the mines up there. There were only there for 2 years or so, but my wife remebers a bit of it...

 

[Gary Allan]

The obviously lived with whatever side effects presented themselves. They may have left engines running 24/7 except for refueling and checking of fluid levels. They surely had generators that ran under the same conditions and plugged in block/pan/diff/trans warmers if needed .......and probably wore out stuff a whole lot faster than today. Consumption rates may have been ridiculous ...etc..etc.

 

[Cyprs]

I lived in UC 1970 to 74 back up again a year in 1977 back up again in 1980 to 1981, probably bumped into your kin at some point in Legion, going to work underground or Eldorado/UC. I have lived about 20 different towns in my life, UC is considered as my only home town, paradise, my wife and I are moving back to north Sask to retire and fish with a absolute secluded/private cabin on a small obscure lake, cabin access with boat only, the only worrie in life I will have is what to eat with my pure fresh water fish. I miss the days of seeing someone else on a boat fishing 2 miles away and find myself saying "man, is it busy out here today, I cant take all the people on this lake." Paradise.

I just scanned 200 35 mil pictures with a slide digital scanner I just bought I put them on digital form on my computer, brings tears to my eyes when I see them, I ask myself what the ---- am I doing here south, this is not living.

If you like a couple of websites to catch up on people and pictures going back from mid 50s to early eighties when the mine shut down and current pictures of U.C. today, let me know and I will post the web address in this tread Addyguy.

Yeah Gary, it would have been hard on the oil/everything, they had to do what they had to do in conditions. Took a lot of guts to make a 3 day trip accross that ice in -45F, they had communications but air planes landing in emergency was risky due to massive pressure ridges and fastest help may have been skidoo, surest thing was dog team, lots of them up there. Introduction of syn multigrade oils must of been a blessing, funny how little emphasis was on oil in those days, oil was oil, just used it. Where were really many additives back then for discussion like now in formats in BITOG?

Cyprs

 

[countryboy9799]

Originally Posted By: OilGuy
Ice road truckers (and many other regular truckers) likely do not use a #2 grease, but rather a synthetic gear lube for their wheel bearings.


All of the big trucks that I have used have gear lube in their bearings up front and on the trailer's.
Scott

 

[oilyriser]

You bring the generator indoors at night, then start it up the next day a couple hours early to run the block heaters.

 

[MolaKule]

MAny of those early artic oils had doses of Group V alkylated benzenes and alkylated naphthalenes in them to reduce pour points.

 

[H2GURU]

Its not quite the Arctic, but I've used MOBIL-1 5w30 in a pump for liquid hyrogen (-430F )for over 25 years w/o a failure even though oil sump has been run almost dry several times. Pump occaisonally runs round the clock but primarily M-F operation for 12 hours. It is NOT, however, exposed to any hydrocarbons.

 

[addyguy]

Found part of my answer, from this site:

http://www.d.umn.edu/~cstroupe/archive/5230/glocal/prudhoe/www.d.umn.edu/~hoef0049/pbunusual.html

"Vehicles are left running from September through May, 24 hours a day (the only exception is when they come into the shop.) Otherwise, they just wouldn't start again. This obviously consumes a lot of fuel, but Prudhoe Bay diverts a small amount of its production to a small on-site refinery, where diesel fuel is made. Vehicles do not come to the refinery to fill up, rather a pair of fuel trucks goes around the field and delivers it to all the vehicles, just like home heating oil delivery."

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Fellow I worked with at the time went to Cold Weather exercise in Alaska. The were operating out of 3/4 ton huts--
left the engine running all night. In the morning, threw it in gear and the transmission exploded. OOPS!

That was about the time synthetic engine oils were coming out.

 

[addyguy]

Found this quote in another thread:

"I was watching Ice Road Truckers the other weekend and they were showing a rig getting repaired in their shop. Low and behold there was a huge stack of Delvac jugs! I always wondered what they used up there."

Makes sense!

 

[Drew99GT]

Was it the 15w40 or 5w-40?

I don't even think you could start a semi unaided with either. They keep them suckers running, or have to bring them into the shop or run a heater under the engine blocks to start them when it's 40 below.