Bean Oil

[gedcruise]

Does anyone know whether there are any commercial bean oils out there?
Back in the day, Castrol R was based on castor bean oil.
I also recall reading years ago about a motor oil based on jojoba bean oil. Was such an oil ever offered commercially?
I have read that castor bean oil had oxidation problems, and would thicken considerably upon cooling after being run in a race.
Jojoba bean oil, however, was supposed to have outstanding heat resistance.
Just curious, and if anyone would know, the are probably on this site.

 

[Sylvatica]

I think, botanically, that jojoba oil is derived from the seed of the plant. I believe the fact that it is a very expensive oil has limited its use, but its attributes as a total-loss lubricant are supposed to be exceptional.

Lubegard derives its esters from rapeseed, AFAIK.

I think there are some diesel, bio-diesel and general lubes derived from soybean.

 

[Tom NJ]

Hi Gedcruise,

Natural vegetable oils are esters containing long chain fatty acids, usually unsaturated. As such they have great lubricity properties and high VIs, but suffer from low oxidative stability and high pour points. Castor oil and jojoba oil have better oxidative stability than other vegetable oils which is why they have some use in lubrication, but still are not stable enough to make a good motor oil. And the pour points are, well, poor. Jojoba is a liquid wax with a pour point of about +45F.

I am not aware on any commercial motor oils based entirely on vegetable oils, but some may use small quantities as a lubricity additive or marketing gimmick.

Tom

 

[itsme]

When I lived up in No Dak yrs ago, Stieger Tractor Co, now Interntational Tractor was doing some tests with NDSU on running Soybean Oil and Sunflower oil as fuel and lubricants. I don't know if that data was ever published. I worked on a project next to "US navagavatal waters" and used some Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil, thru investigation I found out it was Soybean Oil Highly refined with additives.

 

[MGBV8ROADSTER]

Castor oil is still available from Castrol and Silkolene.

 

[Eddie]

Man, I love the smell of the castor bean oil exhaust from a 2 cycle racing outboard engine.

 

[gedcruise]

That's what I was thinking. The scent, which you find at Mid Ohio during the vintage and the bike races, is the incense of racing.

 

[dwendt44]

You can get a small(3-4 oz.) bottle of Castor oil at some drug stores.
A tablespoon in the gas tank will give that wonderful 'race day' aroma. OR SO I'VE HEARD!
It tends to settle out if left sitting and may not be the best thing for you catalytic converter.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Wasn't Castor used in WW1 and II in radial aircraft engines?

 

[Gene K]

Castor oil is of little use in modern 2-Stroke Motorcycles as they tend to gum up the operation of the exhaust valving mechanisms they use.

 

[gedcruise]

I've read that castor oil was used in WW I rotaries, but not later. Imagine an engine in which the crankshaft was fixed, and the cyliders rotated about the crank.

 

[Ray H]

Quote:

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Wasn't Castor used in WW1 and II in radial aircraft engines?

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WW I, only. The available mineral oils couldn't stand up to what was considered a high stress application at that time. Castor oil could, though it had to be drained immediately when/(if) the pilot brought the airplane back to the aerodrome because it permanently gelled when it cooled. Aircraft engines of the time (both radial and inline configuration) typically had no valve covers. Those jaunty scarves the WW I pilots wore? They weren't for show - they were the only line of defense from the constant castor oil spray wafting right into the airmen's snoots. Even at that, there was still sufficient imbibation of castor oil that aerodromes had installed lavatories right off the plane parking area. (And even at that, some pilots still missed their last "target" of the mission...

) Pilot lounge drinking songs about their exclusive membership being real, regular guys had a hidden message understood by few outside the flying corps.

 

[Shannow]

Used to use castor based oil in my lawnmower (2 stroke).

Added greatly to the weekend chores with my yard smelling like a speedway.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Quote:

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When I lived up in No Dak yrs ago, Stieger Tractor Co, now Interntational Tractor was doing some tests with NDSU on running Soybean Oil and Sunflower oil as fuel and lubricants. I don't know if that data was ever published. I worked on a project next to "US navagavatal waters" and used some Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil, thru investigation I found out it was Soybean Oil Highly refined with additives.

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I believe biodegradable hydraulic oil is mandated and most federal sites...

 

[tdi-rick]

Castrol still make R30 and R40 Castor based engine lubes, as do several other manufacturers.

Oops, MGBV8 beat me to it....

 

[gedcruise]

Cool! My neighbor has a hardly used Lawnboy. I'll bet I could induce him to sell it to me. I could then buy some Castrol bean oil, and with each grass cutting, I could be perfuming the neighboorhood with the incense of racing.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:

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. Jojoba

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Somewhere around 1990 Amsoil put out an advertising aid quoting from a comparison sheet that showed that it beat M1 in the comparisons. A bunch of oils were listed. Jojoba bean oil beat both in in many of the testing categories. I assume that it used jojoba as a base oil :shrug:

Obviously, pour point couldn't have been its strong suit.