Tried to BBQ Some Oil Tonight.....

[Idrinkmotoroil]

After my experience with Castrol Syntec darkening up my engine recently I decided to throw 3 different oils on my BBQ in small aluminum ashtrays.

I put 2 teaspoons each of Redline 10w-30, Castrol Syntec 5w-40 BC , and Mobil1 10w-30. I got the temps up to 600 degrees F before shutting it down as they started smoking a bit. Each sample had the same volume and were exposed to even temps.

Only able to note a few things. Castrol 5w-40 bubbled the most, seemed to be boiling, followed by Mobil1, and Redline bubbled the least. Redline darkened the most , followed by Mobil1 and Castrol darkened the least. Castrol and Mobil1 seemed to loose the most volume, Redline very little change. Castrol and Mobil1 left some residue on the upper edges of the containers, likely where they boiled off, almost varnish like. Redline seems to have left the least deposits, but I will have to take a closer look at them when they cool off.

Overall, didn't really reveal much, Redline seemed to hold up the best from an overall perspective , though it was a lot more darker in colour. Hope to see a bit more when they cool down and I can slosh the oil around a bit in the containers and see if any deposits formed on the bottom.

 

[DJ]

Interesting test for sure but even if one caught fire I don't see what difference it makes as that is hotter than it will get in the engine. Not trying to critisize you just want that noted before someone starts hollering about how great or bad one of them is based on this test.
Those are all good oils, if you get the urge to play again I say throw a dino in the mix to see if the M1 comercials accurately portray what happens to dino as it gets hot. Remember the old frying pan commercials about"starts out as crude and ends up that way"

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

quote:

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Originally posted by DJ:
Interesting test for sure but even if one caught fire I don't see what difference it makes as that is hotter than it will get in the engine. Not trying to critisize you just want that noted before someone starts hollering about how great or bad one of them is based on this test.
Those are all good oils, if you get the urge to play again I say throw a dino in the mix to see if the M1 comercials accurately portray what happens to dino as it gets hot. Remember the old frying pan commercials about"starts out as crude and ends up that way"

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that's where I got the idea. Probably right , not much to learn from this test, other than all three oils are likely more than sufficient to hold up to the heat.

 

[pscholte]

Idm,

Couldn't you just have barbied some chicken or hot dogs?

Seriously, folks, that was an interesting test. It doesn't surprise me that the Redline took the heat best. Since it is the closest of the three to aviation turbine oil, I would expect it to stand up to high temps better than the other two.

 

[Pablo]

What does it taste like?

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pablo:
What does it taste like?

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Pabs,

Good question...if he had used two teaspoons engine oil, a pinch of oregano and just a leeeeetle lemon juice, might have been quite a basting sauce for some freshly caught King Salmon...oops, not the right time of year is it?

 

[medic]

Hey, don't forget the garlic!

The high heat will release the natural esters in the garlic, making for a yummy treat.

 

[coal68]

You better auto RX before you barbq again!!

 

[Santo Fontana]

I think the fact that you could see clear differences in what the oils did is pretty cool.

You should repeat the experiment, but this time with amsoil, gc, and synergyn too, and take pics!

 

[jorton]

Did they cool off yet? I was wondering if any of the samples separated.

Does the Castrol have a lower boiling point? If so, would it stay cooler in normal use.

Did something in the Redline burn? Must be if the ashtray was clean. Unless it disolved the coating on the aluminum.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

Just had a chance to look at them closer this morning. The only thing with the Redline was that it turned very black, to the point where you could not see through it anymore. There was a bit of staining at the upper rim, but it was the least of all three oils. The Castrol seemed to thicken up, and it had particles within it, some form of varnish or sludge type of particles I would imagine, it was the only oil with solids in it. Mobil1 seems very similar to its natural state in terms of viscosity, other than being slightly darker, and some varnishing at the upper rim, but no solids. All I can state from this experiment is that the Castrol seemed to fare the worst of the three due to the solids in the oil. Mobil1 had a bit of varnishing but not much change in viscosity. Redline had the smallest amount of varnishing, but the largest change in colour. Viscosity of Redline may be a tiny bit thicker, but not much.

 

[Schmoe]

You can get your grill up to 600F??? Wow, that's pretty dang hot. Also, I didn't think motor oil in an engine get's that hot. I still remember the M1 commercial where they put dino oil and M1 in a frying pan and showed the dino sludging up.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

I had the BBQ going for a long time to get the temps of the oil that high and had to keep the lid closed, as soon as I opened the lid the heat dissapated and the oil temps would drop. I was measuring the temps with my infrared thermometer. I was surprised that the temps topped out at 600 F because I thought most flash points are under 500 degrees. The flashpoint may have been when the oils began bubbling and smoking, not sure. May have been some inaccuracy in my termometer too, hard to say.

 

[Geoff]

I wonder if the solids in the Castrol are the viscosity improvers.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

I would have to say that is the likely cause, and the Castrol 5w-40 may have more Group 3 components. You would never see sump temps this high, but there may be parts of the engine that approach these temps, in the upper cylinder and piston ring areas. Probably where you would most likely get volatility burn off and light varnishing.

 

[TallPaul]

Wear safety goggles. Fun experiment. Maybe Dave at Redline could speculate on why his oil turned black, but tell him how poorly the others did first so he is in a good mood before you ask about the blackening.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

Based on that temperatutre chart the temps I got up to aren't too far off.

One thing about the Redline, it bubbled the least out of the three, might be due to the higher silicon levels it contains to reduce aeration and bubbling. Most people don't attribute colour to anything so nothing to complain about on the Redline sample regardless of how dark it was.

 

[buster]

quote:

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Most people don't attribute colour to anything so nothing to complain about on the Redline sample regardless of how dark it was

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Right. Leaving less deposits and less boil off is what I'd look for and RL beat the others out. Not surprised.

 

[JohnBrowning]

The color change is probably oxidation. I belive when they do tests like this in a lab they do them in a vaccum. The large vloume of O2 combined with the heat is probably what casued the darkening! I am glad you tested BC 5W40 becasue I was going to try it since it is available localy but not now!!

 

[mechtech]

There may be some real world value to the BBQ testing, because of the high heat from cumbustion affecting the oil on the cyl. walls and rings.
Looks alone don't tell the tale, however.