Bauer compressor oil

[clarkey]

I'm using an electric BAUER Divemate 8, in a remote location in Nicaragua, so don't have quick and easy access to the usual supplies. I usually use August Industries SL-500 lubricant oil, but I've run out and my next shipment of supplies is a couple of months away (it takes a long time to get stuff here!!). I'm trying to find an alternative lubricant that I would be able to get hold of in our capital city that would work as a replacement. I'd also need to know whether it could top up the existing lubricant or we'd need to drain and re-fill the compressor. For example I've seen other people use refrigeration lubricant, so is there something like that we could use? Thanks for any help...

 

[underH2Oman]

You should be able to top it up with a similar lubricant. topping up with other formulations could cause problems. Some types do not mix well. Mixing 2 oils together creates a third untested oil.
yours is a diester base synthetic 30 w.

Here is a general chart re oils and moving from one to another.

 

[swamp diver]

I believe your block is an IK120 for which the recommended oil would be an ISO 150 or SAE 40 weight rather than the ISO 100 or SAE 30 (Chemlube 501) you are currently using. Particularly in the tropical environment you would want to use the heavier weight oil.

Bauer USA currently loads all their breathing air compressors with the Ultrachem Chemlube 800 oil which is an ISO 150 oil but one can only purchase this OEM oil through a Bauer distributor.

A very similar and more readily available oil used for decades in breathing air compressors is the Chemlube 751 which is a synthetic diester ISO 150, 40 weight oil. You can email Ultrachem and ask who would have the Chemlube 751 either in Managua or more likely in San Jose, CR.
http://pdf.ultracheminc.com/CHEMLUBE_215-229-230-501-751-822.pdf

If you can't find that you could use the Shell Corona AP100 in a pinch which should also be available down there. It is a ISO 100 triester oil but could be much more expensive and is a 30 wt oil. You'd have to purchase a 20 liter pail though.
http://www.epc.shell.com/Docs/GPCDOC_Local_TDS_United_Kingdom_Shell_Corena_S4_P_100_(en-GB)_TDS.pdf
Costa Rica - Shell Global

 

[clarkey]

So I ended up ordering some oil from the US via DHL, which arrived in Managua 18 hours later.... but 5 days later is still stuck in customs!!! So I'm thinking about a more robust long term solution and using a lubricant which is available locally. I contacted UltraChem and they have no distributors in the whole of Central America, waiting to hear back on the Shell Corena product.
I know a couple of other dive centres in the country use a lubricant called Capella which is available in Managua, but which from basic research looks like a mineral oil so not something I could use to top up or mix with our synthetic lube. But assuming that I could drain and flush out our compressor (which is a bit of a leap, but hey, one step at a time), then would this Capella oil be suitable for using in our Divemate 8 compressor, which does indeed use an IK120 block as swampdive noted above?

 

[Wookie]

I thought Ultrachem would ship to anyone. They ship 5 gallon pails to me on credit card account 3 times a year.... Now, 501 but have bought 751 and 800 also.

 

[clarkey]

Yes Ultrachem can ship oil, but as I live on an island with no postal service it would end up getting stuck in the same customs warehouse that my other oil is currently sat in!
That's why I'm looking for an alternative that I can readily buy in a store in country and avoid lengthy processes

 

[swamp diver]

I would definitely not use that Capella oil in a breathing air compressor. It appears to be a refrigeration compressor oil with a napthenic mineral base stock which normally has much higher contents of narcotic straight chain and aromatic volatiles (see figure below). Once your activated charcoal bed has reached capacity with these volatiles or if the air stream temp is too high a slug of these volatiles will come into the air downstream of your purifier. These volatiles can anesthetize a diver underwater which obvious consequences.

The mineral oils used for breathing air compressors are typically API Type II or II+ paraffinic oils with very low aromatic contents and fewer additives than found in the napthenic oils which often are toxic.

Finally it appears that for most of those napthenic refrigeration oil they don't make an ISO 100 or 150 viscosity oil.



Here are a few more ideas to try as it sounds like you might be stuck out on La Isla Maiz Pequena.

1. Email of call Lawrence Factor in Miami and ask if they have any distributors in Nicaragua, Honduras, or CR.
LAWRENCE FACTOR®

One of their oils called the SecoLube 500 is the Chemlube 751 rebranded in their name. It is an ISO 150 viscosity oil.
LAWRENCE FACTOR®

Do not use the SecoLube 550 which is a diesel motor oil.

2. On the island north of you, Roatan, there are probably at least 30 to 40 high pressure dive compressors. Someone on that island must be importing an HP compressor oil for all those compressors. It might be easier to purchase from one of the dive shops up there and have it shipped down.

Below is a photo of the Secolube 500 oil at the Roatan Splash Inn Dive centre (formerly Pura Vida) so you could email them and ask where they purchased the oil. The Italian guy who used to run the Pura Vida had one of the best compressor set ups on the island. The new ownership though may no longer use the same oil.

You could also email Alvin at Native Sons who was born on the island and knows everyone and everything about diving.
Native Sons Diving - Inroducing The Owners - Journeys Through a Blue World

There appears to be a compressor store in Coxen Hole selling Coltri compressors which means they would have an ISO 150 viscosity oil on hand for those HP compressors.
Contact Us | Roatan Scuba Mares Store


3. I was going to suggest there would also be someone on San Andres, Columbia to your east with compressor oil but given that Nicaragua still lays claim to San Andres I doubt you would ever see your oil from Nica customs.

Give those options a try but Lawrence Factor should be able to tell you a dive shop on Roatan or in Costa Rica which would have the SecoLube 500 (Chemlube 751) on hand.

Let us know how you make out.

 

[swamp diver]

I gave LF a call for you since there is a toll free number up here. A few leads to follow. There are no distributors in Nicaragua.

1. Roatan, Honduras

Sueno de Mar dive resort imports the SecoLube 500 in one gallon jugs and resells them. Contact might be Ray Lopez.
Contact Form for Sueno del Mar Scuba Diving Resort and Roatan West End Hoteln

Also try the Coltri distributor above in Coxen Hole and see what oil they are selling.


2. Small LF distributor in Costa Rica.

El Arais Azul
San Pablo (next to Heridia)
Tel 506-2560-1800

If either Honduras or CR has a trade agreement with Nicaragua you should be able to bypass the customs hassles.



3. Another couple sources for the Chemlube 751 in the US

Nuvair 751 = CL751

Compressor Supply & Consumables - Oil

Scuba Compressor

 

[clarkey]

Thanks a lot swampdiver, that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I know we've used Secolube 500 in the past, not sure why recently we've ended up using August Industries SL-500 instead, but I guess we thought it was the same oil just packaged for a different supplier. I will contact the guys in Roatan for sure though, and maybe give a heads up to those I know that are using Capella also!! Thanks again, really appreciate the detailed response and the extra effort.