Mixing way oil brands in an automatic lube pump - OK?

I've used Vactra 2 way oil for a number of years but came into a 5-gal pail of Hangsterfer way lube. Is it OK to mix the Hangsterfer way lube with whatever Vactra 2 is left in the auto lubricator reservoir?

Have you ever seen the result of mixing baking soda and vinegar? You don't want that kind of mess on your hands!

So I guess that is a "No!" then. I'll admit to being a little surprised, but I'm no lube chemist. I'll try Hangsterfer tech support and see what they say. If nothing else, I can always mix a little of each together in a small bottle and see what happens.

In the mean time, I'd appreciate any horror or success stories others may have about mixing way oils from different manufacturers.

How old is your "new" pail of oil? I know Vactra #2 can turn to jelly if it gets old, as in close to 10 years old. Saw evidence of this when I cleaned out the way lube reservoir on a 14 year old mill too.

Rapid_Tech said:

Have you ever seen the result of mixing baking soda and vinegar? You don't want that kind of mess on your hands!

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Without question the result of mixing the two will not be as dramatic as this example. They are going to have a very similar viscosity. I think you re on the right track calling Hangsterfers, but really I doubt it would be a big deal.

If it were me, I would get as much of the old oil out, but even a full blown changeover is still going to have residuals from what you were using before. And I'm pretty sure we would have heard about anything too dramatic.

R

I was being sarcastic about the baking soda and vinegar thing to see if the OP would actually believe me. It's only oil, I would guess the two oils are 98-99% exactly the same, maybe a few additives might be slightly different.

Fill up the reservoir with the new stuff and worry about other things.

Rapid_Tech said:

I was being sarcastic about the baking soda and vinegar thing to see if the OP would actually believe me.

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If you read the posting guidelines they state very clearly; "NO Sarcasm allowed"!

R

I work in the lubrication market and work, as a chemist, in additives. I work for one of the 4 big
players. Lubrizol, Afton Chemical, Infinium and Oronite are the four big player, no I cannot say
who I work for, don't ask.

As far as mixing chemistries, I would advise against it. Drain the system, fill and flush with the
new oil and then drain again and refill.

I will tell you a story about a major manufacturer of marine engines, this happened in the 1990's, they
had just purchased 5 new CNC 5 axis milling machines. The machines were purchased just as we (the
lubricant supplier) were doing a lube audit in their plant. We with the customer help were implementing
a new system where everything lube point was color coded and where applicatable different fittings were
installed to prevent the wrong lube from being used. Most of the fittings were grease related but all
the fill points for waylubes and hydraulic fluids were not as they were just topping off tanks.


To make a long story short, the new mills were specified to use an R&O hydraulic fluid. Well the oilers
filled the tanks with an AW hydraulic fluid. The chemistries used are not compatible and resulted in a
heavy varnish that shut down the brand new machines. The machine had to be rebuilt at a cost that was
roughly 1/2 of the new purchase price. We also found numerous other machines that had been cross
contaminated.

Long story short, unless you have done testing (or your supplier has) don't mix lubricants. Was the
savings on the pail enough to cover damaged ways? Is the new oil recommended by you Machine tool
manufacturer?

I've heard of mixed grease types reacting with each other and producing abrasive granules.

mhajicek said:

I've heard of mixed grease types reacting with each other and producing abrasive granules.

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Yup, can happen, generally if you mix greases and they have the same thickener, then you are usually
good. Lithium soap with a lithium soap, you are good. Lithium with a polyurea or with a bentonite
grease you will have problems, like filling your diesel with gasoline. It is a definite issue.

It is not so much an issue of abrasive materials being formed but that there is no lubrication and you
get metal on metal grinding.

For cleaning lube lines on Fadals (fadal recomended) and BP's I have a oil can that I use to push kerosene thru the lines to clean them out. If I were to do what your proposing to do I would thouroughly flush with kerosene and then make the switch.

Personally I would stick with Vactra, it's not that expensive and you know it works.

The Hangsterfers site says the Waylube is availible in 5 viscosities, do you even have the right viscosity?

Machine Lubricants – Hangsterfer's Laboratories

triumph406 said:

For cleaning lube lines on Fadals (fadal recomended) and BP's I have a oil can that I use to push kerosene thru the lines to clean them out. If I were to do what your proposing to do I would thouroughly flush with kerosene and then make the switch.

Personally I would switch with Vactra, it's not that expensive and you know it works.

The Hangsterfers site says the Waylube is availible in 5 viscosities, do you even have the right viscosity?

Machine Lubricants – Hangsterfer's Laboratories

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You can use kerosene to flush lines, it has good solvency and will remove a lot of dirt and deposits, if present.

Vactra 1 - ISO 32
Vactra 2 - ISO 68
Vactra 3 - ISO 150
Vactra 4 - ISO 220

https://www.mobil.com/English-US/Industrial/pds/GLXXMobil-Vactra-Oil-Numbered-Series

FWIW - I use Vactra 2 in my machines.

Goo points all (aside from the vinegar and baking soda crack).

I've contacted Hangsterfer and am waiting to hear back, but they do say that their Way Oil 2 (which I have) is compatible with Vactra 2 (which I've been using) and recommend a change out procedure here:

https://customer.hangsterfers.com/reference/Way Oil Brand Compatibility.pdf

Seems like I should be good to go with a bit of work. Thanks for the help.

Mike Henry said:

Seems like I should be good to go with a bit of work. Thanks for the help.

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The last 5 gallons of Vactra I bought was $109.

I would make more money machining parts then I would save using a different way lube if I had to consider the down time associated with cleaning out the lube system, even on a BP. Now if I were in a garage looking to save every penny I could then that might be different, or if I were broke, and the Hangsterfers were free.

All Hangsterfers is suggesting is dumping the reservoir and changing the filter, which is good to do every few years anyway.

Meh. I have done exactly what you want to do with no ill effects and then back to vactra.

The only reason I went back to vactra is because the hangsterfers coolant didn't perform as well as what we were using and didn't help keep my hands from breaking out.

AARONT said:

Meh. I have done exactly what you want to do with no ill effects and then back to vactra.

The only reason I went back to vactra is because the hangsterfers coolant didn't perform as well as what we were using and didn't help keep my hands from breaking out.

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Mobilcut 140, 230 and 250 are really mild on skin.