Nu-Calgon Product Bulletin

3-68

Refrigeration Oils
Fully formulated polyol ester lubricant
OEM-approved, including Copeland
approved RL32-3MAF

Emkarate RL Lubricants

For CFC, HCFC and HFC applications

Compatible with mineral oils,
alkylbenzenes and PAGs

Description

Critical issues

The Emkarate family of lubricants is a wide range of

polyol ester refrigeration oil products. They are designed
specifically for use with HFC refrigerants, developed
to meet the performance demands of the refrigeration
industry. This superior performance is achieved with
basefluids that are specifically formulated to deliver
optimum performance with minimal additive levels.

Additives vs Non-Additives. An increasing trend is

the preference to specify lubricants that do not contain
additives, as they are not needed in the majority of cases
using properly formulated base lubricants. Experiences
such as decreased lubricant stability, sludge formation,
and component deposits, are concerns related to the
use of additives. At the same time, it is understood
that additives can also enhance performance in certain
particularly demanding applications may be necessary.

Application
The requirements of todays refrigeration and air
conditioning compressor lubricants are complex. They
must be compatible and miscible with the HFC refrigerants,
and they must be compatible and miscible with CFCs and
HCFCs as well as mineral and alkylbenzene oils. Polyol
ester lubricants meet these needs, and the EMKARATE RL
line is the preferred choice. Working in close collaboration
with compressor and system manufacturers, these OEMapproved POE lubricants cover a wide viscosity range
from 7 cSt (35-40 SUS) to 220 cSt (1100 SUS) to suit most
applications. The lubricants have excellent thermal and
chemical stability, and are compatible with a wide range
of elastomers, polymeric materials and other materials of
construction. Additionally, then higher viscosity index is
an indication that their effective viscosity will not change
drastically with the wide swings in temperature seen by
most typical refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
They are the preferred choice for servicing and retrofitting
existing equipment as well as for OEM charging.

Miscibility. Since some lubricant will travel with the

refrigerant in any air conditioning or refrigeration system,
it is imperative that they be fully miscible and soluble
with one anotherat all temperatures that the system will
experience. This insures good oil return and lubricity to
the compressor, and no blockage or loss of heat transfer
in the evaporator. In traditional systems, the CFC or HCFC
refrigerant is miscible and soluble with the mineral or
alkylbenzene oil. On the other hand, if these oils and an
HFC refrigerant are mixed, they are mutually immiscible
and essentially insoluble. They will separate into two
distinct phases in the evaporator and the oil will coat the
inside of the tubes, resulting in a loss of heat transfer and
potentially a lack of lubrication in the compressor.
HFC refrigerants and POE lubricants are fully miscible and
have high mutual solubility. As a result, POE lubricants are
the proper choice when using HFC refrigerants.

2008 Altom Ct. St. Louis, MO 63146 800-554-5499 www.nucalgon.com

Calgon is a licensed trade name (116) 3-68

Blending Different POE Brands

Moisture

There are two main types of POE oils currently approved for
use in refrigeration compressor applications: unaddivated
POEs and formulated POEs which may contain up to 3%
additives.

At the same time, if acceptable packaging and good

service procedures are used and care is exercised in the
handling of the oil, moisture should not be a problem. If the
container of the POE is metal and it is tightly sealed after
each use, no serious ingress of moisture should occur to
unused oil. In addition, the use of the appropriate driers and
proper service practices will result in the effective control
and removal of moisture. In fact, since HFCs effectively
compete with the POE for any moisture present (i.e. water
moves from the oil to the refrigerant), the moisture will be
more easily removed from the refrigerant by the driers.

Compressor manufacturers often approve several

lubricants for use in a particular compressor application.
Part of the process of approving them is the understanding
that the approved oils may end up being blended with
each other in a system. The blending of approved oils is
most acceptable. When in doubt, consult the compressor
manufacturer.

When two unaddivated lubricants are mixed, the

performance of the resulting blend is between the
performance of the separate lubricants. So long as the
lubricants are approved, the resulting mixture should
be suitable. However, when a non-additized lubricant is
blended with an additized lubricant, some decrease in the
performance of the additive may be seen since the additive
dose rate of the formulated lubricant will be diluted by the
unaddivated lubricant. This can be especially problematic
for formulated oils containing foaming agents as these
agents tend to be very dose-rate sensitive. Care should be
taken and the OEM consulted for advice.

Hygroscopicity is the term used to describe a lubricants

affinity for moisture, and POEs are known to be
hygroscopic. They absorb water more quickly than mineral
or alkylbenzene oils from the surrounding environment. For
this reason, care should be exercised during the servicing
of equipment charged with or about to be charged with a
polyol ester.

TYPICAL PROPERTIES
PROPERTY & PROCEDURE

RL22H

RL32-3MAF

RL32H*

RL68H

RL68HP*

RL100E

RL170H

Viscosity @ 40C (cSt),

ASTM D-445

18.9

31.2

33.7

72.3

72.3

100

170

230

220

Viscosity @ 100C (cSt),

ASTM D-445

4.2

5.8

5.9

9.8

9.8

12.0

17.0

19.5

19.0

Typical SUS Viscosity

@ 100F

100

150

150

300

300

500

850

1100

1100

Viscosity Index,
ASTM D-2270

120

125

110

120

120

120

108

100

97

Pour Point (C),

ASTM D-97

-52

-40

-46

-39

-39

-20

-25

-15

-30

Density @ 20C (g/ml),

ASTM D-1298

0.995

0.981

0.977

0.977

0.976

0.970

0.968

0.976

0.980

Flash Point (COC) (C),

ASTM D-92

240

230

270

270

260

230

290

280

300

Acid Value (mgKOH/g),

ASTM D-974 modified

0.01

<0.05

0.02

<0.02

<0.02

<0.05

<0.02

<0.02

<0.05

Water Content (ppm), ASTM

E 1064-85

<50

<50

<50

<50

<50

<50

<50

<50

<50

1.4519

1.4540

1.4530

1.4557

1.4566

1.4574

1.4590

1.4580

1.4580

Refractive Index @ 28C

*For information on RL32HB or RL68HB contact Nu-Calgon.

Viscosity Designations: 3MAF (CF) = Copeland Formulation; H = High Solubility;
N = Special for McQuay; HP & HC = Special for Carrier Internally Geared Chillers

RL220H+ RL220HC+

Rapid Retrofit - Do it on one call

Retrofit existing low and medium temperature CFC or HCFC systems to one of the long term
HFC refrigerants in one service call using the patented Rapid Retrofit Procedure.

Use on low temp & medium temp systems

Use of POE is minimized as compared to the
3-4 flush process
Completed in one service call, in 4 hours or less
Do single compressor up to multi-compressor
rack systems
SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS
1. Run defrost cycle on all evaporators in order to
maximize the movement (return) of mineral oil to
the compressor.
2. Turn refrigeration off and isolate the compressor.
Remove refrigerant from compressor via accessible
ports using appropriate methods and recovery
equipment. Remaining portion of CFC refrigerant
will stay in the rest of the system.
3. This down-time where compressor is open to
atmosphere will provide for the warming of the oil
in the compressor and facilitate its subsequent
draining.
4. Drain mineral oil from compressor. Where possible,
drain any oil remaining in other system components
such as receivers, accumulators and separators.
It is recommended that this step not be rushed;
taking adequate time will allow for full warming
and a subsequently more complete draining of the
mineral oil from the compressor. This is important,
particularly on medium temp systems that may
not have hot gas defrost nor electric defrost or
warming.
5. Replace with equal volume (equal to what was
removed) of approved EMKARATE RL lubricant.
Charge with appropriate equipment (sealed
refrigeration oil pumps, etc.) and procedures.
6. Change filter driers.
7. Using same hand pump (Robinair, Thermal
Engineering, etc.), add an additional volume of the
EMKARATE RL lubricant (equal to 1/2 of what was
just charged to the compressor(s) to the systems
liquid line after the condenser, and after the
receiver, if there is one.
8. Continue using the pump to adequately push this
additional lubricant into the system.
9. If there are multiple evaporators, be sure that all
automatic defrosts are disengaged.
10. Re-charge the portion of CFC that was removed
from the compressor in step two. Again, use
appropriate methods and equipment.

11. Re-energize or start system, remembering that

you have approximately 50% extra lubricant in the
system. This additional lubricant will enable the
system to be scoured or more efficiently cleaned
of remaining mineral oil.
12. Monitor the compressor crankcase oil level, and
drain crankcase as necessary to maintain proper
oil levels. In about 15-30 minutes, most of the extra
lubricant, including much of the remaining mineral
oil, will have been drained from the system.
13. After 30-40 minutes, run defrost cycle(s) again to
maximize oil return in the compressor(s).
14. De-energize or turn off the system and sample the
oil from the compressor crankcase; if there are
multiple compressors, take a sample from each.
15. Using your Nu-Calgon Refractometer (P/N 4815-0),
test the sample(s) for residual mineral oil content.
For this first test, you should not expect the
residual mineral oil to automatically have reached
the target of 5%. If youre sampling more than one
compressor, take an average of the test results.
16. Isolate compressor once again, and recover CFC
in compressor, again using appropriate procedures.
17. Drain lubricant from compressor, and charge
with an equal volume of the same EMKARATE RL
lubricant.
18. Change filter driers.
19. Re-charge the portion of CFC that was removed
from the compressor in step two. Again, use
appropriate methods and equipment.
20. Re-energize or start system, and run to achieve full
circulation of lubricant/refrigeration mixture.
21. Sample oil and test with refractometer.
a) If mineral oil residual is below 5%, and it should
be, turn system off and recover CFC appropriately.
Charge system with selected HFC refrigerant.
b) If mineral oil residual is still above 5%, and this
would by very unusual, repeat Steps 15-18 and
retest.

CURRENT APPROVAL STATUS WITH HFC REFRIGERANTS

COMPRESSOR MANUFACTURER

TYPE OF MODEL

APPROVED LUBRICANT

APV BAKER (J & E HALL)

HALLSCREW

RL 100E

BITZER

SCREW

RL 170H

BLISSFIELD

RECIPROCATING (OPEN DRIVE)

RL 68H

BOCK

RECIPROCATING

RL 22H, 32H, 46H, 68H, 100E

CARRIER (CAES, TRANSICOLD)

RECIPROCATING O6DR FOR MARINE CONTAINERS

CENTRIFUGAL CHILLERS (17EA, 17DA)
EXTERNALLY GEARED CHILLERS (17EX, 17FA, 17MPS)
INTERNALLY GEARED CHILLERS (17EX, 17FA, 19EA,
19EB, 19FA, 19XL, 19XT, 19EX, 19XR, 19XRT)

RL 22H
RL 32H
RL 68H

CARRIER/CARLYLE

RECIPROCATING (05G, 05K, 06D, 06E, 06CC C3)

SCREW (05T & 06T)

RL 68H
RL 100E

COPELAND

SEMI AND HERMETIC RECIPROCATING AND

GLACIAL SCROLLS

RL 32-3MAF
RL 32CF, RL 22CF

DORIN

SEMI HERMETIC RECIPROCATING (K SERIES)

RL 22H

DUNHAM BUSH

RECIPROCATING (D-B METIC & D-LINE)

SCREW (VERTICAL)

RL 32H, 68H
RL 68H

MANEUROP

PERFORMER SCROLLS, LTZ & MTZ RECIPS

RL 32H

MCQUAY INTERNATIONAL

CENTRIFUGAL (100 & 126)

CENTRIFUGAL (050, 063, 079, 087)
SCREW (COMMERCIAL ITEM NUMBER AA5063472)
SCREW (FRAME 2 AND FRAME 4 MODELS)

RL 32H
RL 32H
RL68H
RL 68HP

ROYCE

RECIPROCATING (FULL LINE)

RL 32H

SABROE

RECIPROCATING & SCREW

RL 32H, 46H, 68H, 100E, 220H+

SRM

TWIN SCREW

RL 150S

TECUMSEH

RECIPROCATING

RL 32H

THERMOKING

RECIPROCATING (FOR CONTAINERS)

RL 32H

TRANE

SCREW
SCROLL

RL 68H
RL 32HB

USA MILITARY

NSN 9150-01-387-4469
NSN 9150-01-410-8972
NSN 9150-01-443-9390
NSN 9150-01-443-9396
NSN 9150-01-435-1899

RL 68H
RL 68H
RL 46H
RL 46H
RL 68H

VATANU-COOL ROTARYVANE

ORBITAL VANE ROTARY (OVR)

RL 220H+

RL 68HP

This approval list should be used as a guide only. Users should confirm with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) which EMKARATE
RL grade is qualified for use with a particular combination of compressor model, refrigerant and application. OEMs advice should always
be taken. Only use approved lubricants. On systems calling for RL32S or RL68S substitute RL32H or RL68H, respectively.

NU-CALGON PART NUMBERS

EMKARATE RL
22H
32H
32HB
32-3MAF
46H
68H
68HB
68HP
100E
170H
220H+
220XL

VISCOSITY
100 SUS
150 SUS
150 SUS
150 SUS
200 SUS
300 SUS
300 SUS
300 SUS
500 SUS
850 SUS
1100 SUS
1100 SUS

1 QUART
4314-44
4314-64
4316-44
-

1 GALLON
4313-46
4314-46
4314-66
4315-46
4316-46
4316-86
4316-76
4317-66
4318-26
4318-66
-

5 GALLON
4314-45
4314-62
4314-65
4316-45
4316-85
4318-25
4318-65
4318-75

Read and understand the products label and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for precautionary and first aid information.
The SDS is available on the Nu-Calgon website at www.nucalgon.com.
2008 Altom Ct. St. Louis, MO 63146 800-554-5499 www.nucalgon.com
Calgon is a licensed trade name (116) 3-68

53 GALLON
4314-41
4314-67
4315-41
4316-41
4317-61
-