Universal Tractor Oil - a special gift for farmers
(Happy farmers’ day. Thank you for feeding us. We are proud of you)
SUPER Tractor Universal Oil (STOU) is a special gift for farmers. The oil, also known as multi-purpose agricultural lubricant is built with an avalanche of remarkable and rare combination of properties meant to solve most engine, transmission, hydraulic system, wet brakes and immersed clutches lubrication needs with one type of oil.
In other words, this oil can be used as engine oil, transmission oil, hydraulic oil and in the brake system in a tractor. You cannot find this kind of combination for other vehicles and monetary savings.
Some farmers are already using this oil while others are not aware of it. This oil represents the best form of rationalization in that it is virtually used in all tractor applications. The farmer does not need to stock all sorts of lubricants to lubricate different systems of his tractors. Indeed, this is a gorgeous gift from the engineering world in conjunction with oil marketing companies. The oil, an API 20W/40 or 15W/40 (API stands for American Petroleum Institute; API develops standards for classifying engine oils according to their performance), is a multi- grade combing abilities to with stand winter conditions and summer conditions without drastic loss of original viscosity (thickness) status.
When analyzed as engine oil, this oil is an SAE 20W/40 in most cases. When analyzed as gear box oil or transmission oil, it is an SAE 85W/90 meeting an API GL 4 specification though this has been superseded by API GL 5 from innovative oil companies. GL stands for gear lube. Additionally, when analyzed as hydraulic oil, it meets ISO Viscosity Grade ( VG) 68/100. By and large, this oil meets and exceeds specified, demanded and stringent requirements of most Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for tractors such as Massey Ferguson, Ford and John Deere. With only one type of oil for all these applications, great savings and rewards are guaranteed for a discerning farmer.
It is designed to maximize the protection of agricultural equipment, thereby reducing maintenance costs, down time and extending the equipment’s running life. It is amazing that a single product can be used to practically meet most of a farmer’s equipment lubrication requirements. Some of the outstanding benefits are as follows:
• Reducing stock holding costs
• Reducing the possibility of an incorrect lubricant being used
• Cuts down space used to store lubricants
• It is very convenient
• Increased service life of the lubricant
• Extended component life
• Prevent ring sticking and breakage
• Ensures clean and efficient engine operation • Excellent detergency / dispersancy additives • Excellent anti-oxidant properties and thermal stability • Corrosion preventative additives • Excellent shear stability ensuring “Stay – in – grade” feature • Readily available in 5 litre pails, 20 litre pails, and 210 litre drums from leading Oil Marketing Companies.
• It can also be used as petrol engine oil where an old specification of API SF quality is approved. STOU evolved out of the general – purpose tractor hydraulic fluids ( THF), which catered for all non – engine lubrication requirement of farm machinery. An STOU adds engine lubrication to the requirements and provides a general – purpose farm lubricant to use in all vehicle engines, transmissions and hydraulic systems of tractors.
Just in case you need a bit more explanation on multi- grade oil; multi-grade lubricants are designated by two numbers on an oil container usually written just after the abbreviation SAE (SAE stands for Society of Automotive Engineers). In the case of Supper Tractor Oil Universal; when used in the engine, the oil behaves like an SAE 15W/ 40 or SAE 20W/40. In order to avoid the challenges of changing oil when it is cold and again changing when is hot, multi- grade oil was developed. Before its development, it was a nightmare.
When temperature became wickedly low, one would use winter lubricants such as SAE 15W and when temperatures became high; one would drain the winter oil and use a summer lubricant such as SAE 40. This was costly and very inconveniencing; hence the birth of multi-grades. Single grades such as SAE 40 are called mono-grades. In the case of multi-grade oil, the first number indicates the viscosity at low or winter temperature and the second indicates viscosity at high temperature. When multi- grades are used, the need to drain and replace with oil suitable for a particular season is eliminated.
Further elaboration; when this oil is put in the transmission system for instance gear box, it behaves like an EP SAE 85W/90. Never mind about the nomenclature; EP stands for Extreme Pressure. It is a special type
of additive that is added to base oil when blending gear oil. It is meant to ensure that when gears mesh, a lubricant film is supposed to separate metal to metal contact no matter the pressure. Without this additive, when gears mesh such as when you engage the gear, the oil film between the gear teeth would be splashed out thereby causing direct metal to metal contact, and giving birth to a recipe for a costly disaster.
Indeed, Super Tractor Oil Universal is meant to be the farmer’s first choice oil where specification for an STOU permits. If your agricultural equipment specifies an STOU, this is the lubricant to look for. For those farmers with latest Tractors or Combine Harvesters requiring a API GL 5 for gears and an advanced API specification, please contact leading Oil Marketing Companies. I believe they have something for oil. Cut lubrication costs by sustaining a consolidation strategy.
Johnstone Chikwanda is an energy expert and a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Zambia, a PhD candidate at Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA