Industrial lubrication and storage FAQ

Viscosity refers to a lubricant’s resistance to flow. Viscosity can influence lubricant life expectancy, equipment wear rate, energy consumption, fluidity and a range of other factors. You can learn more about viscosity and viscosity index here.

Greases may show deterioration in one or more of the following ways:

• Excessive oil separation
• Some “bleed” is normal and required (see Technical Topic titled “Grease oil release characteristics”)
• Significant change (>25 percent) in the grease consistency as measured by worked or unworked penetration. Grease consistency affects the ease of grease application, low-temperature performance and stayput performance, all critical characteristics ensuring proper grease lubrication. In technical terms, grease’s consistency is referred to as its NLGI Grade – from NLGI 000 (semifluid) to NLGI 6 (block – very firm)
• Significant change in color or odor
• Noticeable change in texture

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Shelf life recommendations for lubrication oils and greases."

Shelf life represents the time period during which a stored product, such as lubricating oils and greases, can continue to be used without quality-control checks to verify performance attributes.

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Shelf life recommendations for lubrication oils and greases.”

If you have ever opened a grease container and found a puddle of free oil, you almost certainly may have wondered whether the grease is still fit for use. The phenomenon described is called static oil bleed. Some in-depth review of grease fundamentals is needed to comprehend it is inherent to greases.

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Grease static oil bleed.”

There is a fundamental difference between product life in storage and product life in service. During storage, the packaged product generally remains motionless for extended periods, and can be exposed to cyclic variation in temperature and other environmental conditions such as vibration, which can impact the components of the formulation or potentially allow ingress of contaminants from the environment – both of which have the potential to affect the product’s performance characteristics. However, when the lubricant is in service, it is exposed to the dynamic conditions of the lubricated system (e.g., circulation, splashing, churning, etc.).

Once a product has been placed in service, its suitability for continued use becomes a function of other factors.

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Shelf life recommendations for lubrication oils and greases.”

In general, the recommended shelf life for Mobil-branded greases is five years when stored properly in the original sealed containers.

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Shelf life recommendations for lubrication oils and greases.”

If not handled and stored properly, lubricating oils and greases can deteriorate or become contaminated. You can find a detailed explanation of indoor, outdoor and bulk storage recommendations here or contact your distributor for more information.

The lubricating oil and grease shelf life recommendation provided by Imperial applies to products stored in the original sealed containers in a sheltered environment under good housekeeping conditions and at typical ambient temperatures.

For more information please consult the Technical Topic titled “Shelf life recommendations for lubrication oils and greases.”