Page 1 of 1

Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 12:27 pm
by Dougie 2-9
For you who are reading this note, what has been your operating experience with this Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 biodegradeable oil when used as a hydraulic oil? Primarily it is used as a sterntube oil however the Vickers literature states it can also be used for CPP hydraulic operation. How well does it keep and for how long in a shipboard storage tank? How long can it be used in service? If it begins to break down in service what are the symptoms? Any other loosely related comments are greatly appreciated.

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 5:43 pm
by toutou88
I don’t know your main goal here but what I know is that this oil is awfully expensive at 20$ a liter, so depending on your system capacity this might be a real expensive choice

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 5:11 am
by TDC
I have seen this being used a lot in the last 10 -15 years just as a stern tube oil. Can't say I have seen any issue caused by this, in most cases the issues existed such as a seal leak, which is what helped to convince the companies to use the very expensive BIO Oil in the First Place.
I am not aware of using it as CP oil, however I was recently involved with a project for an older ship and was strongly advised by a very experienced non OEM propulsion system technician that Bio Oils can eat away hub seals depending on the material that is present. Also on a recent dry docking of a different vessel I was advised that there is some concern with bio oil becoming slightly abrasive in Stern Tubes when it gets emulsified with water eventually having an adverse affect on stern tube seals.In this case a special material is recommend to be used in the stern tube seal for use with BIO OIl.

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Wed May 15, 2019 11:24 am
by Dougie 2-9
toutou88, you are quite right, this oil is expensive.

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Wed May 15, 2019 11:35 am
by Dougie 2-9
TDC, many thanks for the reply. All very helpful details. Our ship uses this oil for two applications - stern tube and CPP, both beginning in late 2016. All seals supplied at that time were/are bio-oil compatible. I'm curious about the life of this oil in hydraulic service. If this oil begins to break down, just what would that look like and how would it show up in lube oil sample reports if it shows up at all.

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:05 pm
by Dougie 2-9
An update: it seems that this oil, based on a survey of one, is not well suited as a CPP oil

Re: Vickers Hydrox BIO 100 oil

Posted: Tue May 28, 2019 10:39 am
by TDC
Any details to share?