Aircol LPT 68 in an Ammonia Screw Compressor: A QISHANR Supply Log to Month 3

By the QISHANR Technical & Supply Team · Published 24 September 2026
Customer follow-up log · Castrol Aircol LPT 68 (ISO VG 68 naphthenic mineral) · Ammonia screw compressor

TL;DR

• We matched and supplied an Aircol LPT 68 charge for an ammonia screw compressor: 6 × 20 L packs and one 208 L drum, with TDS, SDS and batch documents issued with the quotation.
• The customer logged four checkpoints — clean fresh oil, a clean restart, morning starts through a −15 °C spell, and a stable check at month three.
• Repeat orders run on the same grade and the same documents, from stock we hold in our own plant.

What We Supplied, and What the Customer Logged

This page is our record of one order and its first three months in service. Guangzhou Qishanr Technologies Co., Ltd. manufactures and supplies refrigeration compressor lubricants under the QISHANR brand from its own blending plant in Foshan, Guangdong. Send us a compressor model, a refrigerant and the oil currently in the machine, and we confirm the grade with the matching documents.

What Did the Customer Record in Their Follow-Up Log?

We ask customers on a new charge to keep a short log for the first quarter, because the first quarter is where a grade either settles in or does not. This is the log we received, reproduced as written:

Week 0 — Changeover. Replaced the documented Aircol LPT 68 charge in our ammonia screw compressor. Before ordering, we sent the supplier our compressor model, refrigerant and current oil; they returned the matching TDS/SDS and batch documents with the quote. Received 6× 20L packs plus one 208L drum. Fresh oil ran clean (TAN 0.01), no odour, and labels matched our service record.

Week 1 — Start-up. Oil pressure built quickly after the restart; the sight glass stayed clear and the level held steady through the first load cycles. No foaming at start.

Week 5 — Cold spell. Ambient dropped below −15°C; the unit still started clean every morning. A −36°C pour point meant no wax or flocculation worries in the evaporator lines.

Month 3 — Check. Discharge temperatures stable, zero low-oil alarms, no abnormal noise. Same oil family throughout, so no mixing concerns after the changeover.

Procurement note. The 208L drum made plant inventory simple. Confirm the current label and request batch documents on every order — that two-minute check before shipment is worth it.

Why Did We Match Aircol LPT 68 for an Ammonia Screw Compressor?

We read the machine first, because the refrigerant decides the oil family before the grade question. Ammonia systems sit in the traditional-refrigerant half of that split and run on naphthenic mineral oils rather than POE or PAG.

Aircol LPT 68 is an ISO VG 68 naphthenic mineral refrigeration compressor oil, previously sold under the BP Energol LPT 68 name. Many ammonia plants still carry it in their service records, which makes it a documented replacement rather than a substitution.

An ISO viscosity grade describes an oil's kinematic viscosity at 40 °C. This grade measures 69.0 mm²/s at that point, under ASTM D445.

The customer sent us three things: the compressor model, the refrigerant, and the oil currently in the machine. With those we confirmed the grade and issued the matching TDS and SDS with the quotation, plus the batch documents for the material we would ship.

That is the order of operations we recommend to every buyer: documents first, purchase order second.

Cold flow is the number an ammonia plant should check before winter. Aircol LPT 68 has a pour point of −36 °C, measured under ASTM D97.

A pour point is the temperature below which an oil stops flowing under gravity in a standardised test. With ambient below −15 °C on this site, the charge ran with 21 °C of margin.

What Did the Start-Up and the Cold Spell Tell Us?

Start-up is the first place a new charge declares itself. Slow oil pressure, a sight glass that never clears or foam on the first load cycles point at three causes: wrong viscosity, water in the circuit, or refrigerant dissolving into the sump.

The log records the opposite on all three counts. Pressure built quickly after the restart, the sight glass stayed clear, and the level held steady through the first load cycles with no foaming.

The cold spell is the harder test, because it attacks the other end of the oil: below −15 °C the pour point decides whether oil reaches the bearings on the first morning start.

The log shows clean morning starts throughout that spell and no wax or flocculation concerns. The figure behind it is the −36 °C pour point we publish for this grade.

What Did the Three-Month Check Show, and What Would We Do Differently?

Three months is when a charge has to prove it is stable rather than merely new. The month-three entry lists four readings: stable discharge temperatures, zero low-oil alarms, no abnormal noise, and no mixing concerns.

Discharge temperature is where a mineral oil's thermal margin becomes visible. Our data sheet publishes a flash point of 185 °C in the open cup, measured under ASTM D92.

Zero low-oil alarms over three months is the reading we care about most on the customer's behalf. That alarm is the one that usually ends in a rebuilt compressor.

Oil return is the oil that leaves the compressor with the discharge gas and has to find its way back to the sump. A stable sump level across a quarter, with no top-ups logged, is the practical evidence that it does.

The replacement stayed inside one oil family, so this was a drain-and-refill rather than a conversion. We still ask buyers to confirm the family, because mixing mineral, POE, PAG and PAO is a different job — our R22-to-HFC oil conversion guide covers that route.

What Else Can We Supply With the Oil?

The oil is one line of a quotation. The rest is documentation, packaging, and a date a plant can plan a shutdown around.

On documents we issue a technical data sheet, a safety data sheet and a certificate of analysis as batch documents, and for export orders we add the CE certificate, certificate of origin, MSDS and transport identification report. Third-party testing is arranged on request.

On lead time we quote our own: more than 10 years of production, 6,000 tonnes of annual capacity in our Foshan plant, and Guangzhou Port next door, so the date in the quotation is one we control.

On packaging, 20 L packs suit planned service work and contractor sessions, while the 208 L drum suits plant inventory, distributor stock and shutdown planning. We confirm lifting, storage and dispensing arrangements before shipping.

On grade selection and terms, send the compressor model, refrigerant, current oil, pack size, quantity and destination. We confirm the equivalent grade before commercial terms are settled, and quote on T/T or L/C with EXW, FOB, CFR or CIF delivery.

We also quote mixed enquiries covering refrigeration oils and ordinary industrial grades together rather than splitting your order across suppliers, and OEM or private-label supply is available for distributors.

Castrol Aircol LPT 68 Supply Data

The figures we quote in a data sheet for this grade, with the test method behind each one.

Two things decided whether this charge would work: the viscosity that keeps the film in a screw compressor, and the pour point that keeps the oil moving on the coldest morning of the year.

Fig. 1 — The four checkpoints in the customer's log, set against the temperature margin that mattered in week 5: the coldest recorded ambient stayed 21 °C above the published pour point of the grade.

Who Should Order Aircol LPT 68 From Us, and When to Choose Differently?

• Order from us when: an ammonia (R717) or legacy CFC/HCFC plant runs an ISO VG 68 naphthenic mineral charge, or your service record names Aircol LPT 68 or the former BP Energol LPT 68 — see the Aircol LPT 68 supply page for the SKU, packaging and document pack.
• Check another mineral grade instead when: the nameplate calls for something other than VG 68 — the mineral oil range runs across the lower and higher grades for the same refrigerant families.
• Read our selection guide when: the machine sits between families — the R22, R717, R290 and R600a selection guide sets out what a mineral oil has to satisfy on each refrigerant.
• Choose POE instead when: the circuit runs an HFC refrigerant and calls for an ester, as in our ISO VG 68 POE screw compressor case, or when a colder duty pushes the grade up, as in the ISO VG 56 mineral cold store case.

FAQ: Ordering Aircol LPT 68, Its Documents and Its Compatibility

Is Aircol LPT 68 the right oil for our ammonia screw compressor?

A: It is an ISO VG 68 naphthenic mineral oil from the traditional-refrigerant side of the range, which is where ammonia (R717) plants normally sit. Send us the compressor model, refrigerant and current oil and we will confirm the grade before you commit.

Can we take 20 L packs and a 208 L drum in the same order?

A: Yes, and that is what this order did. Packs suit service work and the drum suits inventory; we confirm lifting, storage, traceability and dispensing arrangements with the quotation.

What documents come with the quotation and the shipment?

A: A technical data sheet, safety data sheet and certificate of analysis as batch documents, plus the CE certificate, certificate of origin, MSDS and transport identification report for export orders. Third-party testing is arranged on request.

Do we need to flush when replacing an existing Aircol LPT 68 charge?

A: No, provided the charge being replaced is the same mineral grade, as in this log. Changing oil families is a different job with its own sequence.

What do you need from us to quote?

A: Compressor model, refrigerant, current oil, required viscosity, pack size, quantity and destination, plus any document requirements your procedures specify.

Replacing a documented Aircol LPT 68 charge, or stocking the grade for resale? Send the compressor model, refrigerant, pack size, quantity and destination — we confirm the grade, documents, terms and lead time before you commit.
Request an Aircol LPT 68 Quote