SWEPCO 304 Heavy Duty Low Ash Gas Engine Oil
SWEPCO 304 Heavy Duty Low Ash Gas Engine Oil is now available as a 15W40 viscosity.
This recent modification will allow SWEPCO 304 to operate over a wider temperature range. Years ago, Natural Gas Engines were usually only found in corn fields for irrigation or as a pump drive at a natural gas well. Today they are everywhere and growing in number. These units are being used for transportation, power generation, pumping stations, and agriculture. Many major cities have converted city vehicles, buses, and public transportation to CNG, LPG, or LNG. Companies like UPS and FedEx are switching many of their short haul trucks to natural gas, many older landfills have installed gen-sets, and the list goes on and on.
Natural Gas Engines are divided into two main groups: Stationary and Mobile. Mobile units are discussed on an earlier Tech-i-gram, as stationary units are the prime target for 304 Heavy Duty Low Ash Gas Engine Oil.
Stationary engines are mostly used for power generation, agriculture, and pumping stations. These engines may use any of the gases from pure natural gas to landfill gas. SWEPCO 304 is recommended for these engines and contains a “low” ash level.
Chart 1
| Ash Content (% wt.) | Classification |
| <0.1 | Ashless |
| 0.4 to 0.6 | Low Ash (Universal) |
| 0.7 to 1.0 | Medium Ash |
| >1.0 | High Ash |
Ashless lubricants are generally used in two-cycle engines to help reduce port plugging and in certain four cycle natural gas engines. The ash content must be sufficient to prevent valve recession, but not so high as to cause ring sticking, plug fouling, or catalyst masking. Currently there is not a standard classification system for gas engine oils and they are generally approved via field trials.
304 Heavy Duty Low Ash Gas Engine Oil can be used in most of these engines including: Superior, Caterpillar, Waukesha, Jenbacher, Dresser-Rand, Deutz MWM, Rolls Royce, GE, and Man. Cummins has several different engines with different requirements so check with you SWEPCO Sales Agent first.
Pre-treatment required?
Certain gas sources may require pre-treatment prior to use in an engine. One example is land-fill gas, it must be chilled and filtered prior to use to remove contaminates and harmful components.
Scored cylinder due to silicon from an unfiltered landfill gas.
Natural gas burns hotter than gasoline or diesel fuel so more demand is placed on the oil for cooling, oxidation resistance, soot control, and lubricity. SWEPCO 304 is formulated to exceed the demands of today’s natural gas engines, extend equipment life and drain intervals with LOA and filter changes. You can depend on SWEPCO 304 to deliver premium performance in your equipment.
Keep it running!®
Please contact your SWEPCO Sales Agent if you have any questions.
Source: SWEPCO®
