FAQ

Within North America, orders are placed directly with Nye’s Customer Service Representatives at +1.508.996.6721 or nyeorders@fuchs.com. Small volume orders are placed through Next Generation Services LLC, Nye’s authorized North American small volume distributor at +1.302.326.0200. Internationally, orders are placed through FUCHS Global Affiliates. Click here to find the global FUCHS affiliate responsible for Nye products and services in your area.

Nye offers a wide range of standard packaging options, which include containers for oils, dispersions, greases, and packaging designed for automated dispensing systems. Private-labeling and custom-designed packaging services are also available. Download our Standard Packaging Brochure.

Start by wiping off all the oil or grease you can reach. Then, for synthetic hydrocarbon, polyglycol, ester, silicone and polyphenyl ether oils and greases, clean all surfaces with a hydrocarbon solvent (Hexane, mineral spirits or an Isopar product) and follow with an isopropyl alcohol rinse.

For PFPE greases and oils, a fluorinated solvent is required. Nye recommends using our Fluorosolvent 504, which is a completely fluorinated, fast-evaporating “ozone-safe” solvent that is an effective cleaning agent for fluorinated greases and oils.

Nye will likely have a functional equivalent to the lubricant you are using. In many cases, a superior product may be available. When replacing lubricants that have been successful in your application, it is important to match the additives and type and viscosity of the base oil. When replacing grease, the grade and thickener should also be matched. Other lubricant properties may also be important for your application. Contact a Nye Technical Support Engineer for specific recommendations.

Nye Lubricants greases should be stored in a cool and dry indoor area. The indoor temperature should not exceed 30°C (86°F), and should remain above 0°C (32°F). Do not put the grease directly near a heat source and avoid exposure to direct sunlight. Nye Lubricants grease should be stored in its original packing. The packing should not show any signs of damage like severe denting, corrosion, or moisture attack. The grease packing should be kept closed until the grease is needed for use. After use the packing should be closed immediately, and kept closed. When opening the grease package, do not let any dust, dirt or moisture enter the grease package! Even a small amount of dust or moisture can affect the grease quality. Wipe lid or cover clean before opening. Use clean tools and equipment when handling or pumping the greases. Put lid or cover on a clean and dust free place.

The application itself will dictate the type of lubricant required. Sealed applications like gearboxes tend to use oil or very soft grease, while applications that are exposed to the environment or are unable to provide an oil reservoir tend to use grease. The base oil provides the lubrication for your components, whether it is applied directly to the parts or gelled in a thickener, which is how grease is made. In addition to the base oil, extreme pressure and other surface modifying additives also lubricate the components. 

General descriptions of greases and oils:

Recommended Service Range (° C)
The operating temperatures at which the lubricant is expected to be fully functional. Application and exposure duration may affect lubricant life.

Color
The predominant shade of the lubricant observed by visual inspection.

Appearance
A characteristic of the lubricant that is observable by visual inspection only.

Thickener
The solid particulate that is dispersed within the base fluid to form the structure of the grease, which is held together by surface tension and other physical forces. Nye offers greases manufactured with various thickener types including, lithium, aluminum, sodium (simplex or complex), carbon, clay, urea, PTFE, and silica.

Base Oil Type
The type of fluid used in the lubricant. Nye uses a full range of synthetic oils including polyalphaolefins, polyglycols, esters, silicones, multiplyalkylated cyclopentanes, perfluoropolyethers, polyphenyl ethers, and alkylated naphthalenes.   

A description of specific lubricant properties can be found in the test methods reference sheet.

The shelf-life recommendation is four (4) years from date of shipment for ALL products produced in the Fairhaven facility, with the exception of three (3) years from date of shipment for CHEMPLEX, CEPLATTYN, and PST Series products provided the material is properly stored in its original, unopened container.

No, shelf life is not the same as functional life. Shelf life is the period following the lubricant’s manufacture during which it is deemed suitable for use without re-testing its physical characteristics. Functional life is determined by durability or accelerated life testing of a lubricant in a component under expected operating conditions. It should be noted that most lubricants manufactured at Nye are designed for lifetime component lubrication, which often exceeds 10 years in extreme operation conditions. 

Synthetic oils are inherently stable materials. Generally, they are not expected to oxidize, polymerize or volatilize at room temperature for 10 years or more. For example, we have regularly conducted ASTM tests to check the quality of certain very delicate synthetic hydrocarbon precision bearing oils five years after manufacture and have detected no degradation. Ester oils, where the ester linkage may be subject to a minute degree of hydrolysis in the presence of moisture, could become more acidic if moisture is present. Fluorinated oils and silicones are not likely to be affected by simple aging. 

Greases can "age" in more complicated ways. Grease quality could be affected by a change in the gel structure. If the gel contracts, significant oil bleed would be evident and the remaining grease would stiffen. The gel structure may also become softer over a period of time. In both cases, however, a visual inspection of the grease should suggest retesting before use. (See question about “oil separation” below)

Compatibility issues are usually related to the base oil of the lubricant. For general base oil/material compatibility guidelines, refer to the Nye Synthetic Oil Compatibility Chart. Note that even when base oils are listed as compatible in the chart, very low-viscosity versions of those oils may have some effect on materials. The lower the viscosity of the oil, the greater the possibility that it can penetrate plastics and elastomers.

Due to the variability of plastics and elastomers, it is advisable to perform a compatibility test. Submerge the material in the lubricant for >2 hrs. at 100ºC. A lubricant-free control sample of each material should also be subjected to the same temperature at the same time. Material measurements - notably weight, dimensions, Shore Hardness, and tensile strength - should be made before and after the test. Lubricant incompatibility can cause materials to swell, shrink, harden, soften, become more or less brittle, change color, etc. Dimensional changes of up to 5% are usually considered acceptable.

As long as the two lubricants have similar thickener systems and base fluids, there should not be any compatibility issues. If there is a difference between the base fluid viscosities of the two lubricants, a mixture of the two will result in a base fluid viscosity somewhere between the two. A different viscosity oil may not cause compatibility problems, but it may result in performance problems. It is important to thoroughly clean or purge the old grease from the part to insure that the new lubricant properties are not changed significantly as a result of being mixed with the old. If the component requires two lubricants with different types of base fluids and thickeners, then the design should prevent any contact between the two lubricants. Perfluoropolyethers, polyglycols and silicone base fluids should not be mixed with any other base fluids. Hydrocarbons (mineral and synthetic) and ester base fluids are somewhat compatible. Clay and polyurea thickeners systems should not be mixed with any other thickener types or a softening or a breakdown of the grease could occur.

Some oil separation or "puddling," which is sometimes seen on top of grease in pails or drums, should not be a problem. Oil separation is usually insignificant when compared with the mass of grease in the container. Normally, the separated oil can be safely stirred back into the bulk of the grease in the container. Experience has shown that much of this time-related oil separation can be reduced if the surface of the grease is kept smooth during storage, i.e., do not leave "craters" in the grease. The grade or consistency of the grease is also related to oil separation. An NLGI Grade 000 grease, for example, can be expected to exhibit pronounced oil separation from the day of its manufacture.

For detailed instructions on how to mix the oil back into the grease properly, click here.

Yes, it’s still OK to use. Some oils and greases contain small amounts of additives that will darken with exposure to sunlight, UV light, temperature or contact with air. The color usually changes to a brown or orange tint. Since this color change is the result of oxidation of the additives, which make up a very small portion of the oil or grease, there would be very little, if any, functional change to the lubricant.

The ASTM Standard Viscosity-Temperature Chart for Liquid Petroleum Products (D341) can be used to plot the kinematic viscosity of the oil over a wide temperature range. At temperatures approaching the base oil pour point, however, the viscosity increases exponentially and cannot be determined accurately.

Nye's Terms and Conditions are available on our Certifications & Policies page.

No, freight is not included in the price of the item. Freight is charged separately either on the Nye invoice after prepaying and adding or via “collect” terms using your assigned ship method and account number. The chosen carrier will invoice you separately under said account.

Lead times are item specific and are based on business days (weekends and holidays excluded). Actual ship dates are applied when the order is placed and confirmed.

First time orders require credit approval for open Net 30-day terms. Otherwise, credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and American Express) may be used. Payment in advance or C.O.D. Terms are also acceptable.

Verbal orders are not acceptable. A formal purchase order must be received in writing, with current pricing and all pertinent information, before an order will be considered valid to enter. Otherwise, orders will be put on a “Hold” status and not processed.

Blanket orders must contain current price and expiration dates. Blanket orders may be renewed with receipt of new expiration dates and Nye's approval.

Expediting of an assigned ship date will require Nye approval and a $250.00 Rush Order Fee may be applied. If expediting manufacturing time, then a $1,000.00 Expedite Fee may also be applied. Receipt of a purchase order with Expedite Fees added must be received before processing.

Changes to an existing order will not be acceptable within 2 weeks from planned ship date, otherwise additional fees may be incurred.

The number of parts to be lubricated usually dictates how the lubricant is applied. For small volumes, grease can be applied by hand with a brush, syringe or other mechanical device. An oil or dispersion can be manually sprayed onto the parts or the parts can be hand dipped into the lubricant. Automated dispensing systems are recommended for larger-volume production lines.

Most greases, oils and dispersions can be automatically dispensed. There are many types of automatic dispensing systems for lubricants. Nye Lubricants can help you choose and recommend a company for dispensing our products. After you have selected the lubricant for your application, a Nye dispensing company partner can recommend the type of equipment best suited for your particular application. For a listing of dispensing equipment manufacturers, click here. 

For most applications the lubricant should cover the entire surface with a thin layer however, there are certain applications that require more or less lubricant. This is generally determined by the OEM.

While most components are considered lube for life there are applications that require a maintenance interval to re-lube the component. Typically this maintenance for re-lube is determined by life testing of the component performed by the OEM.

A dent in a pail can be easily fixed, so you do not need to return the product. Click here for detailed instructions on how to remove a dent.