# 15w-40 equivalent or similar? jack hammer lube



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Just be sure to use what the manufacturer suggests, or you will stand a chance of failure and voided warranty. For the cost, I would buy the proper oil rather than using what you have hanging around the shop. 15w-40 is Rotella T, which is for diesel engines. Order the #40 that is called for. It is possibly different than Rotella T.

Here's a link to Rotella T1 which is 40 weight. https://www.amazon.com/Shell-Oil-Rotella-Weight-550019904/dp/B005IGNSOG


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## gunner66 (Jan 3, 2017)

yea the T and T1 mighta confused me in the store but they are both apparently diesel according to links.


I did previously read threads and mentions in reviews on this 'rotella 40 electric demolition/jack hammer' but was confused still but I think either of those shell 40s would be fine. 


I think 15W-40 would work too, diesel or not. As linked, other more-known brands make dedicated 15w-40 for their chippers. 


SAE 30 I already have should be good enough but yea for only $12 a gallon I can just get the SAE 40 is a bit thicker and since I don't think this thing will be burning through oil much I'll find a use for the left over SAE40 if I can only find a gallon. 




this may be what confused me originally:
https://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/electric-jack-hammer-558930-.htm


_40 is machine weight not auto weight. Lots of different. 
I use 10, 30, 60, and heavy weight. None are anything like auto weights. 
Auto normally has chemicals that keeps gunk floating to be filtered out. Machines want it in the oil dump settle out. 
#40 is semi thick. 
An oil company will gladly sell you a gallon or maybe a quart. 
I have 10 in a gallon and heavy weight there - 5 gallons of 30 and 60. 
https://www.google.com/search?q=Rot...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a 
You can buy it directly as Shell oil or cross reference it at an oil company that is a wholesale type - bulk supplier... 
Martin_ 




^ made me think maybe this hammer wanted a non detergent oil which is rare these days and is basically meant to make the used oil gunk stick to the sidewalls of an engine before oil filters were introduced, but he says it's meant to dump contaminants/gunk out (of course) but seemed to contradict himself all at once. Someone replied the following but I was still confused and almost was gonna just put 75W-90 gear oil in it


Rotella IS engine oil. It IS a detergent oil, and it IS rather thick. In actual fact,#40 Rotella is VERY close to the same "thickness" as Shell Spirax #90 gear oil at normal room temperature.


I don't think it will shorten lifespan of tool drastically if I put the completely wrong oil in there, and it probably does matter ambient temperature too but whatever I'll get the rotella 40 or any sae40 and preferably diesel if I can find it in a quart on my way past the store.


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## gunner66 (Jan 3, 2017)

come to think of it, multi weight (15W-40 or 5W-40) might be better because even with the little knowledge of oil I have, I would think a multi weight would be needed if using it in mid summer and also Fall or possibly winter. I think the Chinese manual is just something they kinda jotted down with not much care. Hence the better known brands have little bottles of 15W-40 I linked before. 


I'm just gonan get whatever qt of 15W-40 I can find, diesel or not.


edit, here, done, Walmart 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shell-Ro...MI5P24zfbf3QIVVVgNCh1JXgp7EAQYAiABEgJHfPD_BwE
Shell Rotella T4 Triple Protection 15W-40 Diesel Engine Oil, 1 qt $4.66
will meet free shipping with other stuff I have to get anyway.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

> I'm just gonan get whatever qt of 15W-40 I can find, diesel or not.


Why, when they sell the approved oil on the same shelf in T1 ? You're overthinking this. Use what is called for and call it a day.


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## gunner66 (Jan 3, 2017)

chandler48 said:


> Why, when they sell the approved oil on the same shelf in T1 ? You're overthinking this. Use what is called for and call it a day.


 
overall I think the Chinese manufacturers wanted to keep the manual oil specs as simple as possible and may also a be a bit ill informed. I've seen similar confusion with mower transmission oil in Chinese manuals. 



multi viscosity oil such as 15w-40 or 10W-30 with the 'W' work for a wider range of outside air temperatures vs non multi weight oils. But the multi weight oils do slowly burn off when it's warm out.

In my mowers I use straight SAE30 non multi weight because it doesn't burn off oil most of the time I'm using it in Spring Summer and early Fall, but if I were to use it under about 40 degrees (only to mulch leaves basically because grass isn't growing in those temperatures) then the Straight SAE30 would be too thick to provide optimal lubrication causing possible engine bore damage, plus also hard to start when the oil is cold and thick which could cause piston ring damage by the rings not actually having oil on them while it's repeatedly trying to be started, in which case I could change the oil to 5w-30 or 10W-30. 


I would be using the jack hammer mostly in warm weather, so yes straight SAE 40 would be best, but according to the black and white chart, SAE40 is only good above about 60 degrees and I'll likely use it under 60 degrees so I will opt for a multi weight 40 oil. 


The color coded chart says SAE40 is ok above 40 degrees (not 60 like the other chart but one might be diesel specs and the other regular engine) but I'll play it safe and assume not to use SAE40 under 60 degrees. It's hard to find these charts in Fahrenheit for some reason, and one says SAE30 is good above 40° the other says 32° but again that might be diesel vs regular as shown in the last chart which shows both and that same 32 vs 40. 






Most of the time would be using the hammer above 60 degrees but I don't want to treat this like a mower engine and have separate oils for cold and warm. It's such a small amount of oil and there's a viewing window that if it does start to burn off the 15W-40 I can just top it off. 
Hence the dedicated jackhammer oil I linked says 15w-40 on it. 










note the color coded chart shows as though SAE 10W30 is only good between -4°F and 68°F but it does work up to about 104°F (as the other black and white chart shows) but above 68 is probably when it starts to burn off oil more is probably whey they made the chart like that.


there's also full synthetic which if I'm not mistaken has a much wider ambient temperature range but I'm not going to look any further into all this, I'm ready to throw canola oil in there and if something goes wrong, for $105 shipped I can just get another lol. 


and yes I know this is not even an engine and it's basically just lubricant but I think the multi weight temperature ranges still apply to some degree.


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