Booster pump oil lubricant for roots blower; Selection Guide

1. Roots Blower Booster Vacuum Pump Oil
Roots Blower Booster Pumps
Roots Blower Booster Pump:
These pumps work on the principle of positive displacement of gas. The
Roots pump consists of two impellers called roots in the shape of figure 8.
These impellers are mounted on parallel shafts in a single cylinder having
inlet and outlet openings on the sides. The impellers, through synchronized
rotative timing, are maintained in a relative position to each other and
rotated in opposite directions without any internal contact and at a very high
speed measuring a couple thousand or more rpm. The operating
clearances are very small, measuring just a few microns– only a few
thousandths of an inch - in order to keep back leakage to a minimum.

2. The following diagram shows how the rotation of impellers traps and
pushes the gas/air out. The positive displacement works in a continuous
flow to create vacuum.
Choose the Right Type of Lubricant
Often, out of ignorance, cost-cutting or any other reason, people use
ordinary machine oil, automotive lubricants, gear oils or even normal rotary
pump oil in these booster pumps. Since these oils do not have properties
required for safe running of Booster Pumps, this leads to serious damage
to the pump. Repairing a booster pump is nearly impossible without a
complete overhaul which costs a lot while a new pump too costs lakhs of
rupees. Choosing the right lubricant for the booster pump is the best type of
insurance one can bank upon. A suitable, high quality booster pump oil is
the pump’s primary protection against wear, pitting, spalling, scoring and
scuffing of moving metal parts. The following pictures demonstrate the type
of damage that can occur due to –
1. Wrong choice of lubricant
2. Not topping up at the right time, so the metal parts are not well-oiled.

3. 1 2
3

4. 4 5
6
Careful selection of lubricant goes a long way in saving the machinery
thereby preventing loss of time and money.
When it comes to the choice of lubricant – One size DOES NOT fit all
Different vacuum processes require different types and grades of vacuum
oil.

5. Supervac Roots Blower Vacuum Lubricants:
After careful actual testing on Roots blower pumps, Supervac has
formulated Roots blower vacuum oil in two grades-
1. Hydro-carbon based booster pump oil- SV-90H
2. Silicone based booster pump oil- SV-90S
Both are suitable for all makes and sizes of Roots Booster pumps all over
the world.

6. Specifications:
SV-90H (Hydrocarbon) SV-90S (Silicone)
Property
Value
Property
Value
Vapor Pressure at 250C Below 1x10-4 Torr Vapor Pressure at
250C
Below 1x10-4 Torr
Flash Point 2700 C Flash Point 3000 C
Viscosity at 400 C 90 cst Viscosity at 400 C 90 cst
Pour Point Below (-) 100 C Pour Point Below (-) 150 C
Appearance Pale Yellow Appearance Water White
Packaging (20 Ltrs.) (210 Ltrs.) Packaging (20 Ltrs.) (210 Ltrs.)
Equivalent
Edwards Stokes- V
lube Grade H oil
Lubricant
Equivalent
Roots Synthetic
Lubricant ISO VG 320
LVO 210
GS 555
HE 600
 Supervac Roots Blower vacuum pump oils have the following
properties –
1. Excellent lubrication
2. Heat dissipation
3. Protection of the pump machinery
 It carries damaging wear debris away from contact zones.
 Offer extreme temperature and pressure protection in order to
prevent wear, pitting, spalling, scoring, scuffing and other types of
damage that result in equipment failure and downtime.

7.  Protection against-
1. Oxidation
2. Thermal degradation
3. Rust
4. Copper corrosion and
5. Foaming.
Pump parts come in contact with different types of contaminants like water,
corrosive chemicals and surface wear debris which can cause serious and
irreparable equipment failure.
What is so special about Supervac Roots Blower Vacuum Pump Oils?
Supervac Roots Blower lubricants have been formulated specially for Roots
Booster vacuum pumps (also called positive displacement pumps) and are
loaded with the following features –
 Viscosity index improvers – Supervac brand Roots Blower pump oils
have the viscosity - 90 cst at 400 C which is ideal for functioning of
the pump. Special viscosity index improver additives make them work
superbly in hot as well as cold climates.

8.  Anti-foam additives –Impellers inside the pump are moved by gears
at a very high speed (2000 or more rpm) and oil on them is churning
at that point. Ordinary gear oil is likely to form foam. Formation of
foam in Roots Blower pump is absolutely unwanted in a vacuum
system. Just a trace amount escaping into the chamber can wreak
havoc to the entire process. Supervac Roots Blower oils have been
specially formulated keeping this important property in mind.
 Wear protection additives – Along with lubrication, Supervac Roots
Blower oils protect the machinery against wear like pitting, spalling
and scuffing thereby enhancing the machinery life.
 Corrosion inhibitors – Special additives in these oils resist corrosion
caused by strong toxic process gasses.
 Extremely high film strength
 Low co-efficient of friction
Warning:
1) Supervac DOES NOT recommend the use of automotive lubricants or
gear oils for Roots Blower pumps as they DO NOT have the above
mentioned properties which are absolutely necessary for vacuum
booster pumps.
2) Topping up of Booster Pump oil is absolutely essential to prevent
pump damage. If level of oil falls below required level, immediately
make up the level by adding more oil.

9. As is evident from the above diagram, a whopping 89% of the problems
related with booster pumps are lubricant related. Merely choosing a good
pump is not enough. If our money’s worth is to be taken out of that pump
then it has to be run with the right oil and regular and timely topping up.
Often factory manufactured pumps come filled with booster pump oils. This
oil must be changed within the break-in period initially and after set periods
later on if we want the pump running smoothly and without any failures.