Emkarate RL 170H

Emkarate RL 170H is an ISO VG 170 synthetic polyolester (POE) lubricant formulated specifically for refrigeration and air-conditioning compressors using HFC refrigerants. The VG 170 heavy grade is the screw-compressor specialist of the H-series — with the highest flash point in the range at 290 °C.

The Emkarate RL family is the most OEM-approved, most recognized POE line in the market — more than one billion compressors worldwide have been factory-filled with Emkarate RL. It provides effective wear protection for steel and aluminium surfaces, is suitable for both initial fill and service fill, and its combination of low-temperature characteristics with chemical and thermal stability supports a wide operating temperature range.

The number in the name is the ISO viscosity grade, and that is what you match. We stock RL 32H (scroll and small reciprocating), RL 68H (the default mid-viscosity service grade), RL 100H (heavy reciprocating and screw) and RL 170H (screw platforms that specify VG 170). Read the grade off the compressor nameplate or the OEM service manual — on a screw machine the oil grade is part of the design, not a preference.

VG 170 is not a general-purpose oil. It goes into the machines whose manufacturer calls for it and nowhere else: put it in a reciprocating compressor designed for VG 68 and oil return through the evaporator suffers, especially at low suction temperatures. If the nameplate is unreadable or the machine has been re-oiled with something unknown, send us the compressor model — with a screw compressor it is worth ten minutes to confirm.

Do not substitute across lubricant families. POE is not interchangeable with mineral oil (R-22, R-12 plant), with alkylbenzene, or with automotive PAG oils.

Handle POE as a moisture-sensitive product. It draws water from the air far faster than mineral oil, and that moisture becomes acid inside a running system. Keep the pack sealed until charging, use an opened container promptly, never decant into an open jug, and fit a fresh filter drier with every oil change.

Order RL 170H when an HFC screw compressor or large industrial refrigeration package specifies an ISO VG 170 polyolester — scheduled oil changes, oil-separator and oil-charge top-ups, and refills after a screw overhaul.