From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Promotional brochure for 'BRIKALOR' graphited lubricating oil, detailing its benefits and performance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 145\3\ scan0003 | |
| Date | 10th August 1936 | |
| THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IN THE HISTORY OF MOTORING Of urgent and vital interest to every owner and user of private and commercial vehicles THE incident depicted on the front of this folder tells a remarkable story. The owner of an old transport vehicle, almost ready for the scrap-heap, decided to make a test and filled up the engine with a new lubricating oil, and said nothing to the driver. After a few hours the customary knocking and grinding of the engine ceased. It began to run so smoothly and silently that the driver became alarmed and took it in to the maintenance department for an explanation. He had been so used to handling commercial vehicles in which a certain degree of roughness is more or less normal that his conditioned senses were unable to accept the mysterious smoothness and silence. But the delighted owner had the solution ready to hand. It was very simple. He had filled the sump with "BRIKALOR." WHAT IS BRIKALOR? It is the new graphited lubricating oil which is causing a revolution in motor running and maintenance. The idea of Graphite as a lubricant is not in itself new. Engineers have long been aware that when carried by oil through the various bearings, the graphite particles form what is called a "graphoid" surface on the metals, becoming imbedded by pressure into the pores and thus tending to smooth out the irregularities and to provide a greasy film over which oil spreads very readily. It has been proved by careful tests, The Motor, that such a film is an excellent safeguard against bearing seizure should the supply of lubricant fail temporarily or difficulty, as when starting a stiff engine on a cold morning. GRAPHITED oils have chiefly been used up to the present when "running-in" a new or reconditioned chassis. Although smooth to the eye, the surfaces of freshly machined shafts, bearings, pistons, etc., present microscopic irregularities and, when pressed into contact, produce very high pressures over the high spots, which are prejudicial to the maintenance of a lubricating film. The exceedingly fine and smooth graphite substance in the oil improves lubricating conditions during the process of breaking down these irregularities, and fills in the microscopic valleys which separate the high points. THE question may be asked: Why if graphited oils are so good cannot they be used regularly throughout the life of an engine with consequent all round benefit? Because there is a great natural difficulty which none but the BRIKALOR engineers and chemists have yet been able to overcome. Graphite is a mineral, heavier than oil. Though it has been and still is practicable to mix it with oil by mechanical means, it has not been found possible to keep it in suspension for any length of time. When the engine is in motion all is well, but when at rest the particles of graphite are precipitated to the bottom, clog up the pipes and the beneficial effect is lost. This is the problem which most engineers have given up as hopeless. BUT victory over all obstacles has at last been won after years of patient investigation. The solution is found in BRIKALOR, which is a compound of high-grade pure Pennsylvania oils and colloidal graphite in which the atoms are chemically combined. Any automobile engineer will admit that the permanent suspension of graphite in this way means the perfect lubricating oil. BRIKALOR claims to have succeeded in solving this most important engineering problem, where all others have failed. The advantages to the world of engineering and to owners and users of private and commercial vehicles are almost incalculable. [Chart Section] We do not suggest you let your engine run dry to make this test, but if this happens through carelessness, be sure it will seize up in a few minutes, with consequent inconvenience, annoyance and expense; that is if you are using ordinary lubricating oil. Chart Title: SEIZED AFTER 20 MINUTES (CURVE A), STILL RUNNING AFTER 30 HOURS (CURVE B) X-Axis: --MINS. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60, --HRS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 But if you are using BRIKALOR, you can forget all about your engine. You can let it run dry if you wish in the sure and certain knowledge that no damage will result. The pictorial chart above is an attempt to translate laboratory tests into actual road conditions. A bearing after being lubricated normally to ensure the formation of a proper film of oil was allowed to run dry and continue in motion at 500 revs. per minute. This test was repeated many times with the same result, namely, that seizure occurred at from 20 to 30 minutes after cutting off the oil. But when a similar bearing was lubricated with BRIKALOR and the same test applied, the results were so astonishing as to be well nigh unbelievable. Thirty hours after the lubricant was cut off the bearing was still running smoothly, silently and without any trace of friction or exceptional heat. It was not until such tests had been made and the results authenticated that the manufacturers of BRIKALOR released it for the benefit of the motoring public. BRIKALOR is not offered to the public as a brain wave. It is the result of the work of automobile engineers who set out with the determination to succeed. The difficulties were formidable. The task which these men set themselves was long and arduous. Experiment followed experiment. Many results were rejected, but each one yielded some valuable scrap of scientific knowledge. Tests of the most rigorous and exhausting nature were applied, in the laboratory, in factories, and under actual working conditions. A well-known haulage company made a test with two tractors lasting over a year. At the end of this period, the engine charged with lubricating oil required an overhaul. That in which BRIKALOR had been used was examined, found to be in perfect condition and was put back to work without being touched. | ||