What other 15w40 oils are people using in Volvo engines?

When I had a pair of Kad300 ,s we used Fina Kappa 15 /40 it came in 5L @ €6.2 L .From the yard Arie d Boom
I also used it on current boat MAN ,s need 70 L in all -looks ok on the link below
http://www.kappaoil.com.al/index.php/marine-oils/233-kappa-15w40-shpd

Last time May this y I bought 20 L drums of oil from Sud Marine Diesel -looking at the invoices -works out inc TVA @ €7.3 /L
Just says MAN 15/40 3275 spec 20 L on the invioce -remember it used on MAN , Merc , Renault etc .

Prob paid a bit much ,but they del to the yard and all the parts filters ,o rings etc .
However the MAN stuff has kept its honey golden colour .
Where as the Kappa soon went black
We did pump it all out -has its own discharge system for engine and G box -also measured out + in -all tallies with manual .
 
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I buy Shell Rimula from Nordzee, near the Antibes junction of A8. It's an odd place, a tatty old warehouse full of 20L oil drums, nothing else. Last time I bought it was €4.20 inc tax a litre.
 
Nick_H said:
I buy Shell Rimula from Nordzee, near the Antibes junction of A8. It's an odd place, a tatty old warehouse full of 20L oil drums, nothing else. Last time I bought it was €4.20 inc tax a litre.
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Yeh , will revisit the issue next year I guess @ 70 L worth shopping around ?
I thought better ask / use Authorised MAN agents and as you know can,t miss new shop adjacent to car park d Pecheurs .
http://www.suddieselmarine.com/en/spare-parts/

Another Story -I used PME a uk MAN agent based in Poole / Plymouth ( funny that !) -mail order air filters @£91 inc vat each ,delivered .
One dropped off -my fault for not tightening up - one of the kids dropped it into the sea @marina .
Great :disgust: so off I toggled to SMD in Antibes -got one off the self erh ----- inc TVA € 191 .

Oils important - you just don,t know what to do?
 
Portofino said:
Yeh , will revisit the issue next year I guess @ 70 L worth shopping around ?
I thought better ask / use Authorised MAN agents and as you know can,t miss new shop adjacent to car park d Pecheurs .
http://www.suddieselmarine.com/en/spare-parts/

Another Story -I used PME a uk MAN agent based in Poole / Plymouth ( funny that !) -mail order air filters @£91 inc vat each ,delivered .
One dropped off -my fault for not tightening up - one of the kids dropped it into the sea @marina .
Great :disgust: so off I toggled to SMD in Antibes -got one off the self erh ----- inc TVA € 191 .

Oils important - you just don,t know what to do?
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SMD in Antibes is basically x2+ on everything Portofino. I use them only in emergencies. Their Racor fuel filters are e40; in UK that are £12 mail order from asap. Even the local Caterpillar dealer in Golfe Juan charges <€20 (last week)
 
I have been using Shell Rimula RT4X 15W-40 which works really well with my TAMD63's and can also be used in my ZF gearbox

You can get a good deal, I last purchased 6 x 20L six months ago for £40.50 Plus VAT a tub.....
 
When an oil is listed as approved for VDS-3 spec does that mean Volvo have tested and signed off on the oil? Or does the manufacturer just say it meets VDS-3 spec, therefore it's approved?
 
jfm said:
Thanks Latestarter. I hadn't realised that. My comment was a bit "quick". In a bit more detail, I used local Cat agent (whom I rate very highly) to do my in-warranty annual servicing and they bring Cat branded oil (at a huge mark up) but I don't have any choice. I'm now just out of warranty so could switch to rimula rtx4 but actually I like the cat dealer so much that I'm letting them carry on doing the servicing, and of course they continue to bring their cat branded 15-40, so at this point in time I haven't switched to rimula. It's good to hear from you that if I ever did switch, the rimula is fully blessed by cat, but for as long as I stick with the local cat dealer I'm stuck with cat branded oils supplied by them (I could ask them to use rimula but can't see a big point)

Incidentally they put mobil delvac in the ZF gearboxes, so Cat clearly don't insist they use Cat branded oil in anything other than the engines, which makes sense I guess

I had a full annual service last week, 505 hours, and they took oil samples from engines and g'boxes. When I get the reports back from the lab i'll report back

I've never cared about Onan Cummins wty for my gensets and serviced them myself from new. Easier than calling a dealer when all you need is an oil/filter change or pump impeller (and I have oil pump system to make oil changes ultra simple). for those, I have used Rimula 15-40 rtx4 from the first oil change, and as I say not cared about warranty. They're Kubota normally aspirated 4 pot 3.3 litre engines, making something like 40hp each at 1500rpm so they have a relaxed life and I want 10k hours from each of them! 700 hours each, so far.
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Did you get reports back?
 
I bought Ultra 15W40 to VDS2 spec for £45 from Ebay (Smith and Allen) for 20 litres.

Suits the TAMD40b motors which are used for 100 hours or so pa on the Upper Thames. Thats the engines original spec, although you can use the slightly more expensive VDS3 version which is around £50 for 20l.

Delivered a day later, engines run sweetly with good oil pressure.

I use the oil for 2 years, which equates to 6000 miles in Truck terms (Assuming average 30mph) which is not up to Volvo's marine service expectations, but a quarter of the Trucks expected oil life cycle! I think the marine engine has an easier time, working in a dust free environment at a steady 1200rpm or less with the occasional blast in a weir stream to keep the turbo's clear.

I can't imagine why a 30,000 mile oil change interval in a truck engine would become 3000 miles in a boat, there's no obvious reason for that, so I suspect it's Volvo Penta's way of ripping boat owners off...
 
No Regrets said:
I bought Ultra 15W40 to VDS2 spec for £45 from Ebay (Smith and Allen) for 20 litres.

Suits the TAMD40b motors which are used for 100 hours or so pa on the Upper Thames. Thats the engines original spec, although you can use the slightly more expensive VDS3 version which is around £50 for 20l.

Delivered a day later, engines run sweetly with good oil pressure.

I use the oil for 2 years, which equates to 6000 miles in Truck terms (Assuming average 30mph) which is not up to Volvo's marine service expectations, but a quarter of the Trucks expected oil life cycle! I think the marine engine has an easier time, working in a dust free environment at a steady 1200rpm or less with the occasional blast in a weir stream to keep the turbo's clear.

I can't imagine why a 30,000 mile oil change interval in a truck engine would become 3000 miles in a boat, there's no obvious reason for that, so I suspect it's Volvo Penta's way of ripping boat owners off...
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You are being more than a little unfair to Volvo.

Extended oil drains in trucks typically 40,000 kms are strictly duty cycle related.

A marine engine particularly one which is used on inland waterways would probably qualify for a 'severe' duty cycle, part load running, stop start, plenty of sweating during periods of extended shutdown with causes a step rise in the TAN (Total Acid Number).

Personally, annual oil drains fit the bill for leisure boating, however biannual is probably just about O.K. but stretch it no further.
 
You say plenty of Stop Starts, but it usually runs for an hour, with a ten minute break for the lock, then off for another hour, so the engine won't cool down at all in that time! (Actually takes hours to cool down according to my aft cabin temperature in the evening!!)

Thats less than a delivery truck which may be operating in town, again under part load a lot of the time due to traffic. I suppose you would change the oil more often in one of those, but I'm talking about the equivalent running time of 6000 miles, which is a fraction of the optimal. It's used nearly every weekend from March to October, and winterised with pretty fresh oil as a precaution. No nasty smells or evident sludge issues. Perhaps oil has improved over the 30 years since the engines were designed!? :D

The oil filter interval is in fact 200 hours anyway, while oil is 100.

Impellers I run for two years rather than one, and they all come out in a highly serviceable condition with no cracking and only a minimal mark from a bar across the exit hole, which must form within a few hours of use. I suspect at sea this may be different though.
 
No Regrets said:
You say plenty of Stop Starts, but it usually runs for an hour, with a ten minute break for the lock, then off for another hour, so the engine won't cool down at all in that time! (Actually takes hours to cool down according to my aft cabin temperature in the evening!!)

Thats less than a delivery truck which may be operating in town, again under part load a lot of the time due to traffic. I suppose you would change the oil more often in one of those, but I'm talking about the equivalent running time of 6000 miles, which is a fraction of the optimal. It's used nearly every weekend from March to October, and winterised with pretty fresh oil as a precaution. No nasty smells or evident sludge issues. Perhaps oil has improved over the 30 years since the engines were designed!? :D

The oil filter interval is in fact 200 hours anyway, while oil is 100.

Impellers I run for two years rather than one, and they all come out in a highly serviceable condition with no cracking and only a minimal mark from a bar across the exit hole, which must form within a few hours of use. I suspect at sea this may be different though.
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Just forget comparisons with trucks and obsession that Volvo is lifting your leg and trust me, that duty cycle would be classed as severe.

We can afford boats are we so poor.....................
 
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