Early on in the development of wind turbine generators it became apparent that the common lubricants available on the market were unacceptable. The long drain intervals, temperature extremes, and dynamic loads produced in these units simply destroyed conventional lubricants. A new breed of product was required, and synthetic lubricants very quickly became the product of choice, and still are today. PAO (Polyalphaolefins) technology has been the most widely accepted by customers and OEM’s. In part because of their excellent performance, but also because of availability of these products. PAO lubricants are now standard for most all wind turbine OEM’s. Products like Castrol Tribol 320A, Mobil 632 SHC have been the bench mark for the industry. However, with the wind industry growing at the rate it is, site concerns and conditions can present need for a broader spectrum of performance from a synthetic gear fluid. PAO is not the only synthetic base oil available on the market today. Both PG (polyglycol) and Esther based products have their place. When choosing a gear fluid we must take a series of factors into consideration.

Factors to Consider

• Will the gear fluid meet or exceed the requirements of my equipment?
  
• How long do I want my drain intervals to be?
  
• What are my temperature extremes?
  
• Does my site have outstanding ambient issues.(heavy fog, rain, snow, dust)
  
• Is my site environmentally sensitive?
  
• What is the age of my turbines?
  
• How meaningful is my oil analysis?
  
• Can I augment leakage and fluid loss?
  
• How available is the gear fluid to my site?