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Mobil Vactra #2 Shortage??

Vactra #2 originally had tackifiers in it, I believe until around 2005?...EPA bull crap got it. Then a new oil Vacuoline 1409 was made with the tackifiers............I was going to suggest Syncon R&O 68, but it's has tackifiers....
 
Fwiw Shell Oil also makes proper way oils listed as Shell Tonna S2 or S3. So it might be availble if you can't find Vactra. The Mobile product seems to be the best known and common brand used by most and what I use. So I can't comment about just how comparable the Shell product is to Vactra. I do know many use it over in the UK and other parts of Europe.
 
I gave a lesser known for North America but no doubt reputable producer of way oil as at least one other alternative. Since the OP can't find Vactra and was apparently told Mobile hasn't produced any in months, he and others are going to be looking for something else real soon. And yes no doubt there's a whole lot more than a 1/2 dozen just as reputable manufacturer's of way oil around the world. That much should be blindingly obvious to even a simpleton. For anyone who needs detailed information about how any product would react with other lubes, coolants or cutting oil, then my guess is there already more than smart enough to properly check that with the manufacturer and not bother with whatever brand of third world snake oil concoction they can find. That's exactly why the better and larger company's all have trained application experts now isn't it.

So do you have anything of actual value to add to the OP's thread or do you just like to keep pretending your some kind of slack jawed hillbilly philosopher because a 5 yr old could see right through that act.
 
There's lots of alternatives. I've never even used Vactra #2.
I mainly use Castrol Magnaglide D68 in the cnc mill, some Fuchs Renep 68 also.
Philips TCS Hydroclear is great too, but can be harder to find.

Lots of issues/shortages with some oils lately, synthetic diesel engine oil got hard to find too.
 
Well I ordered 10 1 gallon jugs from MSC last week. Around $30 with free shipping which I figured was fair in today's world (last time I bought it in 2020 I paid $17.14 a gallon from MSC). It said 15 in stock but when I pushed the pay button it says backordered. Great. Call and they said they had a shipment coming in but a lot more backorders than the order will fill.

Well I now have 2 UPS tracking numbers that say they will be delivered tomorrow. We will see!
 
We called our local distributor yesterday to order some Vactra #2.

They said they are out and Mobil has not made any for months.

This is very confusing as this is a pretty standard way lube. Has anybody heard similar stories?

We checked and a distributor in Rockford has some, sounds like they mix it themselves. We are going to check our other distributor here in Milwaukee.
There is no "shortage" of anything. It is the latest buzzword. It works for a while. Just quit making it. People must have ,will pay more, less wear and tear on the producers.It only works until someone steals your market.Look at all the clapped out machines for sale. They didnt fail because someone put the WRONG oil in them. Someones put NO OIL IN THEM. Any oil is better than no oil.Edwin Dirnbeck
 
Local petroleum sales company stocks Shell lubricants, so I just buy Shell Tonna S2 MX 68, which is their equivalent of Vactra No. 2. I want to say the 5 gallon pail was about $180 or so. Might have been a bit less, I only buy a pail every six to eight months if that. Maybe once a year.

I probably would have bought vactra if I coulda found it local, but we neglected to order a replacement pail a while back, ran out and I found the Shell two miles from the shop. Works fine, never had any issues. Just running a simple 3 axis Hurco mill on it though. Nothing fancy. Our Mazak lathe uses grease.
 
I placed an order for 5 gallons of Sunoco 1180 on 7/31. I was just told that it’s backordered 4-5 weeks.
 
I am down to less than a quart of Vactra #2, so I took a gamble on 1 gallon at Amazon. Order placed 5 August, just got an email estimating they will deliver 21 August. So supply is tight, but not completely shut off. Similar to what was reported above about McMaster-Carr.
I do wonder why this year supply has been so tight. Comparable viscosity R&O circulating oils don't seem to have been in short supply the last 6 months, which makes me speculate that the additives are the bottleneck. But sheer speculation.
 
Today, the supposed delivery day, I got an email from Amazon saying "We're encountering a delay in shipping this item." I'll update again if/when they get back to me with a new delivery date.
 
Comparable viscosity R&O circulating oils don't seem to have been in short supply the last 6 months, which makes me speculate that the additives are the bottleneck. But sheer speculation.

2 months ago AW68 was in short supply, farm/ranch store, NAPA and Cat all told me it was back ordered, a friend found me the last 5 gallon pail in SLC. No idea if it was local, or nationwide, or still in short supply today.
 








 
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