By the QISHANR Technical & Supply Team · Published 10 October 2026
Case review · BITZER BSE170 (polyol ester, 170 cSt at 40 °C) · Four CSH.5 screws on R134a, plus a CSH8593-140Y on standby
BITZER BSE170 is a polyol ester refrigeration oil with a kinematic viscosity of 170 cSt at 40 °C. It is the standard oil charge for the CSH.5 and CSVH screw compressors, and an approved option for the CSH.6 and CSW.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Customer | A plant operator running a group of BITZER screw compressors (not named) |
| Machines | Four CSH.5 screws on R134a, plus a CSH8593-140Y held as standby |
| Product | BITZER BSE170, polyol ester, 170 cSt at 40 °C |
| What changed | The buying route only. The two units still inside warranty stayed on the BITZER grade |
| Order pattern now | One order a year on 20 L packs, quoted CIF to their port |
| Reported cost | Oil line at about 62% of the previous year's spend |
| Grade confirmation | Compressor list sent before any figure was quoted |
We asked the plant to set out how the change from a local shelf to an annual order actually ran. This is the note they sent.
When we first priced BSE170 we thought QISHANR came out more expensive than our local distributor. Then we put the two numbers side by side properly, which we should have done years ago. The local price was ex-works, so the freight and the customs broker sat on top of it, and we bought a drum or two whenever we ran low. QISHANR quoted CIF to our port, with shipping and export documents already inside the figure, and the batch certificate came with the shipment.
We sent the compressor list before anyone quoted anything: four CSH.5 screws running R134a, plus a CSH8593-140Y we keep as standby. They confirmed BSE170 was the right grade for those units, then priced 5 L and 20 L packs against the quantity we go through in a year. There is no fixed minimum order, so we size the order to our own consumption instead of to a container.
Two of the units are still inside warranty and BITZER wants its own oil for the running-in charge, so we stayed on the BITZER grade. The change was on the buying side: one order a year on 20 L cans, quoted against our port, has replaced the drum at a time off a local shelf. Last year the oil line on our maintenance budget came in at about 62% of what we had spent the year before, with nothing left sitting dead in the yard.
The two figures were never the same kind of number. An ex-works price covers the oil and stops there, so freight, the customs broker and the cost of holding drums all land on the buyer's side.
CIF is an Incoterms 2020 rule under which the seller pays for the goods, the insurance and the freight to the named destination port. Our listing for this grade makes the same point: ask for the CIF or DDP figure to your destination port, because that is the one comparable with a domestic supplier's price.
The batch certificate has the same shape. A certificate of analysis is the document that records the measured properties of the batch a customer received, and in this order it travelled with the shipment rather than following it.
R134a is an HFC refrigerant, and the oil family that goes with it is a polyol ester. A polyol ester is a synthetic refrigeration lubricant built on an ester base, and it is the chemistry that carries HFC and HFO refrigerants such as R134a.
Within that family the grade is set by viscosity. BSE170 sits at 170 cSt at 40 °C, the standard oil charge for the CSH.5 and CSVH screws and for the HSN, HSK and HSKB range, and an approved option for the CSH.6 and CSW.
The neighbouring grades are not simply thicker or thinner versions of the same oil. BSE170L is 97 cSt and is the standard charge where a CSH.6, CSW or CSVW calls for it, and BSE55 or BSE60K at 55 cSt covers a CSW with motor size 4. R22 compact screw compressors take B320SH, a complex ester at 310 cSt, and high-temperature heat pump duty on R1233zd(E) takes B-CE500 at 500 cSt. Two oils of similar viscosity can still be different base oils.
Emkarate RL170H, HANBELL HBR-B09, Suniso SL170, CPI Solest 170, Refcomp E and Frascold F-170E are documented cross-references for the grade, with our own QSL-170H in the same class. A cross-reference starts the review; the final choice is checked against the approved oil list for the machine and refrigerant, which for BITZER equipment is published in BITZER ST-500.
That is why the compressor list comes before the price. This plant sent four CSH.5 screws and one CSH8593-140Y before any figure was quoted, and the grade was confirmed against that list rather than a catalogue column.
The grade's data sheet carries three figures that decide whether a charge stays in the machine, each measured under a standard method rather than judged by eye.
Viscosity at 40 °C is measured under DIN EN ISO 3104, equivalent to ASTM D445. Water content is measured by Karl Fischer titration under DIN 51777, equivalent to ASTM D6304, and total acid number under DIN ISO 6618, equivalent to ASTM D974. The three warning values sit in the table below.
Those limits come from the compressor manufacturer's service specification rather than from us, and the standard behind the used-oil side is DIN 51503-2. Where a reading sits outside one of the three windows, the charge is replaced rather than topped up.
BSE170 is a group KD refrigeration oil under DIN 51503-1. ISO classification follows DIN ISO 3448, and 170 cSt does not fall inside an ISO VG band: VG 150 runs from 135 to 165 cSt, and VG 220 starts at 198 cSt.
The published figures for the grade, with the method behind each one where a method is specified.
| Property | Typical value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Oil type | Polyol ester (POE) | DIN 51503-1 group KD |
| Kinematic viscosity at 20 °C | 649 cSt | DIN EN ISO 3104 |
| Kinematic viscosity at 40 °C | 170 cSt | DIN EN ISO 3104 |
| Kinematic viscosity at 100 °C | 18 cSt | DIN EN ISO 3104 |
| Density at 15 °C | 0.970 g/ml | Product data |
| Flash point | 260 °C | Product data |
| Pour point | −27 °C | Product data |
| Standard oil charge for | CSH.5, CSVH, HSN, HSK, HSKB | BITZER ST-500 |
| Used-oil warning, viscosity at 40 °C | Outside 145 to 195 cSt, which is plus or minus 15% of the new-oil value | DIN EN ISO 3104 / ASTM D445 |
| Used-oil warning, water content | 200 mg per kg of oil | DIN 51777 / ASTM D6304 |
| Used-oil warning, total acid number | 0.2 mg KOH/g | DIN ISO 6618 / ASTM D974 |
| Pack sizes | 5 L, 10 L and 20 L | Product data |
The grade travels in 5 L, 10 L and 20 L packs, and custom formats are quoted as an item. There is no fixed minimum order: the figure is confirmed per order, and a single can and a full container load are both workable.
Payment is by T/T, L/C, PayPal or another agreed method, confirmed with the order. Price terms follow any Incoterms 2020 rule, EXW through to DDP, quoted against your destination port, and we arrange sea, land, air or express movement. Supply on this grade is 1,000 pieces a year.
The order ships as the original BITZER product or as Qishanr QSL-170H, our equivalent in the same class, blended at our plant in Foshan. Every order carries a technical data sheet, a safety data sheet and a certificate of analysis for the batch delivered. Export documents are standard rather than on request: CE, certificate of origin, MSDS and the transport identification report. Third-party batch testing can be arranged where a purchase requires an outside laboratory report.
Private label and OEM work is handled end to end. Lead time is confirmed on the quotation.
An ex-works price covers the oil at the seller's premises, so freight, clearance and storage are added on the buyer's side. A CIF price includes the goods, the insurance and the freight to the destination port, which is why it reads higher per pack and lower once everything is counted.
No fixed figure is published for this grade. The minimum is confirmed per order, because the viscosity class, the pack size, the quantity, the delivery terms and the container load all move it.
It is the standard charge for the CSH.5 and CSVH screw compressors and for the HSN, HSK and HSKB range, and an approved option for the CSH.6 and CSW. The final choice is checked against the approved oil list for your own model and refrigerant.
The technical data sheet and the safety data sheet come with the quotation, and a certificate of analysis for the batch delivered travels with the shipment. Export documentation, including the certificate of origin and the transport identification report, is issued as standard.
Emkarate RL170H, HANBELL HBR-B09, Suniso SL170, CPI Solest 170, Refcomp E and Frascold F-170E are documented cross-references at the same viscosity, alongside our own QSL-170H. A cross-reference starts the review; the machine and the refrigerant confirm it.
Running CSH.5, CSVH or HSN screws on an HFC refrigerant and want the landed figure rather than a shelf price? Send the compressor list and the refrigerant in each unit, and we will confirm the grade and quote the pack quantity against your port.
