BITZER Refrigeration Oil BSE170

How to Buy BSE170: Terms, Packing and Documents

BITZER BSE170 is supplied on published terms: the pack sizes, the price terms, the payment terms and the documents are the same for every buyer, and they can be quoted without a site visit. The minimum order is deliberately left open, because it is judged case by case: the grade, the quantity, the pack size, the shipping terms and the container load all move it, so a single can and a full container load are both workable and neither is treated as the normal case. Send us the quantity, the destination port and whether your own brand goes on the container, and those three turn the table below into a firm quotation. Documents and lead time work the same way on every order: the technical data sheet and safety data sheet come with the quotation, and the certificate of analysis for the delivered batch comes with the shipment.

Full sourcing, OEM and private-label options are set out on our synthetic refrigeration oil sourcing and OEM supply page.

Is BSE170 the Right Grade for Your System?

Before you order: send us the compressor model and the oil you are replacing. We check the viscosity class and base oil type against the BITZER data sheet and confirm the equivalent grade before quoting — the same process we apply when a buyer is moving from another brand.

What Else Can We Handle for Your Project?

A lubricant order is rarely only a lubricant order. The buyer is usually solving a grade question, an import documentation question, a freight question and a packaging question at the same time — often across more than one product family. Those are the parts of the job we take on, and they are handled by the same team that quotes the oil rather than passed to a third party.

We are a manufacturer rather than a reseller, which is what makes that possible. The blending plant in Foshan, Guangdong runs at 6,000 tonnes a year and has been producing lubricants for more than ten years, so the answer to most of the questions below comes out of our own production and our own paperwork.

None of this runs through a separate service department. The same technical contact stays with an account from the first grade question through to repeat orders, which is why a reorder does not start the conversation over again.

If what you need is not described here, send the application rather than the product — the unit, the refrigerant, the operating temperatures and the volume — and we will tell you whether we can make it and what it would take.

How to Order BSE170

Grade confirmation comes before pricing, because a wrong viscosity class is the mistake that costs a compressor. The sequence is the same whether you are buying one can or a full container:

1. Send us the compressor or unit model, the refrigerant, the oil currently in the system and the quantity you need.
2. We check the viscosity class and base oil type against the BITZER data sheet and confirm whether BSE170, or our equivalent QSL-170H, is the right grade for that application.
3. We quote against your destination port on any Incoterms 2020 term (EXW, FOB, CFR, CIF, DDP and every other rule), with the pack size and the lead time for that quantity.
4. The technical data sheet and safety data sheet come with the quotation, and a certificate of analysis for the delivered batch comes with the shipment.

If you already know the grade and only need a price, send the quantity and the destination port and we will quote directly.

Technical Specifications

These are the typical characteristics BITZER publishes for BSE170 in ST-500-9 (edition 04.2026), Tab. 2 — the same document the applications and the warning values on this page are taken from. According to BITZER, density can be interpolated linearly between the stated points. Two notes on reading this table. First, BITZER designates this grade by its basic viscosity at 40 °C rather than by an ISO VG class number: 170 cSt falls between the ISO VG 150 band (135–165 cSt) and the ISO VG 220 band (198–242 cSt) defined by DIN ISO 3448, so where this class is labelled "ISO VG 170" elsewhere that is trade shorthand rather than an ISO grade number — compare grades on the measured 40 °C viscosity. The same applies to the 55 cSt grade, which falls between VG 46 and VG 68. Second, a technical data sheet, safety data sheet and batch certificate of analysis are issued with your order, so the figures above can be checked against the delivered batch.

When Is the Oil in the System No Longer Serviceable?

BSE170 is a group KD oil under DIN 51503-1, and DIN 51503-2 is the standard that says when oil already in a system has to be replaced. The three reference values below are the ones BITZER publishes for this grade — useful when you are deciding between a top-up and a full charge.

These are the warning values BITZER publishes for BSE170 in ST-500-9 (edition 04.2026), Tab. 3. According to BITZER, a sample outside these limits indicates the charge should be replaced rather than topped up.

Where Does BSE170 Sit in the BITZER Oil Range?

Viscosity class and base oil type are the two selection criteria that matter first. The table below shows the BITZER grades that share the BSE170 application area, with the viscosity that distinguishes them.

Kinematic viscosity and application data as published in BITZER ST-500-9 (edition 04.2026). The same document also covers BSE32/BSE35K (32 cSt), BSE85K (80 cSt) and the PAG, PAO and PVE ranges, which apply to compressor types outside the screw compressor scope.

Which Oils Can Replace BSE170?

If your compressor is already in service, you probably hold a data sheet for a different brand at the same viscosity class. These are the oils documented as cross-references for BSE170, with Qishanr QSL-170H as our own equivalent:

A cross-reference is the starting point for a specification review — confirm the final choice against the compressor manufacturer's approved oil list for your model and refrigerant — for BITZER equipment that list is published in ST-500.

What BSE170 Is, and Why the Base Oil Matters

BSE170 is a polyol ester (POE), not a mineral oil, and that distinction decides whether the oil works at all. HFC and HFO refrigerants are not miscible with mineral oil, so a mineral charge in an R134a or R507A circuit does not travel with the refrigerant — oil collects in the evaporator and the compressor sump runs dry. POE is miscible with those refrigerants, so the oil circulates through the circuit and returns to the sump. BITZER classifies BSE170 as group KD under DIN 51503-1.

BITZER's own position, published in its ST-500 oil documentation, is that its polyolester oils are mandatory for the running-in period of the compressor, and that only these oils should be used for the initial charge. For top-up and replacement work, BITZER states that an alternative oil is acceptable at the system owner's responsibility, on the condition that the manufacturer or supplier guarantees product quality and a moisture content below 50 ppm. That is a documentation question as much as a product question — it is answered with a batch certificate of analysis, not with a claim.

Original BITZER Oil, or a QISHANR Equivalent?

The two supply options exist for different jobs. The original BITZER product is the right choice where the compressor is still under warranty, where the specification names BITZER explicitly, or where an initial charge is being made — BITZER requires its own oil for the running-in period. Our own QSL-170H is manufactured to the same 170 cSt at 40 °C specification at our blending plant in Foshan, and it is the option most buyers take for top-up and replacement work, where the deciding factor is usually landed cost rather than the label on the can. Both are polyol ester, and both are 170 cSt at 40 °C.

Supplying both from one place is what our own plant makes possible. The blending plant in Foshan runs at 6,000 tonnes a year, so we hold stock on the grades we list instead of buying against each order — which is why a lead time can be quoted rather than forwarded from someone else. Our analysis of the enquiries we receive on this grade is consistent as well: the buyer is almost always replacing an existing charge in a system that is already running, and the oil being replaced is the only reference point they have. That is why grade confirmation comes before pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is there a minimum order for BSE170, and what pack sizes are available?

A: BSE170 ships in 5 L, 10 L and 20 L packs. There is no fixed minimum order — it is confirmed per order, because it depends on the pack size, the quantity and the destination, and a single can and a full container load are both workable. In practice the quantity is rarely the only variable: the shipping terms and the container load move the figure as well, so we quote against the order rather than against a price list. Custom pack formats and private-label artwork are available as a quotation item, so if your own label has to go on the container, say so when you enquire and it is quoted as part of the project rather than added afterwards.

Q: Do you supply the original BITZER oil, or your own equivalent?

A: Both, and the choice is usually straightforward. We can supply the original BITZER BSE170, and we also manufacture the equivalent grade ourselves: Qishanr QSL-170H, a polyol ester at the same 170 cSt at 40 °C, produced at our blending plant in Foshan, China. Take the original where the compressor is still under warranty, where the specification names BITZER explicitly, or where you are making an initial charge — BITZER requires its own oil for the running-in period. Take the equivalent for top-up and replacement work on a system that is out of warranty, where landed cost is the deciding factor. Send us the compressor model and the application and we will quote both.

Q: What price and payment terms apply?

A: We quote against your destination port on any Incoterms 2020 term — EXW, FOB, CFR, CIF, DDP and every other rule — and we accept any commonly used payment method, including T/T, L/C and PayPal. Three things decide the number: the quantity, the destination port and the pack size — a full pallet of 20 L cans prices differently from a few 5 L cans, because the freight and handling change. Send those three and we will come back with a firm price rather than a range. If you are comparing us against a local distributor, ask for the CIF or DDP figure to your port: that is the comparable one, because it includes the freight that a domestic price usually leaves out.

Q: What documents come with an order?

A: Each order is issued with three documents, and they do different jobs. The technical data sheet carries the typical characteristics for the grade — the figures in the specification table above. The safety data sheet covers handling, personal protective equipment and disposal of the used oil. The certificate of analysis is specific to the batch you receive and reports the measured values for that production lot, which is how the figures on this page can be checked against what actually arrives. If your quality system needs the documents before the order is placed rather than with it, say so when you enquire and we will send them alongside the quotation.

Q: What type of oil is BITZER BSE170?

A: BITZER BSE170 is a synthetic polyol ester (POE) refrigeration oil with a basic viscosity of 170 cSt at 40 °C and 18 cSt at 100 °C. The base oil type is the part that decides whether the oil works at all. HFC and HFO refrigerants are not miscible with mineral oil, so a mineral charge in an R134a or R507A circuit does not travel with the refrigerant: the oil collects in the evaporator and the compressor sump runs dry. POE is miscible with those refrigerants, so the oil circulates through the circuit and returns to the sump. BITZER classifies BSE170 as group KD under DIN 51503-1, with a pour point of -27 °C and a flash point of 260 °C.

Q: Which refrigerants and compressors is it used with?

A: BITZER specifies BSE170 as the standard oil charge for CSH.5 and CSVH screw compressors, and as an approved option for CSH.6 and CSW. The same grade is the standard charge for the HSN, HSK and HSKB semi-hermetic ranges — those compressors carry a “Y” marking on the nameplate, for example CSH8593-140Y, which is how you confirm the factory fill without opening the system. On the refrigerant side, BITZER publishes miscibility data for BSE170 with R134a, R404A, R407C, R407F, R448A, R449A, R507A, R513A, R1234yf and R1234ze(E), covering both the HFC blends still in service and the lower-GWP HFO blends replacing them. It is not the grade for R22: BITZER charges its R22 compact screw compressors with B320SH complex ester, because a polyol ester is not the right oil for that refrigerant.

Q: Which oils can replace BSE170, or which grade replaces mine?

A: Emkarate RL170H, HANBELL HBR-B09, Suniso SL170, CPI Solest 170, Refcomp E and Frascold F-170E all sit in the same viscosity class, and our own equivalent is QSL-170H. Send us the compressor or unit model you are working on and we will confirm the equivalent grade after checking the specification.

Q: How do I know whether the oil already in the system is still serviceable?

A: You test a sample. BITZER gives three warning values for BSE170 under DIN 51503-2: kinematic viscosity at 40 °C outside the range 145 to 195 cSt, water content above 200 mg per kg of oil, or total acid number above 0.2 mg KOH/g. A result outside any of those three means the oil has aged past the point where a top-up restores it, and the charge should be replaced instead. Viscosity drift is the one to watch on a POE system, because refrigerant dissolved in the oil lowers viscosity — so a low reading can point to a refrigerant-side problem rather than an oil problem.

Q: Can I top up without flushing if I do not know which oil is in the system?

A: BITZER states that oils may be mixed within the same viscosity group where comparable experience exists for the application, so a top-up with a polyol ester of the same viscosity is not inherently a problem. The difficulty is knowing what is already in the system. If the oil type is unknown, or if a sample is outside the warning values above, follow the compressor manufacturer's procedure rather than topping up: that normally means recovering the charge, flushing the circuit, and refilling with the specified grade before evacuation and recharge. Send us the compressor model, and a sample result if you have one, and we will confirm which of those two routes applies.

Key Takeaways

• BITZER BSE170 is a synthetic POE refrigeration oil with a basic viscosity of 170 cSt at 40 °C, for BITZER CSH, CSVH, CSW, HSN, HSK and HSKB compressors on HFC and HFO refrigerants.
• Standard oil charge for CSH.5 and CSVH; approved option for CSH.6 and CSW. Not the grade for R22, which takes B320SH complex ester.
• Cross-references: Emkarate RL170H, HANBELL HBR-B09, Suniso SL170, CPI Solest 170, Refcomp E, Frascold F-170E, and Qishanr QSL-170H.
• Supplied in 5 L, 10 L and 20 L packs. No fixed minimum order — the figure is confirmed per order. Any Incoterms 2020 term (EXW, FOB, CFR, CIF, DDP and others), any commonly used payment method (T/T, L/C, PayPal and others).
• Available as the original BITZER product, or as Qishanr QSL-170H — the equivalent 170 cSt grade we manufacture at our own plant in Foshan, China.
• TDS, SDS and a batch certificate of analysis are issued with every order.
• Send us the compressor model, the refrigerant and the oil you are replacing, and we will confirm the grade, the pack size and the shipping terms for your order.

Standards and Sources Behind the Data on This Page

Every figure on this page is taken from a published document rather than from our own measurement, so each one can be checked before you buy. This is the full set of sources, with the document each figure came from.

Standards are cited to the publisher’s official catalogue entry (DIN Media); the BITZER document is cited to BITZER’s own site. Where a standard is a national adoption of an international one — the DIN ISO and DIN EN ISO entries above — the ASTM equivalent is named as well, so your laboratory can map it to the method it actually runs.