long trouble free service life and reduced downtime good thermal and oxidative stability easy starting of cold systems good low temperature fluidity applications application considerations: mobiltherm heat transfer oils should not be mixed with other oils since this may impair the excellent thermal and oxidation stability of the mobiltherm oils, cause a change in other properties, and complicate the interpretation of analyses made to determine the oil"s useful life. if the oils are used above their recommended maximum temperatures, vapor lock may result unless the system is designed to operate at the higher temperature by pressurising with an inert gas such as nitrogen. however, at higher temperatures, fluid life will be shortened because the rate of thermal degradation increases markedly as temperatures rise above the recommended limit. in well-designed systems the temperature of the oil film surrounding the heating element should be about 15ºc to 30ºc above the bulk oil temperature. if higher than this, the service life of the oil may be shortened and sludge and coke may be deposited which would interfere with the heat transfer rates. as with other mineral oils, mobiltherm heat transfer oils should be used only in systems with forced circulation. systems that depend on convection for circulation of the heat transfer medium do not provide a rapid enough flow to prevent local overheating and rapid deterioration of the oil.