This summer, Aevitas Inc. announced a partnership with Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. to bring improved access to premier transformer oil products across Canada. Aevitas will exclusively distribute Calumet’s new line of Caltran™ insulating oil — Caltran C50 — in the Canadian market.
Calumet chose Aevitas to be the exclusive distributor of this product due to the company’s superior ability to stock, test, maintain and supply products in varying packaged and bulk quantities. Aevitas also owns and operates its own fleet of dedicated transformer oil tankers, ensuring rigorous quality standards are followed all the way through on bulk deliveries.
“Our goal is to get quality products in the hands of our customers as efficiently as possible, and Aevitas is the right partner to accomplish that,” said Scott Obermeier, EVP, Specialty Products and Solutions for Calumet. “We think our Caltran products are perfectly formulated for Canadian customers, and we’re excited to partner with Aevitas to bring our products to market.”

Proven Performance

Aevitas seems destined for this partnership, as Calumet grew out of Louisiana — a strategic location where you can find naphthenic crude oil, which has inherent low temperature properties perfectly tailored to Canada’s cold conditions.
Calumet was born out of a refinery in Princeton, Louisiana, which is now one of a few all-naphthenic oil refineries left on the globe. In addition to base and rubber process oil, one of the refinery’s first three products was the Caltran line of transformer oil, which grew to accommodate international requirements.
Because of Calumet’s naphthenic refinery capabilities, extensive experience with formulating transformer oils and active participation in technical standards committees for insulating liquids, the company was approached to develop an ultra-low temperature transformer oil for the Canadian market. Calumet went on to become the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of that oil to Canada for 25 years.
The new line of transformer oil, Caltran C50, is an exclusive combination of premium naphthenic stocks, which give it unique properties suited to oxidation and low temperature fluidity. The product requires pristine handling and effective filtration, and above all else, it must be kept clean and dry, which is why Calumet partnered with Aevitas. Each load is tested by Aevitas upon receipt. If necessary, Aevitas will process at their Brantford, Ontario oil facility to remove moisture or any other detected contaminant.

Engineered for Canadian Climate

The Caltran C50 insulating oils meet or exceed Canadian Standards Association (CSA) C50-14 specifications for Class A and Class B, Type I and Type II insulating oils.
This line of Arctic-grade insulating oils features exceptional low temperature fluidity, oxidation stability and corrosion control, making them an ideal solution for the Canadian climate. Caltran also improves circulation and heat transfer. The product has high dielectric strength, and it assists in the prevention of corona discharge and arcing. The high level of refining removes corrosive sulfur compounds, resulting in corrosion control.
The low temperature performance is attributed to Calumet’s world class refining processes that enhance the already robust performance from formulating with premium naphthenic base stocks. Caltran C50A products are fluid 20°C beyond the CSA C50 Class A specification of -46°C, and Caltran C50B products are fluid 15-25°C beyond the Class B specification of -40°C.
The robust cold temperature performance extends beyond pour point and is further validated by the low temperature fluidity — or low viscosity. The viscosities at -40°C of Caltran C50A products are nearly 30% lower than the C50 Class A specification of ≤2,500 mm2/s (cSt), and the viscosities at -40°C of Caltran C50B products are 67% lower than the C50 Class B specification of ≤6,000 mm2/s (cSt). Low viscosity at cold temperatures ensures reliable startup of transformers and proper operation of circuit breakers. In addition to affecting the speed of moving parts, low viscosity transformer oil maximizes heat transfer of electrical equipment.

Read full article in the Critical Power Reliability Special Edition 2021