VISCOSITY- SAE, ISO or AGMA?

Oil viscosity is measured several ways. The three main ones that we encounter in equipment
manuals are SAE, ISO, and AGMA. People are most familiar with SAE which stands for
Society of Automotive Engineers. Engine oil viscosity is always measured in terms of SAE.
Next we have the ISO system which stands for International Standardization Organization.
The ISO scale is commonly used to measure the viscosity of industrial oils. Last but not least
AGMA stands for American Gear Manufacturers Association. It can be confusing when you
have a gear case that the manual says requires SAE 90 gear lube and one oil distributor gives
you a pail that says AGMA 5 and another gives you a pail marked ISO 220. In terms of
viscosity only, this is 3 ways of describing the same thing. In terms of viscosity they are
equivilant. The chart below bears this out. The second dotted line goes horizontaly through
ISO 220, AGMA 5, SAE 50 (engine), and SAE 90 (gear). Understanding the relationship of
the viscosity scales to one another is useful but the viscosity of an oil is only part of what
makes an oil a proper lubricant for a particular application. Other factors include the type of
base oil and the additives with which the lubricant is formulated. Use the following chart to
better understand the relationship of the viscosity measurement scales only. Please call for
help to select an appropriate lubricant for your application.