EchoTechOilcheck
Check Your Engine Oil Quality in 3 Seconds
EchoTechOilcheck

Muttime Solutions (Reseller Since 2014)

We were initially skeptical about the Lubricheck engine oil tester. The device concept was great and if it really worked it would be the one of the best inventions to use in Nigeria to combat adulterated engine oil and help save engine oil users up to 90% of their annual engine oil service costs. So we did some tests to confirm the device worked:

  1. We used the Lubricheck (Now the EchoTechOilcheck) to test new and used oil over time (generators, pumps) and distance (Vehicles: trucks, cars, motorcycles) and compared the results with professional lab tests to confirm the device was accurate. We were thrilled when they were, we knew we had a good cheap and fast solution to test engine oil.
  2. We tested the various grades of engine oil sold at 6 of the major petrol stations. We were able to find a trend. 100% synthetic oils were always a 1 on the device. Some semi synthetic oils ranged between 1 and 3. All mineral based oils ranged between 3 and 7. It was good to know that all 6 petrol stations were selling what the lubricheck rated as good oil. We just did not know how long each oil would last in an engine before it needed to be changed. So we tested that.
  3. With the help of some customers we began to trend the life of a number of engine oils using the lubricheck and taking samples from our tests and sent these to laboratories to confirm the Lubricheck results. It was good to know that lab results concurred with the Lubricheck results. We found that some 100% fully synthetic oils could do 15,000 to 20,000 miles before the oil needed changing. In generators these oils could do up to 1500 hours before the oil needed changing and in some cases 2000 hours. What was very worrying was that most of the mineral based oil sold (especially the 20W50, SAE 40 and some15W40) needed to be changed after 1000 to 2000 miles in a vehicle or 60 to 120 hours in a generator. This meant that these oils did not meet the OEM or manufactures’ 3000 to 5000 miles service interval or generators recommended 200 to 300 hour service intervals. We began to ask the question why engines used in developed countries last 20 to 40 or more years, where all engine manufactures recommend fully synthetic oil for their engines (you can confirm this online check the recommended oil for your car/engine) but when these same engines/vehicles/generators are brought to Nigeria they only last about 4 years before they begin to smoke or lose power, if you are lucky some of these engines might work a few more years.
  4. We ran a pilot over a few months to test vehicles at car washes, it was interesting to find that:

a) Over 50% did not know what oil they used in their cars

b) 80 to 90% had engine oil in their cars that was a 10 (bad) with oil that had done between 0 and 2000 miles and had been in their engines’ under a month.

c) 5% had serviced their car on the same day and some in the last week and their oil tested 10 (bad) and had done less than 100 miles.

d) 5% were a number 1 (Excellent oil). These owners either serviced their vehicles at an authorized dealer or bought fully synthetic oil for their engines.

We made enquires with engine oil retailers and it was interesting to find that 90 to 95% of engine oil, for vehicles, sold in Nigeria are mineral based oils like the monograde oil (SAE40) and the multi-grade oils (20W50, 15W40). 5% of sales are the 100%/Fully synthetic oils. When it comes to Diesel engine oil especially the Heavy Duty diesel engine oils almost 99% sold are mineral based or with minute synthetic properties/blend. A few companies import their own supply of fully synthetic oils for their engines to meet OEM/manufacturers recommended engine oil specifications and to ensure long engine life.

The retail cost of an engine oil analysis (only one test) in Nigeria is about $100 and the results take 1 to 3 weeks. To remove a sample of oil is a complex task for most engine owners as about 300 to 500 ml is required. The easiest and messy manual way for most is to remove the sump bolt and allow the sample to be taken. Many times the engine needs to be topped up with fresh oil. The alternative is to wait for the service interval and then take the sample.  The Lubricheck removes this complex process by taking a sample of a few drops of oil using the engine’s dipstick and then placing the drops on the Lubricheck sensor, with results in 3 seconds. The cost of the lubricheck is about $135. We have customers that have used the same Lubricheck devices for the last 5 years and have done a few thousand tests on numerous engines.

We would estimate that 90 to 95% of engines in Nigeria use the wrong engine oil, mineral based oils, which appear cheaper to the consumer but are in fact much more expensive (about 80 to 90% more expensive) to use properly in an engine, compared to Fully synthetic oil. It’s a sad case of penny wise pound foolish.

To understand this a bit clearer:

Say a customer in 2021 buys a mineral based oil like 20W50 and from feedback from a number of customers the service costs are about N 12,000 (12k Naira) to keep this engine in really good condition for 15 years (the minimum life of an engine in the developed world) you would have to service the engine once a month to be safe or less than 1000 miles with regular Lubricheck tests. So in 15 years, service costs for this engine would be:

N 12,000 x 12 months x 15 years = 12,000 x 12 x 15 = 2,160,000 Naira + N 95,000 Lubricheck device.

If 100%/fully synthetic oil (5W20, 5W30 or 5W40 what is recommended almost all cars in the world) was used, the engine oil would most likely need changing every 2 years or on average 15,000 to 20,000 Miles with regular Lubricheck tests, the service costs would be:

N 50,000 x 15 years / 2 = (50,000 x 15)/2 = 375,000 Naira + N 95,000 Lubricheck device.

To put it another way it will cost the mineral oil (20W50) user N 12,000 per month to service their car. It would cost the synthetic oil user N 2,084 per month only.

Even if the mineral oil user decided to risk the oil and use the manufacturers recommended, 3000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first service cycle and reduce the engine life to 3 to 5 years, it would still cost N 4,000 per month.

We plan that with the Lubricheck (or the rebranded EchoTechOilcheck engine oil tester) we can save Nigerian consumers up to 90% annual engine oil service costs and in doing so help reduce billions of Dollars that Nigeria spends annually on the importation and blending of engine oil, by up to 90%. This will directly aid in reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint on the world stage.

Please find below links to some MuttiMe customer feedback and Lubricheck verification:

  • Our Large fleet and Generator owner customer, WiHu 2016-present