BitUVisc Kinematic Viscometer

The BitUVisc is a fully automatic and programmable kinematic viscometer designed specifically for the analysis of highly viscous samples at elevated temperatures. It addresses one of the more demanding challenges in viscosity testing, handling sample types that pose significant difficulties for standard automatic viscometers due to their high pour points, unstable characteristics, and the intensive cleaning requirements that come with them. The system processes samples with viscosities of up to 120,000 mm²/s at temperatures of up to 150°C, with sample preheating capability extending up to 200°C. It fully complies with ASTM D445, D446, D2170, and AASHTO T201 standards, meeting the requirements of widely recognised testing protocols used across industrial and laboratory environments in Australia and internationally.

The BitUVisc is available in two models to suit different laboratory throughput requirements. The BitUVisc 110 features a single thermostatic bath with one viscometer tube, suited to laboratories with moderate sample volumes. The BitUVisc 120 holds two viscometer tubes in a single bath, offering higher throughput for facilities that need to process greater numbers of samples within the same timeframe. Both models are equipped with automatic sampling, preheating, and fully automatic dual-solvent cleaning and drying, removing the manual loading, measurement, and cleaning steps that have traditionally made high viscosity sample analysis labour intensive and time consuming.

The viscometer tubes are based on the proven Ubbelohde design and incorporate specially designed thermal sensors that allow the detection of fully opaque fluids without limitation, eliminating the need for reverse flow tubes that are often required with other instruments. The BitUVisc is fitted with specially designed duplo viscometer tubes for unstable sample types such as vacuum residues, additives, crude oils, waxes, heavy fuel oils, polymers, and asphalts, which typically show poor repeatability when sampled multiple times. Each duplo tube has two measuring sections with an approximately similar tube constant, allowing a genuine duplicate determination to be performed from a single sample loading. This is a meaningful practical advantage for laboratories working with difficult materials where measurement reliability is critical.

Sophisticated temperature control ensures that measurements are carried out within the required temperature stability parameters throughout every test cycle. The innovative single position auto-sampling system provides integrated heating of the sample and uses preheated solvent to clean the viscometer tube effectively between samples, maintaining measurement integrity and preventing cross-contamination across extended testing sessions. For laboratories involved in bitumen testing, petroleum analysis, asphalt quality control, or the analysis of heavy industrial fluids, the BitUVisc provides a reliable, precise, and highly automated solution that reduces operator workload and improves the consistency of results across high-volume testing environments.

• Fully automatic and programmable operation
• Duplo viscometer tubes for unstable samples
• Preheating up to 200°C for high-temperature analysis
• Precise temperature control for consistent measurement stability
• Detection of opaque fluids without flow-back tubes
• Automatic dual-solvent cleaning and drying
• Single-position autosampler with integrated heating
• Compact, robust design for laboratory efficiency
• Complies with ASTM, EN, ISO, DIN, and AASHTO standards

Ideal for analyzing fuels, base oils, formulated oils, and highly viscous substances such as vacuum residues, crude oils, heavy fuel oils, waxes, polymers, asphalts, and additives.

Its advanced automation eliminates the need for manual loading and cleaning, providing reproducible and accurate results across a wide range of industrial and research applications.

The BitUVisc includes dedicated PC control software that enables full system operation, monitoring, and data management from a single workstation. The software supports multiple instruments connected to a single PC, making it a practical solution for laboratories running more than one BitUVisc unit simultaneously. Communication is handled via RS-232C with USB data export, allowing measurement results to be transferred efficiently for reporting and record keeping. The software is compatible with Windows 7 and higher, ensuring straightforward integration into most existing laboratory IT environments without the need for specialist configuration.

A range of optional accessories is available to extend the capability of the system depending on the specific requirements of the laboratory. These include a dedicated PC and printer for standalone workstation setups, a compressor to support the automated cleaning and drying process, ASTM thermometers for temperature verification, glass sample cups for sample preparation and loading, and an external cooling circulator for laboratories that require viscosity measurements at temperatures around ambient. Together, these accessories allow the BitUVisc to be configured as a complete, self-contained viscometry workstation tailored to the demands of the testing environment.