Recycled Oil Again.....Oh Please!

[leo]

I just heard an ad on the radio about Valvoline motor oil that is made from a portion of recycled oil. I remember when you could go to the local auto parts chain like Pep Boys and buy recycled oil in 2 gallon cans for next to nothing, because it was junk. Why are we going back there now? They are spinning it like this is a good thing.

[Uncle Bob]

Waste oil that goes back through the refining process (skipping talking about a few preliminary steps here) will come out of the distillation tower pretty much the same as it's younger cousins ("new" from crude). Oil molecules don't really "break down" in use (with only a very few extreme cases), they are mostly contaminated out of optimum service. Once cleaned up (refined) there's no reason for recycled (reclaimed) oil to be inferior, especially since a responsible company will have tested it to meet specs required by OEMs.

[John Duden]

i just dump it in the shop furnace when i am done

[rprice]

Uncle Bob is spot on. The oil is indeed re-refined and perfectly good to use in your car.
When you see Valvoline on the label, you can rely on it. I wouldn't have any hesitation about using it.

Rog

[Keith True]

That new recycled oil is nothing like the old recycled oil.The old 2 gallon Sapphire cans always had a layer of silt in the bottom.It was like they strained it a little and canned it up.I can see using it over again if it is available,but in the northeast it is getting hard to come by.A fellow was just here to leave me some oil,I thought trucking was slow for him because I hadn't seen him much.Turns out he is busier than ever,but technology has helped him and screwed me.His old trucks all held 15 gallons of oil.He changed at 10,000 miles and each truck runs 150,000 per year.His new trucks hold 7 gallons,and with some spinner filter that he cleans once a month he changes oil at 50,000.I used to get 225 gallons per year,per truck,and now I'm down to 42 gallons per year,total from both,from him.I'm glad for him,but it makes it cold for me.I bought a waste oil furnace in 1986 and a few of these guys have been keeping me warm ever since.I let them change their oil and grease their trucks for free in my garage and I got their oil for heat.

[Wick]

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All we could use as kids in our mini bikes was used motor oil,let it sit in a glass jar for a month...clean as new.
Now we used "Bulk oil" I think the name was Wolf oil for the tractor. .10 a can also called Burnt motor oil.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Maybe some petroleum lab expert can explain why some find it amazing that some recommendations are to change oil like every 6 mohths or so, regardless of numbers of miles, whereas some say it is OK to keep old oil in the crankcase longer, even years, with low mileage.

For example, over 40 years ago the U.S. military developed an oil analysis program requiring military units to take oil samples from vehicles & mail same to their lab.

Some stored military vehicles, (many in Reserves/National Guard), with very little use & very low mileage, were allowed to keep the same old oil for years because this old oil stored in these crankcases was found by their lab to meet their lab specifications for engine lubrication requirements.

Probably this science is similar to thoughts on the theory of Global Warming, clean air, & rolling old people without insurance off a cliff, or something like that.

[ronn]

"rolling old people...."

sounds like fun-how do I get started?

[H. L. Chauvin]

Ronn,

Have absolutely no idea -- no connections with the "in-crowd" -- saw this in a devious Democrat TV ad during the last election -- similar to the atomic bomb explosion portrayed in a Johnson TV ad, (after President Kennedy was assinated), when Johnson ran against Goldwater -- as far as the roll off the cliff ad, my suggestion, just stay away from wheel chairs -- or better yet don't go near cliffs -- might have parked wheel chairs next to cliffs -- even better yet -- do not get old.

Hope this helps!

[Uncle Bob]

Oil change recommendations:..............hmmm, whole books (at least small ones) could be written about all the rationale behind various recommendations. In an environment like these boards wives tales hold equal sway with fact in too many instances, so there's not much incentive to write all that.

Suffice to say, the crankcase is the equivalent of a septic tank. Any/all the contaminants ingested by and created by engine operation can contaminate the oil, potentially reducing it's effectiveness in it's primary mission.....lubricating bearing surfaces. Operating conditions vary widely so recommendations can be impractically detailed (thus that book), or can respond to typical human nature.......short in nature to match a majority of attention spans. As such, most recommendations are on the very conservative side. Can you successfully extend beyond recommended drain intervals? Sure, especially if you're informed enough to know factually you are not operating at the severe end of the potential range. But the vast majority of vehicle operators couldn't care less about that kind of (to them) minutiae. Modern automobiles have (as just one example) vastly better fuel delivery systems than older vehicles (computer controlled fuel injection vs. carburetor). The potential for fuel dilution is significantly lower. In years gone by that was one of (among many more) the drivers of drain interval recommendations. Today's fuels are chemically "cleaner", so the by products of the combustion process that get into the oil are much reduced. There's much more, but that gives you something to stimulate thought/research if you're genuinely interested.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by John Duden

i just dump it in the shop furnace when i am done

Funny, I dump mine in a hole in the back yard.



Kidding....

[Aok]

40+ years ago I use to buy recycled oil for my 61 ford falcon,it smoke like it was on fire and the oil was cheap. It looked as clean as any new oil. I would buy it again today if it is priced lower then new oil.

[J Franklin]

"Funny, I dump mine in a hole in the back yard."

Tim, you actually admitted that publicly! When you go to sell your place just show them the oil well you started to drill and get them excited to buy.

[Purdy Swoft]

The bulk oil that they use to sell in the early sixties wasn't recycled. The bulk oil was stored in the back of the station in large containers with a pump and the glass quart jars were refilled there. The bulk oil had no advertised brand name and no cans , this kept prices low.The bulk oil sold here for fifteen cents per quart and you didn't get to keep the glass jar. I remember Dixie Pride oil was recycled and sold for twenty five cents per quart. The Dixie pride was in cans with the brand name on the can. Advertising and packaging caused the lower quality rerefined oil to sell for ten cents more per quart than the clean fresh bulk oil.

[Dune Country]

When I had my big trucks a senior mechanic at Kenworth Northwest told me that recycled oil had harder molecules and was better ;]

[Wick]

The farm shop I stayed at working on cars,tractors and such was the yard of the house. In the 60's-70's you dumped oil,gas...whatever right on the ground...Drain pan? Whats that? The dirt was black. Old spark plugs oil filters you name it,where it fell is where it stayed! The place sold in 1993,its a subdivision now...if the homeowners now only knew....

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

"Funny, I dump mine in a hole in the back yard."

Tim, you actually admitted that publicly! When you go to sell your place just show them the oil well you started to drill and get them excited to buy.

Yep, I'm trying to start my own reality TV show. I need to do something to make some money!!!!

[Bob Bidonde]

Oil doesn't wear out. The additives go away, and the oil becomes contaminated with particles from engine wear and combustion. Renewing used oil is a good thing. How many still use the junk straight weight oils that are of stone age technology? That is junk.

[Clem Clement]

I had a friend who filter old oil thru a sheet and resold it as a business. When I was driving a '72 beater it took all my used oil. No waste

[Bill in Al]

Anyone remember back in the dirt road days when the county would run tanker trucks spraying old used oil on the road to keep the dust down? May have preserved some of the old cars for us.