used oil recycling

[SteveK]

recently changed out oils. Faithfully hauled several gallons to the usual recycle place. I was told they no longer accept due to fines for contamination with coolant etc. Checked around and find all the retailers have stopped taking used oil brought in for same reason that one contaminated batch costs them more than they get in recycling. Now they only handle what they drain out on premises. Have not confirmed but Vancouver landfill apparently takes used oil.

So I started to google used oil mixed in with diesel and burned. There is mixed comments of course, but many claim success with various preps to just add to the tank. From sump to tank is appealing.

Looking at using the unused generator tank as a mixing tank after running oil through filters. Then set up a polishing system to mix into main tanks.

Has anyone done this? Thoughts?

 

[Marlinmike]

I've seen some articles on mixing, just wasn't my thing, I bring mine to the local town dump area, they are a large tank to pour in your oil.

 

[Comodave]

I have read about people mixing it in with the diesel and burning it as fuel but not sure if I would do it. I take mine to a marine repair shop here. They burn it in their oil burning furnace that heats their shop during the winter. You might check some local businesses that use oil for heating.

 

[SteveK]

Thanks but if they burn it, why not burn it myself. I have time until next oil change to decide. Not finding any reason not to do it so far. Some commercial fishermen were apparently doing this for years.

 

[Wxx3]

Thanks but if they burn it, why not burn it myself. I have time until next oil change to decide. Not finding any reason not to do it so far. Some commercial fishermen were apparently doing this for years.

This has been my thinking, but I have not done it for one primary reason, I don't want to take the chance of metal particles getting past the filter systems and potentially hurting the engine or injection pump.

And I've gone thru a couple of hundred gallons in the past 6 years.

As an aside, how any gov't who thinks they are being green by dumping it in a landfill, as opposed to burning it in a power plant, is beyond me.

When I changed the oil last month, my Vietnamese wife asked me who I was going to sell it to?
A culture that throws virtually nothing away, but reuses everything, is truly green.

 

[caltexflanc]

Most engine manufacturers that i have seen specifically warn against adding it to fuel. Likely for the same reasons as Richard's. That includes for the old Detroit 2 cycles like I had.

 

[Ventana]

The guy I fished with up here wouldn’t use it in the boat, didn’t want the risk of contaminants getting past filters when the boat was his livelihood. He did however buy an old VW Rabbit pickup with a diesel engine, would save the oil from his fishing boat, and burn it in the truck. It smoked a lot, but I don’t think he ever paid for fuel for that thing.

 

[Comodave]

Thanks but if they burn it, why not burn it myself. I have time until next oil change to decide. Not finding any reason not to do it so far. Some commercial fishermen were apparently doing this for years.

When I said they burn, I meant in their oil burning furnace in their workshop, not in an engine. They said they usually burn about 40 55 gallon drums in a winter so they are happy to get my oil since they save on heating costs.

 

[Bacchus]

When I said they burn, I meant in their oil burning furnace in their workshop, not in an engine. They said they usually burn about 40 55 gallon drums in a winter so they are happy to get my oil since they save on heating costs.

In the NE it is very common for auto / truck shops to heat with waste oil furnaces. There are units designed specifically for that. I have 2 shops nearby that are happy to take any & all waste oil.

 

[SteveK]

When I said they burn, I meant in their oil burning furnace in their workshop, not in an engine. They said they usually burn about 40 55 gallon drums in a winter so they are happy to get my oil since they save on heating costs.

Thanks I got that.
Recycling is supposed to put it through a process for use once more.

 

[SteveK]

This has been my thinking, but I have not done it for one primary reason, I don't want to take the chance of metal particles getting past the filter systems and potentially hurting the engine or injection pump.

And I've gone thru a couple of hundred gallons in the past 6 years.

As an aside, how any gov't who thinks they are being green by dumping it in a landfill, as opposed to burning it in a power plant, is beyond me.

When I changed the oil last month, my Vietnamese wife asked me who I was going to sell it to?
A culture that throws virtually nothing away, but reuses everything, is truly green.

Our landfill would have collection tanks and then sent to be processed. I meant to say right now that may be the only place to take it to.

as for foreign matter in the oil after it is run through a filter would be a surprise and time to look at said filter. Then it would go through the fuel filters. The injection pump should not see anything.
So I am not concerned about that.

We take/took it to places that accepted it because they could sell it and profit. But now they are charged if foreign matter is found in the mix resulting in a cost to dispose.

 

[rswift]

recycled oil

In the NE it is very common for auto / truck shops to heat with waste oil furnaces. There are units designed specifically for that. I have 2 shops nearby that are happy to take any & all waste oil.

Absolutely right, just dropped of 35 gallons to a local gas/repair station that
was more than happy to accept it. All the oil from changes goes right from the vehicle to the furnace tank.

 

[O C Diver]

Both counties I live in (FL & MD) accept waste engine oil. When cruising, every Walmart I tried will accept waste oil. Many auto parts stores will also accept it. IMO, it's not worth the risk and effort to clean it up and dump it in the fuel tank of the boat.

Ted

 

[Ski in NC]

There are metallic additives in lube oil that form deposits when burned. Things that stick rings and clog up exhaust.

I tried it on an old generator and after a day it shut down. All the lube oil blew out the blow by tube. Shut down on low oil pressure. I checked it out and found compression sorely lacking. I treated it with outboard ring free type stuff and was able to get the rings unstuck without disassembly. That experiment was over!! Back to straight diesel.

I don't recommend putting used sump oil into fuel for diesel engines.

I recycle all mine. So far the local autoparts store still takes it without concern for contamination. As I understand, it from there it is distilled which will sep out virtually any contaminates.

 

[ben2go]

If I was going to do it, I would follow the lead of the bio diesel guys and use a centrifuge to spin off the oil and leave the contaminates behind. Plenty of good vids on youtube.


This could be installed in some boats and used to clean the fuel as well as the used motor oil.
https://www.amazon.com/Centrifuge-b...47f7b5da7dd7193c6cf1d2a7f5e428&language=en_US

 

[sunchaser]

In BC being a DIYer for oil, filters, diesel and coolant is challenged by disposal. The commercial marinas generally have a recycling tank. We have requently changed oil in Shearwater. Easier still in AK where recycling containers are common.

In lower BC, our favorite mechanics take used fluids for us when we change ourselves.

 

[Lepke]

I've burnt my used oil in the engines that created it for 60 years without problems. But I run cleaner oil than most, filtering to under 5 microns in the engine. With one final filtering before pumping it into a day tank. Usually diluting the oil 10:1 or more. Since I always got more hours out of my engines and injectors than others running the same machinery, I don't think it hurt. If anything, it added lubrication to the fuel. A lot of that was in Detroits.
In my quest for cleaner oil, I now centrifuge my oil and just test, and don't change anything but the oil filters. Last oil change was in 2011.

 

[Simi 60]

I've burnt my used oil in the engines that created it for 60 years without problems. But I run cleaner oil than most, filtering to under 5 microns in the engine. With one final filtering before pumping it into a day tank. Usually diluting the oil 10:1 or more. .

So you'd like to think dropping 40 litres of used oil in on top of 4000 litres of diesel should be OK.

I've been reusing my 250 hour oil (that runs through a bypass filter, so its clean enough to see the dipstick marks) in the genset for another 50 hours but as I rarely use the genset I have several 20 litre drums of used oil accumulated.

No where to get rid of them on the water.

 

[Simi 60]

If I was going to do it, I would follow the lead of the bio diesel guys and use a centrifuge to spin off the oil and leave the contaminates behind. Plenty of good vids on youtube.


This could be installed in some boats and used to clean the fuel as well as the used motor oil.
Amazon.com

$4300 aud buys me 430 litres of new oil or enough to last 11 years at 40 litres a change.
Smaller engines probable need to use it for 40 years to break even.

Do you think that device will last the distance?

 

[diver dave]

..

When I changed the oil last month, my Vietnamese wife asked me who I was going to sell it to?
A culture that throws virtually nothing away, but reuses everything, is truly green.

EVN is now around 40% renewable electrical energy sourcing; and I helped!

 

[SteveK]

There are metallic additives in lube oil that form deposits when burned. Things that stick rings and clog up exhaust.

I tried it on an old generator and after a day it shut down. All the lube oil blew out the blow by tube. Shut down on low oil pressure. I checked it out and found compression sorely lacking. I treated it with outboard ring free type stuff and was able to get the rings unstuck without disassembly. That experiment was over!! Back to straight diesel.

I don't recommend putting used sump oil into fuel for diesel engines.

I recycle all mine. So far the local autoparts store still takes it without concern for contamination. As I understand, it from there it is distilled which will sep out virtually any contaminates.

what mix/dilution did you do, it sounds like straight oil came out means straight went in and it was not diluted enough.

 

[SteveK]

I've burnt my used oil in the engines that created it for 60 years without problems. But I run cleaner oil than most, filtering to under 5 microns in the engine. With one final filtering before pumping it into a day tank. Usually diluting the oil 10:1 or more. Since I always got more hours out of my engines and injectors than others running the same machinery, I don't think it hurt. If anything, it added lubrication to the fuel. A lot of that was in Detroits.
In my quest for cleaner oil, I now centrifuge my oil and just test, and don't change anything but the oil filters. Last oil change was in 2011.

Interesting, I wonder how what you are doing compares to do the guys that recycle the oil for reuse.
5 microns in the engine, is that the engine oil filter or filter separate from operational filter?
so you were down to 5 microns, but decided to go further with a centrifuge. Having difficulty thinking 5 microns could do any damage.

 

[T210DRVR]

Don’t mix with the diesel for the engine. Bad news.

If you have a diesel or oil burning furnace you can use it there. It’s also useful for starting burn piles and stumps, just don’t tell the EPA.

 

[SteveK]

Don’t mix with the diesel for the engine. Bad news.

If you have a diesel or oil burning furnace you can use it there. It’s also useful for starting burn piles and stumps, just don’t tell the EPA.

sorry but "bad news" does not help make a decision, that is opinion only. As I am looking for pros & cons and then will make my decision.

There are as many success as there are failure so far. As we all know there are always mitigating circumstances to the same issue.
Heck, just within the last month someone found out they filled their tanks with vegetable oil labelled as diesel.

 

[ben2go]

$4300 aud buys me 430 litres of new oil or enough to last 11 years at 40 litres a change.
Smaller engines probable need to use it for 40 years to break even.

Do you think that device will last the distance?

Is that what amazon said? WOW! They're $1800 here and a few hundred for the DIY kit. At $4300 it would not be worth it unless you're a world traveler that frequents places with sketchy fuel supply. The centrifuges are used in professional fuel polishing rigs. They are usually bigger than the one I linked to though.

 

[Lepke]

Interesting, I wonder how what you are doing compares to do the guys that recycle the oil for reuse.
5 microns in the engine, is that the engine oil filter or filter separate from operational filter?
so you were down to 5 microns, but decided to go further with a centrifuge. Having difficulty thinking 5 microns could do any damage.

Depending on the flow rate, I can centrifuge the oil to an almost new appearance. It could be below 1 micron. But when I was burning the oil, the engines had bypass filters that kept the oil around 1 micron. When I pumped the oil out to be burned, I ran it thru a 1 micron filter and assumed there wasn't anything over 5, based on oil tests. I don't burn the old oil now because the centrifuged oil has never failed a test. So I don't change oil. I use a centrifuge like the one in a post above but bought mine some years ago for about $1000. My Detroits hold about 12 gallons. Each time I don't change the oil, I save about $150 and I'm running overall cleaner oil.

The centrifuge replaced bypass filters. The engines have stock oil filters and the oil is centrifuged when hot after a run and about 50 hours since the last time. I pull a test sample before centrifuging.

I've used bypass filters since the 1960s and was impressed with the engine hours difference between overhauls. I used centrifuges on ships. The centrifuge is just one step past bypass and gets a little more dirt and more water out of the oil. And it can be used to clean fuel.

 

[SteveK]

Lepke, brilliant! That sounds like a future solution.

 

[T210DRVR]

Everything you want to know about lubricating oil, https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/.

There are articles about things like TBN, shearing of the molecules, conventional versus synthetic, tests of different oils, and so forth. This is not a promotional site, just factual data.

 

[SteveK]

How Do I Mix Used Motor Oil with Diesel Fuel?
Infiniti I30 Oil Capacity

Cheap Fuel from Waste Oil
Make Black Diesel - US Filtermaxx

 

[kapnd]

I worked for a large construction company that recycled used motor oil in the diesel fuel, but I’m not sure how they processed it.
The company was absolutely anal about maintenance, and pinched every dollar hard, so there’s no way they would be doing that if there was risk involved.
The diesel exhaust smelled a little weird, but I got used to it.
So it can be done safely, as long as it’s done correctly!