uses for used motor oil?

[KTurner]

I was thinking of 2 possible uses for used motor oil;
1. In a hydraulic system.
seams like even used motor oil has got to be better than many hydraulic oils since it is a much higher grade of oil to start with. Could this cause damage? I don't see how having suspended carbon in the oil would hurt anything and the loss of additives would mean nothing to hydraulic oil.
2. Well diluted in diesel fuel.
I've heard of people burning straight ATF, so it seams like I could burn used motor oil at 10:1 or so without any harm

I'd rather not go through the hassle of properly recycling it if I don't have to, and if I can get away with using it in place of something that would cost $4 a gallon or even $20 a gallon, all that much better, but it certainly isn't worth risking the equipment if it isn't safe.

What do you guys think?

A third option... Have it tested to see if it still has life. If so, continue using it for the original purpose until its no longer any good. Not sure how much oil you're talking about, so this may or not be cost effective. While not directly resolving your desire not to properly recycle, it would result in you having less oil to get rid of. Around here, they make it easy to recycle. Any number of auto parts stores take it along with the county landfill.

And one more - there appears to be a market for used oil at a couple bucks per gallon in quantity. Don't know anything about it, was just curious and googled it real quick. This could be the reason why they make it easy to recycle.

Keith

 

[JJZ 109]

I'm surprised it works well. Bar oil has "stickiness" additives in it.

Never done it myself, but I've heard of people adding STP (can you even get that stuff anymore?) or other such additives to old oil to make it stickier for bar & chain oil.
You'd have to cut a heck of a lot of wood to use up any appreciable amount of old oil though.
I just take mine into the local quick lube place when I get my oil changed. State law here says that if someone sells oil, they're mandated to take used oil back. Same with car batteries.
For the cost and the pain of keeping used oil around and then having to dispose of it properly, I have someone else do 2 of my 3 vehicles as well as the motorcycles. I only change oil myself on my bucket truck and the Kubota.
Although I haven't tried it yet, I understand that our town highway department will take in used oil for their waste oil heater.

 

[wcampbell47]

In the late 60's the Marines used Continental multi-fuel engines in the 6x6 trucks. If diesel was not available we could mix motor oil and gas as a substitute.

Don't think I would try that on today's diesels. It makes a heck of a good fire starter. An old fire dept captain uses old motor oil mixed with a bit of gas to start his burn piles.

 

[BeeferMan]

I'm surprised it works well. Bar oil has "stickiness" additives in it.

Had professional loggers tell me they mixed paraffin with used motor oil and that was their bar oil...

 

[Barnone]

My bar has outlived more than a dozen chains.

Been using it for bar oil for years with no bad effects.

 

[20 20]

I quess in the end it is up to you what you do with it. No matter what you decide I strongly suggest straining it through a filter process of some sort. Years back I would mix it half and half with bar oil for the chainsaws. I do filter it now and mix it with my diesel no problems so far. There are many folks that FILTER there old oil and mix it in with their diesel. The key word being filter.

 

[alagary]

I thin it with gas and spray a narrow strip under the fence lines.

 

[JerryK]

Local shop that maintains quite a bit of heavy equipment [ they change a lot of oil ] just dumps the used oil/hyd. fluid into a 55 gallon drum with a coarse screen filter. From there, it is pumped thru a filter and into a 1000 gallon tank and mixed with fuel oil. They heat their work area with a big forced air fuel oil furnace... Thats where I drop my used oil off, and they thank me for it....

 

[super55]

I use it mainly for torching brush piles, preservative for wood lumber, coat it on some of my farm implements especially if it has fertilizer hopper. My planter and seed drill and drop spreader owners manuals all recommend coating with used oil or diesel.

 

[DJ54]

I use it in my waste oil furnace. Nice to have friends that farm, excavating companies and have used oil to get rid of. I give them an clean 55 gal. drum, and when it's full, I'll take them another.

It helps me, and helps them. There is some maintenance with this furnace, but well worth it. It has paid for itself in the last 5 years.

 

[LD1]

Both of the ideas you have are just plain bad ones.

You really arent saving anything and the chances for expensive repairs to fuel systems or hydraulic systems are almost definite.

If you dont "want" to recycle it properly, there are only three alternatives I would do if I were you...

1. Buy a waste oil heater for the garage.
2. Find someone who has a waste oil furnace.
3. Make a waste oil furnace or set up an oil drip on a wood furnace for the garage.

I use # 3.

I also use a little bit a few times a year to coat the deck boards on the trailer.

 

[wdchyd]

I use it in my waste oil furnace. Nice to have friends that farm, excavating companies and have used oil to get rid of. I give them an clean 55 gal. drum, and when it's full, I'll take them another.

It helps me, and helps them. There is some maintenance with this furnace, but well worth it. It has paid for itself in the last 5 years.

x 2......

I would not put it back in any machinery....besides why are we changing oil anyways?...Perhaps to cleanse it from contaminates?..:confused2:...why put those contaminates back in.....

as far as dumping it along fences and/or ground, that is illlegal AFAIK

burn pile would be a good idea though

 

[pjbci]

I mix it with my off road diesel @ a rate of 2-5 percent. I mix it in my service trucks storage tank and it is filtered thru a 10 micron filter before it reaches my equipments fuel tanks. Other than the exhaust smoke, you would never know its in there. Been doing this since the mid 90's with no problems. My late model equipment as well as my older engines have no problems with it.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Our local recycling center takes used motor oil for free; which tells me right there that it has value.

USAF was filtering used motor oil and hydraulic fluid, and reusing it on their vehicles without any loss of power or life expectancy. The key is removing the metal particles, and ensuring acid, water, and fuel contamination doesn't exceed certain levels.

Used oil burner heater for your shop is one way. Just make sure the exhaust/chimney vents outside as those contaminates are highly toxic if inhaled; as is the small amount of ash left in the bottom.

I use regular 30 weight for chain saw bar lube. Works fine, but flows faster so you have to check the level and top it off more often. STP-ing the used oil sounds like a good trick. I'd at least filter the used oil through a coffee filter before putting it in the saw reservoir. I'll give it a shot the next time I do an oil change.

If you know someone who has an asphalt business, I think they'll take all the used oil you can give them. The fence post and grounded support beams treatment sounds good too. And the coating cement forms is downright clever.

Don't use it on your dirt driveways. The EPA can detect and backtrack spills of a large enough volume and they'll fine you into bankruptcy.

I wonder if you can mix used motor oil with fertilizer to make explosives the way you can diesel fuel? I've got this one boulder poking up in the middle of my driveway .... :laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

Cooking dinner for freeloading friends :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :laughing:

 

[Groo]

I mix it with my off road diesel @ a rate of 2-5 percent. I mix it in my service trucks storage tank and it is filtered thru a 10 micron filter before it reaches my equipments fuel tanks. Other than the exhaust smoke, you would never know its in there. Been doing this since the mid 90's with no problems. My late model equipment as well as my older engines have no problems with it.

we've got a 250 gal. portable tank with a similar setup

 

[Bud Soda]

Fill rear tires for weight

 

[bulldog69]

Used engine oil would be bad for a hydraulic system because of the contaminants. What does an engine system run - 40 - 60 psi? A medium pressure hydro will run at 4,500 psi and a high pressure system 6,000 psi. Soot isn't the only thing in old engine oil - bits of gears, bearings, etc. You are right - engine oil is great hydraulic oil - if you can afford it. I was at the Cat dealer in Dubai and saw them draining their new 45 ton hydraulic excavator factory fill oil and replacing it with 15W-40 engine oil. My Cat mini-excavator book says to switch to 15W-40 engine oil whenever the daytime highs are consistently over 40C (104F).

Cat's , especially the older one were designed to be road job friendly. A road crew would only need to have one oil (15w40) and it could be used thru the entire machine. Most other brands are not made this way. Komatsu for example, you better be using 10w hyd oil and 30w trans fluid or you are headed for more problems than you can stand. The newer equipment with wet brake systems are very picky about the type oil that's required. Use the wrong type fluid and you will find out the hard way that you have no brakes. With the high prices of parts and repair these days how much money are you really saving by dumping used engine oil in anything?
I had a friend that would mix his used oil in the fuel in his Pete then turn around and complain about having to change his fuel filters so often. What good is it if you are changing your filters 2 or 3 times more often than normal.
Good use for old engine oil? Burning brushpiles.
Bar oil??? As high as a new Stihl bar and chain cost, I'll pay a few dollars for bar oil. You might get by with used oil if you only went thru a gallon or two every few years. We've went thru 4 or 5 gallons of bar oil in the last few months. My Stihl dealer said not to use even new motor oil for lube. It just doesn't have the correct additives to lubricate propperly.
That's just my 2 cents anyway.

 

[Bud Soda]

Some people add a little gas to there diesel, a little diesel to there gas, and put a little two cycle oil in both. Works for me. My vortex v6 in my blazer likes to drink a little off road diesel.

 

[ametcalf]

As far as bar and chain oil goes, a few years ago I ran out so I looked on the internet to see if I could use motor oil until I had time to go to town and get some bar and chain oil. I found out that in Europe they use canola oil. It is cheaper and environmentally friendly. It is thinner so I need to fill the oil reservoir each time I fill the gas tank.
I have a 275 gallon tank in the barn that my friends and I both dump into. When it gets full which only happens every few years I call a company that collects it and sells it to the asphalt plants in the summer. Last spring when they emptied my tank the driver said they had over a million gallons on hand and it would be gone by fall.