Where do you get rid of used hydraulic fluid?

[5030]

I'm burning motor oil mixed with diesel (50/50ish) in my Chinese diesel heater to heat my shop. About $120 online.

VEVOR 8KW Diesel Air Heater All in One 1 Air Outlet Diesel Heater 12V Remote Control Parking Heater Silencer with Blue LCD Switch for RV Trucks Bus and Trailer | VEVOR US

VEVOR 8KW Diesel Air Heater offers warmth in extreme cold. All-in-one heater for vehicle and indoor use. Quick heating, low fuel consumption, and easy control with remote and LCD panel.

www.vevor.com

Very interesting, never heard of that. I will say one thing however...

I purchased hesitantly bought a Vevor chainsaw grinder from off of Amazon because I needed a second chain grinder because of the amount of saw chains I sharpen and I wanted the second one just fur dropping the depth gages.

I have an Oregon (Tecomec) grinder and it was over 200 bucks (Amazon again), while the Vevor was just under 100 but the Oregon (Tecomec) was made in Italy whereas the Vevor is Chinese which I was hesitant about buying. I will say the Vevor chain grinder is just as good (maybe even slightly better) than the Oregon (Tecomec), especially the chain vise and the very positive depth stop, something the Oregon (Tecomec) isn't good with, it's hard to adjust and won't hold depth accurately. The Vevor will and is very repeatable. I'm very impressed even though I don't really like buying Chinese stuff as a rule.

 

[duffer]

My county has several recycling centers around the county. They take oil/hydraulic oil/ cooking oil, etc. They want the cooking oil in a different container at their site, but the motor oil and hydraulic oil go in the same bin. Perhaps you have a similar situation.

 

[dstig1]

Weird. Oil is oil for recycling around here. Just tell them you have used oil and need to dispose of it. No need to say hydraulic or motor oil. It is all compatible and not an issue. My guess is you are running into minimum wage help that doesn't know what they are talking about. I have dropped off hydraulic oil at Oreillys here but ran up against their daily limit once. Dropped off the rest at another station.

 

[SouthernSky]

They have a daily limit? I’ll have 7.5 gallons when I’m done.

 

[dstig1]

Well it depends. I have dropped off 10+ gallons there without issue...but one time the manager was there and playing Johnny Law on me and said the corp policy was like 3-4 gal per person per day. Or whatever it was. It was less than I had to get rid of. May vary by state too. Some states may not allow limits.

 

[GeneV]

After I do my tractor and mower, I just haul my old oil and coolant to the quick stop oil change place where I get my cars serviced.

 

[RandyT]

Well it depends. I have dropped off 10+ gallons there without issue...but one time the manager was there and playing Johnny Law on me and said the corp policy was like 3-4 gal per person per day. Or whatever it was. It was less than I had to get rid of. May vary by state too. Some states may not allow limits.

Around here Oreill's and Autozone will except up to 5 gallon/day. Autozone is picky about the quality ie, no lawnmower oil that has been gas contaminated

After I do my tractor and mower, I just haul my old oil and coolant to the quick stop oil change place where I get my cars serviced.

Use to take it to my local quick change place but they will not longer except it. Use to drop off 25-30 gallon at a time.

 

[California]

Autozone is my nearest fluids disposal site but I can't get rid of the dirty containers there.

The solution was that when I had my car's oil changed at QuickChange they took everything. A few years collection of motor oil and UTF, some in TSC jugs, detergent bottles, etc.

 

[California]

For an old gear tractor I wonder if just leaving drained UTF sitting undisturbed in storage for a year, to let sediment settle out, would make it suitable for reuse. I have a small sample I put in a glass jar a couple of years ago (after 10 years use, no water contamination). Little to nothing has settled out, the color is slightly darker than new UTF but otherwise it looks good. Are there additives that get depleted over time? Any other reason to not re-use UTF in a gear tractor?

 

[5030]

Autozone is my nearest fluids disposal site but I can't get rid of the dirty containers there.

The solution was that when I had my car's oil changed at QuickChange they took everything. A few years collection of motor oil and UTF, some in TSC jugs, detergent bottles, etc.

Something I'd never ever do and here's why.. One, you don't have a clue what oil they are putting in, 2, they usually suck it out via the dipstick tube (I want the drain plug removed always) and most importantly, most of the high school oil change jockeys don't have a clue and don't care either. Even their filters are suspect unless you look under the car to see and most people don't. Having said that, my wife's Burb goes to the GM dealer where it came from. You can watch exactly what they are doing, use genuine GM filters and quality oil too and no upsell either (which the quicky oil change places) are real good for. 60 bucks for an oil change, has a nice climate controlled waiting room and plenty of fresh doughnuts and good coffee too. My wife has a thing for chocolate filled long johns. Besides she's been eyeing a new Cadillac SUV.

 

[California]

Something I'd never ever do...

I've had better luck.

Never an oil related problem with the 24 year old Subaru (uses a quart in 5k miles now, I get it changed after the top-up quart is exhausted) or the 15 year old Focus (near zero oil consumption for some 7500k miles, not down a quart when I eventually get it changed). Conventional oil in the Subaru all its life, claimed (?) semi-synthetic for the Ford.

Just ignore the claimed dirty air filter (replace them myself) and the bad attitude when you refuse all the up-sells.

Cheap works ok for me.

 

[5030]

I have considered doing what you do with my Focus RS Turbo because it has a full under the engine and trans pan that has to be removed to change the filter or get to the drain plug and it's a royal PITA but so far, I've resisted, simply because of I don't trust the (oil change jockeys) to do it correctly and the German made 2.0 turbo engine is particular about what oil is put in it anyway.

Having said that the local Ford dealer is schlock as well, so I do it myself.

The local Ford dealer couldn't sell me their empty ball point pen, they are that bad.

 

[SouthernSky]

I found my solution, folks. My wife’s cousin owns a body shop. He has a tank there and will let me pour my fluids.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[4570Man]

If Autozone wants to be difficult just mix a little bit of motor oil with it so it looks black and take it to them. Waste oil is still waste oil and they can recycle it or more likely burn it for fuel just the same.

 

[paulsharvey]

Around here, as long as you limit it to 5 gal per trip, you can take any used oil to autozone/discount auto or dump. They said 'technically' its limited to 5 gal/address/month; but you can bring 5 gals per day, and no one cares.


Guess I'll add, I never felt the need to say hydraulic vs motor oil, just old oil.

 

[5030]

I found my solution, folks. My wife’s cousin owns a body shop. He has a tank there and will let me pour my fluids.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Probably does like I do and offsets his heat bill with it. Wish I could get more actually. My Kleen Burn isn't particular either. It has built in centrifugal separation so if there is any water in the used fluid, it gets it out plus it has a filter for any crud too. I could actually use about 500 gallons a winter. Mine will burn everything but antifreeze and I dump what little I get at the local garage, If it combusts, the Kleen Burn will roast it. Motor oil, hydraulic oil, auto trans fluid, brake fluid, contaminated diesel fuel, old gasoline, even charcoal lighter fluid. Wasn't a cheap date when I bought it but with toady's prices on NG and propane, it paid for itself, long ago.

Hard to beat being toasty in the shop when it's way below freezing and snowing outside and doing it for basically free.

 

[BigGG]

My auto parts stores take at least 5 gallons at a time and the Kubota dealer took SUDT once - I noticed they had an oil heater in the shop. But they've recently changed ownership and told me they couldn't take my oil - they're trying to find a disposal company. I told them I thought it was required by law that sellers had to take used oil, and if they couldn't/wouldn't I'd have to find somewhere else to buy oil/filters.

I need to find a quick lube that'll let me furnish the oil and filter and they'll do the work. Walmart left me waiting for an hour, then, when my turn came up, the tech told me they didn't have my oil. I ordered M1 at the quick-lube, then they used Pennzoil? synthetic without even mentioning it. I probably would have ok'ed it, but I should have been able to make the decision.

 

[WM75Guy]

It is getting harder to find a place to take it. There is no federal requirement that vendors have to accept used motor oil. In Texas there is no state requirement mandating acceptance but there is a program to reimburse some of the costs associated with accepting used oil from do-it-yourselfers. It is limited to $7,500 per year, so it is really not worth the cost to accept it, especially if the vendor has to pay to have it hauled off. There are limits to how much can be accepted and the individual leaving the oil has to identify themselves.

This is from the EPA website:

Managing Used Oil: Answers to Frequent Questions for Businesses | US EPA

Information for businesses such as service stations, fleet maintenance facilities, and "quick lube" shops that generate and handle used oil. Includes regulatory requirements for storing oil, preventing and managing spills and leaks, and record keeping.

www.epa.gov

Does my business have to accept used oil from others?​

While there are companies that sell motor oil and also accept used oil for recycling, there is no federal requirement that motor oil vendors must also accept used oil for recycling. Your state might have more stringent regulations than federal EPA so be sure to reach out to them to find out. Check out our Links to Hazardous Waste Programs and U.S. State Environmental Agencies web page for their contact information.

Texas state law concerning reimbursement:

(b) A registered do-it-yourselfer used oil collection center or used oil collection center is eligible for reimbursement if it demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commission that:
(1) the center has established procedures to minimize the risk that the center will mix the used oil the center generates or collects from the public with hazardous wastes, especially halogenated wastes;
(2) the center accepts not more than:
(A) five gallons of used oil from any person at any one time if the center is a registered do-it-yourselfer used oil collection center; or
(B) 55 gallons of used oil from any person at one time if the center is a registered used oil collection center; and
(3) the center can document to the satisfaction of the commission the volume of used oil the center collects from the public during any period under review by:
(A) providing a process by which all individuals leaving household do-it-yourselfer used oil at the center are required to provide their names, addresses, and the approximate amounts of used oil brought to the collection center; or
(B) another method approved by the commission.

 

[4570Man]

Locally there’s like 15 tax payer funded trash dumps and they all have containers to accept oil. I’d imagine most places are similar.

 

[grsthegreat]

The trash dumps take it so people dont dump it out on the road somewheres.