12 year old oil, any good?

[Williy]

WinterDeere My friend a logger would get 10w oil in a
5 gallon pail heat it and add the oil additive HONEY which
is a very thick product so he would add the honey but he
had to mix it really well and a lot of the loggers did this as
it was a log cheaper than bar oil

willy

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

IMO only,,,,, I would crack open a container first before giving any advice.

Crack one open
- give it a good wiff.... does it smell rotten? ... if it does I wouldn't use it.
- pour some in a clear container and hold it up to the light....if not clear or has floating stuff indicating separation I wouldn't use it.

clear without separation then it could be perfectly fine to use in your sealed containers. If containers not sealed though I would pass.

knowing what repairs, parts, and downtime cost though I tend to be over cautious. I like my fluids to be current, top shelf with the highest/newest ratings. You could send sample out for a test though then you would know for sure what you are working with.

 

[tjandrews]

I have a pallet of Mahindra hydraulic and diesel engine oil left over in another shop, Its in gallon and 5 gallon containers.
Would it be safe to put this in my tractors? 12 years is a bit out there.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it in one of mine, if it looks OK, but then all of my tractors are a lot older than the oil...

 

[WinterDeere]

...all of my tractors are a lot older than the oil...

Not sure I follow that logic. I'm 50 years old, but I generally won't reheat leftovers past 2-3 days. I don't even think I'd trust canned goods, if they were as old as me.

 

[tjandrews]

Not sure I follow that logic. I'm 50 years old, but I generally won't reheat leftovers past 2-3 days. I don't even think I'd trust canned goods, if they were as old as me.

I'm 75, and I wouldn't trust canned goods as old as you, either - though I have no problem with properly refrigerated leftovers after a week. But then, I'm a lot more delicate than my grandfather's 1952 SC.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I've used oil older than that, with no adverse effects that I can detect. But only if it's in a sealed and full (or at least nearly-full) container.

Justified or not, I won't use oil from any open or mostly-empty container in any critical application, beyond a few years. Either recycle it, or save that crap for the drill press or threading lube. I actually use a paint marker to write the month and year it was opened, on the screw top of every jug of oil I buy.

I just realized one more use for old clean oil... I use diesel to thin my chainsaw bar oil for cold-weather use, since cold-weather bar oil isn't as easy to find. I'd bet old half-empty jugs of gear oil or motor oil would work well enough as a thinner for bar oil, being another good way to get rid of the stuff, for those of us doing a lot of winter cutting. I wouldn't use the stuff straight, it doesn't stick well enough, but as a thinner or modifier for bar oil... it probably works well.

I've done that as well with no problems to chain or bar. It's a good way to consume those orphaned containers of oil.

 

[olenjohn]

Oil is already millions of years old. Another 12 isn’t going to matter. Like salt, as long as it hasn’t been contaminated, it will be fine.

 

[WinterDeere]

Oil is already millions of years old. Another 12 isn’t going to matter. Like salt, as long as it hasn’t been contaminated, it will be fine.

Lol... true! But you do know there are a few stages of processing, between pulling crude from the ground, and generating the products you're pouring into your crank case?

 

[m5040]

I usually put the pails in my truck or the Gator and drive around with them for awhile, just incase any additives settled out, I want them back in suspension.

 

[charlessenf]

Would it be safe to put this in my tractors? 12 years is a bit out there.

My god man, do you know how long that oil had been in the ground before it was bottled?

Oil deposits formed over millions of years, with the majority of oil deposits forming during the Mesozoic era (252–66 million years ago):

• Paleozoic age
  10% of oil deposits formed during the Paleozoic age, which was between 541 and 252 million years ago
• Mesozoic era
  70% of oil deposits formed during the Mesozoic era, which was between 252 and 66 million years ago
• Cenozoic age
  20% of oil deposits formed during the Cenozoic age, which was roughly 65 million years ago
  
  

Oil is a fossil fuel that forms when dead organic matter, like plankton, is buried under layers of sediment on the ocean floor. Over time, the organic matter is compressed and heated by the Earth's mantle, and transforms into hydrocarbons, which are chemicals made of hydrogen and carbon.

Just don't put it on your salad!