Anyone reuse or mix?

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gfh77665

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I am wondering if anyone either reuses drained oil from their vehicles, or, mixes used and new oil in a 50/50 ratio for use in your mowers?

FWIW, I am not trying to be "cheap", but I don't like to waste a something still useable. I would not think a mower would be that particular.

Your thoughts & opinions?
 
I've hucked used engine oil from my cars into free lawnmowers I've repaired before, mainly to rinse out and/or replace oil darker then deep space and likely as old.

But realistically no, fresh oils cheap, if its something I want to keep it gets fresh oil.
 
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I don't like to waste a something still useable.


If it's still usable, then it should not have been drained from your engine.
 
I don't believe a modern automotive engine and a lawnmower have the same requirements for motor oil. I do not believe a one or two cylinder air cooled mower engine is anywhere near as particular about oil as a cars engine.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I don't like to waste a something still useable.


If it's still usable, then it should not have been drained from your engine.


This is true, although some people drain perfectly good oil every 6 months because of warranty requirements. I did just that years ago, and gave the waste oil to a neighbor to use in his oil burning, leaky, beater.
 
I did it once, I bought a hyundai for $300 and I knew its sump only held three quarts. When I bought it the stick was dry so I knew it was more than a quart down. I had some used 15w40 I drained just b/c it was winter, it wasn't really "used up". I poured a quart of that in for the drive home then changed the car's oil out, all fresh, when I made it home.
 
I've thought about it, but the possibility of contamination from dust, dirt, etc. in my drain pan makes it not worth the hassle IMO - especially if the recipient engine does not have an oil filter.
 
Not quite used oil in my mowers but I do use my "drip" oil in them. So it's the end of everything in a new bottle from other oil changes, mmo, gear oil, atf, etc..... it's worked just fine for years. It's all new, but not quite a spec oil of any kind.
 
I had 8L of T6 5W40 that I had to change out of my tractor with only 50hrs on it for warranty purposes. It went into the Neon last fall, but I knew I was taking the Neon off the road soon. I chickened out on putting the rest into the Tracker as we should be able to get a few more years out of it. Oil is too cheap to risk a motor you want to keep going for a while.
 
I drained the oil from my wife's "new to her" focus and put it in 1 Quart bottles. It was probably pretty new but I like running quality 5W30 not dealer bulk 5W20 in cars I maintain. So i use it 1 Quart out of the 5.5 Quarts in my mom's Chev Colorado and as make up oil in said Chev. I am also sitting on 3.75 Quarts I drained from wifes Focus after only 2600 miles. We were taking a road trip to Chicago and wanted fresh oil in it for the trip. I will probably use it up in the Colorado over a year.
 
I do this all the time. I save all my "used" oil and put it in my beater cars. I also use it in one of my tractors which burns about a quart of oil for every two hours of use. I'll throw in a fresh quart every couple of months just because I'm crazy like that. Once a year, I drain the tractor oil and refill with fresh "used." The oil I drain from the tractor, I pour in the "Luv" machine. Like Daniel Plainview, it "drinks it up."
 
Originally Posted By: BubbaFL
I've thought about it, but the possibility of contamination from dust, dirt, etc. in my drain pan makes it not worth the hassle IMO - especially if the recipient engine does not have an oil filter.


The key is keeping the pan clean and keeping the oil pan on your motor clean. Wipe it out real good before a drain and then after a drain and between drains keep it in a plastic bag in a clean place.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I did it once, I bought a hyundai for $300 and I knew its sump only held three quarts. When I bought it the stick was dry so I knew it was more than a quart down. I had some used 15w40 I drained just b/c it was winter, it wasn't really "used up". I poured a quart of that in for the drive home then changed the car's oil out, all fresh, when I made it home.


This reminds me of the time I bought a Lincoln Town Car for one hundred bucks (huge boat of a car with the 351 modified V-8). Before I drove it home, I checked the oil and nary a drop on the dip stick. Went home, grabbed a gallon of used oil I had just drained out of my wifes car, went back and poured it in. Turns out the car burned oil like a diesel train. I never did change the oil, just kept adding the used stuff that came out of my other cars and cars that belonged to friends. That was when we lived in Alabama and I sold that car right before we moved to Florida for one hundred bucks.
 
I don't put used oil in anything but just yesterday I did change the oil in my mower and cut my grass for the first time this season. I used the remainder of an opened quart of Kendall GT-1 10W30, it was about 18 ounces so I added 2 ounces from a fresh unopened quart of PYB 10W30 to the GT-1, shook the bottle very well and poured it in my mower.

I will use the rest of the PYB this summer when I add oil to the mower prior to cutting the grass. I have Briggs 5.5 hp mower and the manual says it is OK to use 10W30, but to check it more often because 10W30 will burn off faster. My mower ran real smooth yesterday. I have no plans to use any more Kendall or PYB in my truck. The GT-1 and PYB I used in my mower were left over from prior oil changes I did on my truck when I decided to try PYB and from last year when I tried out the semi-synthetic GT-1. I have since gone back to using only QSGB in my truck.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I don't like to waste a something still useable.


If it's still usable, then it should not have been drained from your engine.


This is true, although some people drain perfectly good oil every 6 months because of warranty requirements. I did just that years ago, and gave the waste oil to a neighbor to use in his oil burning, leaky, beater.


Good point.
 
I think used oil with no more than 5000 miles on it mixed 50/50 with new (possibly HD) oil would be more than adequate for a splash lubrication lawn mower. The old is not yet fully depleted and the new is clean and full of fresh additives.
 
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