Are there still easily available re-refined motor oils available?
- Thread starter Rhill
- Start date
Bit of a shame, but no one likes the idea of putting someone else’s ”worn out” oil into their high dollar ride. And just what is the savings? It can’t be cheap to re-refine used oil that is going into a recycling place, with fuel dilution, soot, moisture, a quarts taken to the chunky stage, and stuff that isn’t even oil.
Seems like other methods of reusing might make more sense, in particular simply using as a heating source.
Seems like other methods of reusing might make more sense, in particular simply using as a heating source.
Not sure about Canada, but apparently Walmart's Super Tech conventional/blend has re-refined in it, and if Safety-Kleen is available, they actually re-refine their base stocks. I don't really have an issue with it, have used a fair amount of Valvoline NextGen, both synblend & synthetic, as long as it's not a higher price. As long as it's all recycled into something!
I had 2 OCI's worth of Valvoline NextGen that I used without issue. But, I did not do a UOA on either of them.
I bought the NextGen because it was on closeout for ~$1/qt. IIRC. However I don't go looking for re-refined oils.
I bought the NextGen because it was on closeout for ~$1/qt. IIRC. However I don't go looking for re-refined oils.
I remember that PQIA gave Valvoline NextGen 5w20 a 'caution' due to it's NOACK being too high (IIRC it was 18).
That certainly didn't help the product along with it costing the same as their regular oil.
The dad of a childhood friend was an electrical engineer who claimed Sears & Roebuck oil was made from rerefined used oil.
He had no problem with it and claimed people who knew more than he claimed lesser components were removed during use + rerefinement and it could be actually better than new oil.
If the above is true, how many people knew Sears oil was recycled? How many other brands contained some recycled oil?
How many still do?
Put it in a green bottle and label it loudly and you no longer just have an oil product. You have a statement, a mission, created supporters and enemies. You're employing an advertising angle. Oy Vey
He had no problem with it and claimed people who knew more than he claimed lesser components were removed during use + rerefinement and it could be actually better than new oil.
If the above is true, how many people knew Sears oil was recycled? How many other brands contained some recycled oil?
How many still do?
Put it in a green bottle and label it loudly and you no longer just have an oil product. You have a statement, a mission, created supporters and enemies. You're employing an advertising angle. Oy Vey
Is re-refining motor oil some feel good thing? It gets made into something else so who cares. I don't care if there is some purported energy savings which is possibly pointless if additional handling is involved.
So if you go 5K miles on an oil change in a truck that averages 23 MPG, you burned 217 gallons of gas. If the oil capacity in that truck is 6 quarts, that 1.5 gallons of motor oil was .69% of the gas you used.
So if you go 5K miles on an oil change in a truck that averages 23 MPG, you burned 217 gallons of gas. If the oil capacity in that truck is 6 quarts, that 1.5 gallons of motor oil was .69% of the gas you used.
MolaKule
Staff member
Please see:
Supertech base oil changes
That’s why most members here go by approvals rather than a PDS or SDS or an analysis. The consumer analysis reports will tell you how much of an element is present but they don’t tell you the specifics of that element. There are different types of molybdenum, calcium, zinc etc.
bobistheoilguy.com
As long as the oil has good performance I have no issue, though re-refined oils do typically do a bit worse so it's best to utilize those base stocks in formulations needing less VII and where flash point performance isn't too important. And I hate to break it to some of you but water is "re-refined" in a way from sewage water and put back into the water supply for you to guzzle down.
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I don't see any technical reasons for not using it, just emotional, marketing and economic ones.
Suggesting it isn't as capable as out of the ground base stocks is laughable especially if the oil has a API approval.
Suggesting it isn't as capable as out of the ground base stocks is laughable especially if the oil has a API approval.
Has anyone ever seen data detailing the amounts/percentages of where used oil winds up? Obviously re-refining is one category, and boiler oil is another.
Here in the midwest much of it is made into asphalt, and asphalt bi-products......road tar etc.
In Canada when we lost Hub Oil on that terrible day in my hometown that pretty much ended the re-refined oil sales in the Calgary region and most of Canada I believe which is probably why you don't see it here. I used re-refined oil once (in the mid 80's) in my Dodge D100, the cost delta for new 10w30 at the time was about $.30 / L in the used oil's favor but if new oil was on sale it was lower priced than the recycled. I personally would have no issue using it but there would have to be a financial incentive for me to do so. The Dodge went on for another 10 years / 100k after that and when I sold it the engine / powertrain was the only thing still good about the truck.
en.wikipedia.org
Hub Oil explosion - Wikipedia
I bought a bunch from the clearance table at one of the auto parts chains years ago and used it. Worked fine in my vehicles. Clever marketing that they used that shade of green as we were already fond of it because of a character on the Muppet Show.
The local mom-and-pop small-town service station had cases of re-refined motor oil. I can't remember the brand, but nobody would touch it. I bought quite a few cases of it for $2/quart. The general opinion is that it comes from dirty used motor oil, but crude oil coming out of the ground isn't very clean either.
BTW, none of the engines that I used it in blew up.
BTW, none of the engines that I used it in blew up.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
A good conservation countermeasure is to keep your original motor oil in the sump longer and stop dumping good motor oil out early 
When you consider how nasty crude oil is going into the refining process, used motor oil may actually be easier to refine into a suitable product.
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