Do additives settle to the bottom?

[Chris]

Read somewhere on the web someone saying that they believed that the oil additives settle to the bottom of containers so he stored his bottles by the case up side down!? Also said that the additives in the bulk, 55 gallon drums, would settle to the bottom so depending on your luck you may not be getting a balanced package. Any of this have any relevance?

 

[dragboat]

Chris, I have not seen part of the additives come out last from pouring a quart of oil in a car since back in the early 80's. Ya wanna know what brands I saw do that? Guessing they have that cured in most oils,,the better ones here in the USA anyway.Now some of the oils sent overseas ? Maybe Widman would know more about what happens there.

 

[OneQuartLow]

I bought two quarts of Quaker State 4x4 10W30 a couple years ago. It's a synthetic blend that ships in clear bottles. I used part of one quart but the other is still sealed. While the oil started out amber and very transparent, it has since gained a cloudy appearance with the heaviest change toward the bottom of the containers. I'm wondering if moisture has leached through the containers or if something in the oil is falling out of solution, if that's possible. Any guesses? David

 

[dragboat]

My guess it is moisture,,set it out in the cold and see if it gells.Or possible put it in the freezer for a little while,,if it does out the door it goes

 

[OneQuartLow]

I've frozen it and some other oils to ~-5f. I'm not sure if I've learned anything. With the containers open and still cold I've swirled the oils around so they pick up the condensation as it forms on the container. Left alone, the oil slowly runs down and the moisture collects on top toward the center of the sample. Back in the freezer it stays the same, but left out for long it settles to the bottom. But with the Quaker State, it's very difficult to get a visible amount of moisture on the top. Left out, it also seems to dissipate more quickly than with the other oils. (M1 TriSyn 10W30/Castrol HD30/Mobil Drive Clean dino/Valvoline all-weather 5W30) I need a lab instructor. David

 

[dickwells]

One cheap and dirty way to test for water is to drop a drop onto a 300 degree plus skillet. YOu will know immediately by the spitting if there is water in the oil!

 

[MolaKule]

Chris, All modern Additives are oil soluble. I have never seen any additives preciptate out of oil. If I ever saw this, I would tell the board and drop that oil because they have a QC problem or a blending problem.

 

[Pete]

When I looked into the bottom of my empty Chevron Supreme 5W-30 bottles this morning, after changing my oil: I noticed some black, slightly gritty "deposits" in the corners . I assume these to be additives--I agitated them up and poured them into my oil filler.

 

[dragboat]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pete: When I looked into the bottom of my empty Chevron Supreme 5W-30 bottles this morning, after changing my oil: I noticed some black, slightly gritty "deposits" in the corners . I assume these to be additives--I agitated them up and poured them into my oil filler.

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Just a guess but if it was a hard substance it could have been Iron from the pipes = ouch if so!. I saw a post where this happened with a whole bunch of Shell oil,it was posted here on he forum

 

[widman]

The Shell site says oils have a shelf life of 4 or 5 years (something like that). I've always worked with the 3 to 4 year number, and have some oils that old and haven't had separation. I've seen some local brands that separate in a month or so.

 

[jjbula]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pete: When I looked into the bottom of my empty Chevron Supreme 5W-30 bottles this morning, after changing my oil: I noticed some black, slightly gritty "deposits" in the corners . I assume these to be additives--I agitated them up and poured them into my oil filler.

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I've seen the same with the SJ version of Castrol GTX. I haven't seen any deposits in the bottom of SL Castrol GTX. BTW, additives or not I wouldn't want to "agitate" that gunk and pour it in my crankcase. You would be better off just leaving it out, IMHO.

 

[Pete]

Well, I guess either the filter will catch it, or I'll be scraping it out of my oil pan...