Keep and repurpose used motor oil?

[john_pifer]

I have a filter and funnel set up and run it in my furnace. I generate a fair amount used oil, almost 14 gals a year, and this is the most convenient solution. Everything but the airplane; its' used oil has a LOT of lead in it and I do like my neighbors

I’ve heard of people burning used motor oil in furnaces for heat.

But doesn’t that smell absolutely horrible? Or does the furnace run so lean and burn it so completely that there’s not much smoke?

I hate the smell of burning oil when I get behind a vehicle that’s burning oil.

 

[CDX825]

Waste oil furnaces burn the oil pretty clean when setup right. There is no noticeable smell to them.

I will say trying to run waste oil in a residential oil fired furnace or boiler is a bad idea. They are designed to run on #2 diesel fuel "Heating oil" or kerosene. Waste motor oil is way to viscous to properly atomize and burn in one.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I used to dump mine on the gravel road by my mom's house. Those days are long gone. I bring my to Wally mart and have them recycle it. They take the plastic jugs and everything.

 

[JC1]

Don't you have recycling in your area?

Yes the dump recycles the oil. They have 2 7,000 waste oil tanks. The take everything else that's hazardous as well.

 

[PimTac]

I used to dump mine on the gravel road by my mom's house. Those days are long gone. I bring my to Wally mart and have them recycle it. They take the plastic jugs and everything.

We used to do that as well. It helped keep the dust down. We also soaked the posts for the backyard fence. Over fifty years later that fence still stands.

 

[nascarnation]

My buddy runs it as a "fuel additive" in his old pickup just to get rid of it. A quart in 20 gallons is 80:1 so not all that much concentration. It's a 90s TBI injection which doesn't seem to bother the fuel system.

 

[wings&wheels]

I’ve heard of people burning used motor oil in furnaces for heat.

But doesn’t that smell absolutely horrible? Or does the furnace run so lean and burn it so completely that there’s not much smoke?

I hate the smell of burning oil when I get behind a vehicle that’s burning oil.

I have never noticed anything different, but the usage is spread out over the cold months (burning up to 60-70 gals a week) and it is a 275 gallon tank.

 

[UncleDave]

About the only use I have for it anymore is bar oil for chainsaws. I know it's not ideal for the job but I can't be bothered to go and buy ANOTHER kind of oil for the chainsaw I use five times a year.

I've seen places that cut it with off road diesel and spray it on board or rail fences from a tank mounted in the back of a truck/Gator/etc. It's not as long lasting as actual stain and probably only marginally better than nothing.

Doing that keeps termites at bay....

On the farm we'd clean it with a gravity drip through a frantz type filter and use it cut at a magic ratio with kerosene to run barn garage heaters or oil up the many feet of chains on various implements. Granpda had a 2 barrel setup that worked great.,

I just bring it to a recycler unless Im going to the desert Ill bring old 5 quarts to run in smudge pots.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

From 1963? Yea I'm sure pollution laws haven't chaged at all since then. Any one have some leaded fuel or abestos brake pads I can use? Love canal or Lake Erie anyone. Come on dude suggesting that dumping toxic chemicals is just irresponsible. Take used auto fluids to the right places, give a hoot don't pollute remember that from '63?

I'm sure he is just being facetious - and educational. We have come a long way since the Native American had a tear in his eye down by the riverbed.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

A couple times a year I bring my 5 gal jerry jugs of used oil to the Town Garage that has a waste oil burner/furnace

 

[SteveG4]

No Just take it to the local dump.

Like your dump, our local dump takes in used oil. They filter and burn it to heat their on-site dump buildings!

 

[Rmay635703]

The squirrels love to burrow through the eves (repeatedly)

a light layer of used motor oil seems to slow them down in that process.

still doesn’t stop the bastards though

 

[ron17571]

The city has an oil burner for heat for the mechanics. They made it a point to ask me if it was synthetic oil. that they didn't want. So I take it to the local gas station and dump it. I was with my dad when he used a 55-gallon oil-filled drum with a homemade spreader to spray the dirt road to keep the dust down. This was a long time ago.

 

[Zaedock]

Waste oil furnaces burn the oil pretty clean when setup right. There is no noticeable smell to them.

I will say trying to run waste oil in a residential oil fired furnace or boiler is a bad idea. They are designed to run on #2 diesel fuel "Heating oil" or kerosene. Waste motor oil is way to viscous to properly atomize and burn in one.

This^

You can't simply dump used oil into your home oil burner and expect it to run fine. The only reason this may seem to work is due to the ratio of #2 to used oil if your tank is full enough. It's a great way to screw up your filter and nozzle.

When I owned a shop, I heated it with a Lanair MX250 used oil heater. There are multiple connections in order to make burning used fluids possible including a fluid preheater and compressed air for injection. In the dead of winter, I would clean the unit once a week when we were closed. Regarding synthetic oil - it didn't matter. Conv, Syn, trans fluid, hydraulic fluid, gear oil - all went in the tank below the unit or stored in drums and burned wicked p!ssah.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

I've heard stories about people that rerun used oil in their beater car because they change the oil at short intervals in the "nice" car. My grandpa just used to go dump it out on a stump... I've always taken mine to the auto parts store or the quickie lube to dump in their recycle tanks.

I've also heard about people keeping a quart or two for the lawn mower... but fresh oil for a lawn mower is so cheap I don't really understand the point.

 

[double vanos]

From 1963? Yea I'm sure pollution laws haven't chaged at all since then. Any one have some leaded fuel or abestos brake pads I can use? Love canal or Lake Erie anyone. Come on dude suggesting that dumping toxic chemicals is just irresponsible. Take used auto fluids to the right places, give a hoot don't pollute remember that from '63?

Another blast from the past, daisies in a catalytic converter.
And yes, I recycle my oil at the Autozone.

 

[dbias]

All the Jiffy Lubes and other lube shops in town have signs asking to bring them your used oil....

 

[AEHaas]

I repurpose used oil in small amounts as a general lubricant. I have used it to help preserve wooden posts in the ground and retaining timber. I do not purchase Bar oil for the chain saws but use motor oil instead, also used transmission and gear oils. The bulk however gets recycled.

Ali

 

[Ohio91]

Curious if anyone keeps and re-purposes old motor oils? I'm aware that these might have a acidic content so the may not be ideal as lubricants. But then again, they may have some purposes, especially relatively lightly used motor oils changed only on 6 or 1 year intervals if you have a vehicle you maintain but rarely drive.

I'm thinking it's useful as parts soak tank, for old hinges and whatnot. Also good to help get fires started, especially damp wood such as camping or cookouts, or back yard fire pit, etc.

I've read that folks use old motor oil to coat ground contact or bottoms of fence posts to prevent rot or bugs, or used as an alternative to stain wood.

What's the consensus?

Curious if anyone keeps and re-purposes old motor oils? I'm aware that these might have a acidic content so the may not be ideal as lubricants. But then again, they may have some purposes, especially relatively lightly used motor oils changed only on 6 or 1 year intervals if you have a vehicle you maintain but rarely drive.

I'm thinking it's useful as parts soak tank, for old hinges and whatnot. Also good to help get fires started, especially damp wood such as camping or cookouts, or back yard fire pit, etc.

I've read that folks use old motor oil to coat ground contact or bottoms of fence posts to prevent rot or bugs, or used as an alternative to stain wood.

What's the consensus?

I usually just drop mine off at a local shop a couple miles out the road from me. I think another local agricultural equipment dealer gets it from him for their oil furnace in the winter. I do usually keep a gallon around though. I put up a new deck last summer and painted the oil onto the 4x6 posts where they go into the ground. My grandpa used to do that and let it soak in and I think there is still posts in the ground from atleast the early 60s. Just paint or spray it on every few years and it will soak into the wood even below the dirt. Don’t tell Greta though…how dare you

 

[cptbarkey]

Digging up an old thread, but discovered that the "old ways" are not really old.

A few weeks ago I treated my utility trailer's pressure treated wood planks with 5 quarts of unused Dexron 3 ATF and 1 gallon diesel fuel. The planks were about 8 years old. First I pressure washed the planks as they had some mold, waited overnight, then applied the homemade preservative with a mop. It soaked almost the entire 2.2 gallons and the wood and now it looks better than brand new. The little remaining fuzzies are from the mop.

The wife and kids noticed a smell, but it tamped down after a week. Also after some more discussion on increased flammability, and some amateur googling discovered and shared that the normal flashpoint of wood is 700 degrees, but is now about 380 degrees post treatment. Texas is hot but not that hot yet.

Here is another relevant thread with folks doing the same, but re-using motor oil. There are also a plethora of youtube videos.

https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/old-used-motor-oil-for-wood-preservative.271332/