Shelf life

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How long will oil in the plastic bottles last sitting on the shelf, either in a heated or non heated inviroment. If I found a good price on oil and wanted to stock up for a couple of years is it a good idea?
 
Years. Aboard ship I always carried an ample inventory of oils--in case of the need for change or a leak, I would have all I needed for replacement. This oil was often several years old in sealed 5 gallon pails, in drums, or in a storage tank . There was never any visual difference in the oil nor in the analyses after the oil was put into service. In any case, the oil in the machinery was in service for several years in many cases...gearboxes, little used diesel generators, turbine sumps, very large diesel sumps, etc.

The biggest problem with buying lots of oil ahead is that if you keep reading this forum you'll come up with better ideas about which oil to use....


Ken
 
Here's a recent post on the subject: http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001416#000000

Do a search on "shelf life", there are a few more posts on the subject.
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quote:

Originally posted by Ken2:

The biggest problem with buying lots of oil ahead is that if you keep reading this forum you'll come up with better ideas about which oil to use....



hehe, that hits close to home for me, I've got a lot of oil here sitting in my "oil shrine" that will probably not get used. Same with some oil filters. I bought too far in advance and changed my mind.
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Another "danger" of buying too far ahead is that there could well be API/ILSAC service updates that would be more desirable. I got stuck with a case of SJ/GF-2 Quaker State 10W-30 oil about the time SL/GF-3 hit the shelves. Obviously it was not a matter of jeopardizing the motor at my customary 3,000 mile oil change intervals, but I'd still have preferred getting the latest and greatest in it as soon as the new stuff was available.
 
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