Stashing Oil and Shelf Life

[KevGuy]

I am new to this forum and notice that some people have an oil stash, similar to like people having, food, water and ammo stashes. Is there a shelf life to motor oil? I once found an old quart of QSGB in my basement that was about 10 years old. When I opened the bottle and looked at it and it didn't seem right so I disposed of it.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: KevGuy
When I opened the bottle and looked at it and it didn't seem right so I disposed of it.

But if it tasted fine, it may have still been OK.

This topic comes up a lot. Most people will say that 6-10 years is fine, assuming the oil is stored in reasonable environment (no extreme temps, no excessive humidity).

Personally, I don't like stashing because oil specs change rather frequently and there is always some new oil popping up on the market that I might want to try.

 

[mongo161]

If I happened to find some oil...anywhere....I would not use it unless I knew what was in the container.

I doubt that oil goes bad....I seriously think it can be stored for quite some time. Just make sure you shake up the containers well since the add pack in motor oil seems to settle to the bottom of the container/Jug over time.

I keep what's left of my stash in my basement, where I know the temperature is controlled. In the basement, away from the extreme heat of summer and the freezing temps in winter.


BTW....That is another reason I don't like "Bulk Oil" from the oil change places....IMO...how do you know how much of the add pack your getting when it's changed. At least with the quart or Jug you have a good idea of what is in the container.

 

[KevGuy]

When I opened the quart I found, I squeezed the bottle to bring the oil up to the lip of the bottle. I remember it looked like there was a clear water like layer there.

 

[bepperb]

Water should have been on the bottom!

I have some 5-30 from the early 90's I still use in our riding mower. Still looks good enough to use in a car. But I usually only "stash" about a year out which is only about 4 oil changes (2 changes on 2 cars).

 

[mongo161]

Did you shake the quart before you opened it up? Was the quart sealed when you opened it up?

 

[pbm]

I have used 17 year old oil, 15 year old oil etc....and never had an engine problem.
I have kept the OCI to 3 or 4K when using up old oil but I really don't think it goes bad if stored indoors....

 

[KevGuy]

Originally Posted By: mongo161


BTW....That is another reason I don't like "Bulk Oil" from the oil change places....IMO...how do you know how much of the add pack your getting when it's changed. At least with the quart or Jug you have a good idea of what is in the container.


Do you think the additive packages are added individually to each quart and jug?

 

[KevGuy]

Originally Posted By: mongo161
Did you shake the quart before you opened it up? Was the quart sealed when you opened it up?


No, I did not shake it up. The quart had been previously opened.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: KevGuy
Do you think the additive packages are added individually to each quart and jug?

It's not. But over time, additives may fallout to the bottom. It's easy to mix them back together again by shaking a 1qt bottle or a 1 gallon jug, but try shaking a 55 gallon drum at the shop. I guess you could stir it with a big spoon.

 

[KevGuy]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: KevGuy
Do you think the additive packages are added individually to each quart and jug?

It's not. But over time, additives may fallout to the bottom. It's easy to mix them back together again by shaking a 1qt bottle or a 1 gallon jug, but try shaking a 55 gallon drum at the shop. I guess you could stir it with a big spoon.

I suspect that these lube shops go thru their bulk oil tanks so fast that things don't have time to settle.

 

[johnachak]

Quote:
Do you think the additive packages are added individually to each quart and jug?

I agree with Mongo. If the additives drop out in a drum like they do in quarts or jugs, how do I know I am getting them in proper ratio? I can just shake up a bottle or jug.
Maybe I'm just partial to jugs?

 

[eljefino]

Bulk oil gets checked and if it were controversial one of the 30,000 type A freaks on here would be mentioning it.

 

[Zako2]

Originally Posted By: KevGuy
I am new to this forum and notice that some people have an oil stash, similar to like people having, food, water and ammo stashes. Is there a shelf life to motor oil? I once found an old quart of QSGB in my basement that was about 10 years old. When I opened the bottle and looked at it and it didn't seem right so I disposed of it.


Here is the answer posted by Valvoline's representative in the NextGen Q/A session:

"Although motor oils can be stored in seal bottles for a very long time, Valvoline establishes the shelf-life as 5 years due to the service category upgrade. With regard to storage in an area with temperature variations, it will not affect the life or performance of nay Valvoline products, including NextGen. "


I think 5 years of shelf life should be enough for most stashers. If you have enough oil to last you 10 years, that's hoarding ;p

 

[fdcg27]

There was a link here some months ago to an article from Blackstone detailing VOAs of really ancient oil, from when it used to come in cans.
The oils VOAed surprisingly well, even those tested with no shaking to remix the additive package before testing.
There was also a member here who in the past year ran some old Shell Fire & Ice in his wife's car, which was one of the generic GM sixty degree V-6s, IIRC.
The UOA of the 3K run came back with really good results.
The shelf life of oil appears to be very long, well beyond the three to five years some blenders specify.

 

[azsynthetic]

I have posted a 19 year old Motul synthetic blend 4T oil in the VOA section. It is still as good as anything currently made.

 

[Garak]

I have no problems using old, orphaned quarts of oil. They're perfect for outdoor power equipment and top ups on vehicles that need topping up.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

If it was unopened I would use it. If it was opened and I had no idea where it came from or what its history was I would simply toss it.

It's only a quart of oil.

 

[Oldwolf]

I'm using a 3 year old stash of Mobil 1 0W40 but that isn't really that old I guess.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I used my last quart M1 15W50 I bought in 2003-2004 as top off for my E430 couple months ago.