Supporting an oil burner

[mjoekingz28]

Lets say we have an oil burner. Is reducing the consumption the only goal of finding an oil choice? Or maybe we can look into the smell, environmental concerns, blow-by, deposits left behind.

In other words, what other factors besides usage matter when you are burning a significant amount.





I have heard that some oil burning is a good thing and makes for a healthy engine.e

 

[demarpaint]

If if were supporting an oil burner I'd be draining the oil from my two Jeeps [when they needed an oil change] and storing it to use in the oil burner. If I didn't have that luxury I'd be looking at the cheapest oil that would stay in the sump the longest. That is for a car that has reached beater status in my fleet.

 

[Lubener]

I bought the cheapest house brand on sale, kept it topped off and changed the filter once a year. I'm not for dumping old oil in a car I would depend on to get to work. I was using about a quart per 500 miles.

 

[FCD]

In terms of envoirmental concers no oil is going to make an oil burner more eco friendly.
Both my cars burn some quantity of oil, in my daily i just top it up with cheap parts store brand oil.
I wouldn't put used oil in any car .
i've also heard the claim that some oil burning is good, but honestly i don't know how it would be other than the oil getting replenished to some extent with fresh oil but otherwise there are no positives to oil burning. ...

 

[BigCahuna]

Oil burning is good? on what planet?.,,,

 

[Blueskies123]

I owned one a long time ago. From my experience once it starts burning oil a lot of other parts are going to go bad. My advice is to scrap it and buy something else. You are losing compression, gas mileage, if it has any emissions control equipment they are all shot by now. You catalytic converter is probably ruined. In short you need to junk it now.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
In terms of envoirmental concers no oil is going to make an oil burner more eco friendly.
Both my cars burn some quantity of oil, in my daily i just top it up with cheap parts store brand oil.
I wouldn't put used oil in any car .
i've also heard the claim that some oil burning is good, but honestly i don't know how it would be other than the oil getting replenished to some extent with fresh oil but otherwise there are no positives to oil burning. ...


Nothing wrong with putting used oil from a good car into a beater that you plan on getting rid of anyway. Many of us, myself included aren't squeezing every bit of life out of their oil. So drain it into a clean container, run it through a strainer into a clean jug and you have what many members here call Mobil 2. I consider it recycling, and saving money, win win.

 

[pcoxe]

I had a 84 Camaro that began to use oil and smoke a bit around 225,000 miles. I switched it to synthetic oil and it used less oil and the visible oil burning stopped after a few thousand miles. I'm guessing the rings were varnished and the synthetic cleaned it up. I eventually gave it to the kid next door at 308,000 miles, and he's still driving it, probably harder than I did, and still no visible smoking. Still the original engine. Synthetic oil may not solve your problems, but I'm sold on the benefits of synthetic oil.

 

[ecotourist]

I don't think there is anything good about an oil burner. I had one once (about a quart in 500 miles) when I couldn't afford anything better. In addition to the oil use, there would be an occasional burnt oil smell, and even smoking under some conditions. That was in the era of frequent spark plug changes (annual I think); the plugs would come out sooted and oily but still apparently working fine. That was also before catalytic converters, which I expect would be at risk in a modern vehicle.

I'd never have an oil burner again if I could help it.

 

[timeau]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
In other words, what other factors besides usage matter when you are burning a significant amount.

Clogged piston rings, burnt exhaust valves, lost compression, reduced power, dead cats, misfires, etc. Good enough or want something more?

 

[bullwinkle]

Maxlife & ATP-205 Re-seal seem to be the only things that have slowed down oil consumption for me. That said, in my poorer past I've picked up rebuildable core engines cheap (a slant six 225, a 1.6 Escort, & a 1.5 late '80s Civic), rebuilt them, & swapped out the bad engine & had a decent runner for a few hundred dollar investment. My '90 Civic wagon was the best one of that group, I probably had $600 total in it, somebody promptly rear ended it & their insurance paid $1000, put a $50 used bumper on it, drove for 3 more years, sold it for $500.

 

[CT8]

The organic hippie dippy save the world out look is you are driving a highly polluting vehicle. lets hope the wind blows the smog away like the China's Smog blows to California.

 

[SilverC6]

I'm not a greenie by any stretch, but it is annoying when someone rolls coal on you at a stoplight due to the poor state of repair of their vehicle.

If you're not a starving college student, get it fixed once it becomes more than a occasional puff of blue smoke.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
In terms of envoirmental concers no oil is going to make an oil burner more eco friendly.
Both my cars burn some quantity of oil, in my daily i just top it up with cheap parts store brand oil.
I wouldn't put used oil in any car .
i've also heard the claim that some oil burning is good, but honestly i don't know how it would be other than the oil getting replenished to some extent with fresh oil but otherwise there are no positives to oil burning. ...


Nothing wrong with putting used oil from a good car into a beater that you plan on getting rid of anyway. Many of us, myself included aren't squeezing every bit of life out of their oil. So drain it into a clean container, run it through a strainer into a clean jug and you have what many members here call Mobil 2. I consider it recycling, and saving money, win win.


I might even run Mobil3

But, yeah that's the idea. Good used oil with life left, no brainer ...

BUT, before we go there, need to ask why it's burning? 300,000 miles? Or coked up rings and bad valve seals? Or bad PCV valve? If it's coked rings, that can be addressed with a big shot of Break Free gun solvent in each cylinder over night. Fire it off the next day, drive around the block and change the oil.

Put that good used oil in there with a full can of BG109 at each change and I'll bet the consumption slows dramatically. And that is actually good for the environment