Water in oil--will it separate on its own?

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Couple years ago I parked my snowblower outside in the woods, uncovered. Following winter engine was seized so I left it alone for a couple of years... today I dragged it out and got the motor unstuck. Oil level was high, which told me it had water in the oil; I should have emptied first, but it's a bit of a pain and I didn't want to mess with it until I knew if it'd run. Got it to run off brake cleaner so I did change the oil. Lovely milkshake came out... ugh. [Somehow I'm missing a carb piece that I never removed. New carb in the mail but it won't get here until tomorrow.]

I have it sitting in a clear container and it may have separated a bit over a few hours... wondering if I just wait long enough, if I can somehow separate the two, slowly decant off?

Not sure when hazardous waste day rolls around, and it's a small amount, so it can go then. Just not sure if I can make it go away sooner than that.
 
I have it sitting in a clear container and it may have separated a bit over a few hours... wondering if I just wait long enough, if I can somehow separate the two, slowly decant off?

Not sure when hazardous waste day rolls around, and it's a small amount, so it can go then. Just not sure if I can make it go away sooner than that.
Just put it in with the rest of the recycled oil you have, it shouldn't matter to them.
 
It mixes quickly on a running engine...Not sure how long the mix would take to go from the emulsion and then back to separate oil/water again. Might be a feature of engine oil.

One of the reasons I keep my fleet of snowblowers tucked away in clean/dry storage. They're like gold to me when I need them and with my luck, I prefer to have a spare or two.
 
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One of the reasons I keep my fleet of snowblowers tucked away in clean/dry storage. They're like gold to me when I need them and with my luck, I prefer to have a spare or two.
Not to get off topic, but,
Remembering the Blizzard of '77 🥶
The only snow-blower I have is the one my father bought in 1977.
Well cared for and still going strong.
 
How is emptying oil a pain?
I have to use an extractor and pump it out. It's a retrofitted setup, Predator engine replacing a Tecumseh, and I never got around to finding a pipe extension to make drains easier. Not a major pain but if it wasn't going to start I didn't want to touch it.

Wish I had a shed... been putting off that cost for a few years now. Probably would have been fine with a tarp on it, but I do see mouse damage. Need to find a mouse proof location.

This is something of a backup machine, I usually shovel, but if it's wet, then I use the ATV with its plow.

Will look in a week or so, see what it does.
 
Yikes, not good. But it’s just a small engine I guess.

I would do multiple changes over the next many weeks/months.

We have a town collecting point. I just leave bottles of coolant and oil there. I’d let them separate in milk jugs or clear bottles, then Id decant as much oil from the water as you can. Send the oil in one bottle, water in the other. A little slick of oil on the water isn’t a huge deal. I’d hate to send too much water with the oil.
 
I have to trek the used oil to Walmart or some other place that takes it.

I did run it for a few minutes the other day, after the new carb showed up; wanted to get it warm and see if it'd help with any moisture left behind (which I know there is). Auger drive is seized so I still have work to do; I'm sure it's lost a bit of power, and it was underpowered to begin with, so this is more of a fun project than anything serious for me.
 
I have to trek the used oil to Walmart or some other place that takes it.

I did run it for a few minutes the other day, after the new carb showed up; wanted to get it warm and see if it'd help with any moisture left behind (which I know there is). Auger drive is seized so I still have work to do; I'm sure it's lost a bit of power, and it was underpowered to begin with, so this is more of a fun project than anything serious for me.
I’d minimize running until you’ve flushed out oil a few times
 
Why not just change it, it probably only holds like a liter of oil anyway and more or less any oil will be fine. I'd use some Supertech oils you guys have for like 5 bucks a gallon.
 
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