What do they do with the old used oil....?

[GhostFlame]

Don't laugh... Inquiring minds want to know.

20 years ago... 30 yrs ago my dad used to buy recycled 10w-40 for our tractors and trucks etc. If I recall it was half the cost. Anyway, I haven't seen it for a long time.

What do they do with the oil that we drain from all our machines? I dump old ATF into the same can as my used oil. How do they process it and into what products does it find its way into?

 

[Boomer]

Burn it for heat around here.

 

[Jonny Z]

Pump it back into the ground

 

[Captain_Klink]

safety kleen re refines it, and it makes its way into government vehicles. possibly they even pass some off on unsuspecting Canadians, under the name super tech (which is different in US).
in any case, i would say that if you can turn crude oil into motor oil, then for sure you can turn used oil into equally as good motor oil by the same refining/hydrocracking process. i have used the canadian "bargain brands" for 35 years now, and so far all of my engines have been perfect, and i tend to run my vehicles for 10-15 years or more. some places have furnaces to burn it for heat, but that is a waste of good base stock. better than dumping in the ground, of course. now that i am a little more prosperous, i tend to use name brand oils and synthetics now, but i still have a good stash of canadian safety kleen super tech, 2 x 20l pails of 5w30, and one pail of 5w20. personally, i like to run a thin oil, like 5w27, and change a bit more often.

 

[GOPHER FREAK]

The shop by my house will take all the used oil you want to give them. They heat their entire shop (8 bays) and office with it. My dad always wants my used oil for top up oil on his old 300K mile Dakota. It leaks a little and he figures my oil is good enough to top it up with.

 

[Bluestream]

Hopefully that shop is not too close to you :

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-2759.pdf

I have read on ther sites that clain it gets into the ground water as well

 

[GOPHER FREAK]

It seems rather foolish as it is likely no worse than fuel oil which pretty much all of New England is heated with. No matter what anyone does with used oil, someone is going to have a problem with it. 8000X a minute amount of lead is still just a tiny bit of lead. Better to have it around the house in 5 gallon jugs because no one will take it.

 

[gonzo]

Originally Posted By: GhostFlame
Don't laugh... Inquiring minds want to know.

20 years ago... 30 yrs ago my dad used to buy recycled 10w-40 for our tractors and trucks etc. If I recall it was half the cost. Anyway, I haven't seen it for a long time.

What do they do with the oil that we drain from all our machines? I dump old ATF into the same can as my used oil. How do they process it and into what products does it find its way into?
Good question.I wonder if auto parts stores get charged to have their oiled picked up?

 

[GOPHER FREAK]

Originally Posted By: gonzo
Good question.I wonder if auto parts stores get charged to have their oiled picked up?


Nope. They actually get payed for it. It's not a lot, But at least here the shops get money for the used oil. If I remember it was something like $50 we used to get for 500 gallons of used oil, But that was also a very long time ago.

 

[JustinH]

Many auto shops heat with it here as well. If you take it to a place like walmart, I'm sure they sell it to an oil recycler.

 

[artificialist]

Here in Florida, no shop is heated with used oil because it isn't needed. However, used oil is frequently sold to recyclers that convert it into home heating oil and then sell it where people frequently have oil heated homes.

 

[Propflux01]

Some of it gets used in asphalt road making as well.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Hopefully that shop is not too close to you :

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-2759.pdf

I have read on ther sites that clain it gets into the ground water as well
I've often wondered about the burning of used motoroil, and what contaminates might or might not be put into the air. From the link, it appears arsenic and particulate matter are two big issues.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Familyguy]

Mine winds up in my home heating oil tank.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
I dump old ATF into the same can as my used oil.
Where I live they don't want ATF mixed with used oil. Places like AAP and AZ won't take ATF. I've had to take ATF and antifreeze to the local recycling center.

That said, I understand that it would be easy enough to mix the ATF in used oil unnoticed, but since I have a place to recycle ATF it's not an issue.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Familyguy
Mine winds up in my home heating oil tank.


I did that for years when I had oil heat, never had a problem either. In a 500 gallon tank 2-3 gallons of used engine oil, filtered through a strainer never posed a problem.

 

[LumpyMeatLoaf]

Years ago, {30 or so}, we used to throw it on our gravel driveways to keep dust down and to keep the driveway packed. However, these days you will get striped sunshine, (jail), for that!!! Here in Southern Oklahoma Wal-Mart welcomes it with open arms; I bet they sell it for a decent profit and secondly, why not strut in a buy a couple gallons of ‘fresh sludge in a bucket’ from them? Either way they win!

I knew a couple of older guys that strained their old oil and mix it up 25:1 and use it in two cycle equipment. Not me I use very good 2-stroke oil, but amazingly they ran their saws and other old two-cycled mowers etc. products forever. Maybe they have the right idea? But As sure as I tried this my Lawn-Boy, WeedEater or gas blower would snap-its-sphincter and blow up.

 

[demarpaint]

Some of the tree services use waste oil in dish detergent bottles for bar oil. I never thought anyone would try and mix it for 2 cycle oil, but then again who knows?