Mixing Oils this way...would you do it ?

[Shannow]

We all have too much of a stash, we all buy when it's on special, it's the perfect oil for the car that we have.

Then we find a better oil, return the oil that we've bought and buy the new one on special, have the odd quart here and there , particularly annoying when it's in 5 litre or gallon jugs.

Given that your fleet is changing constantly, you may have to top up with an unknown quart while on the road, and there are hundreds of cars out there that call for your particular grade.

We'll call the particular grade 5W30 as an example, but if your fleet has a different one in the manual, then suit your owner's manual.

Why not get a 20L (5 gal) pail , or better yet a home brew kit. Fit it with a dessicant breather, and stuff a bit of sponge in the breather so that dust doesn't get in.

Every time you get an odd quart, throw it in the vat.

Every time that you need to do an oil change, drain it off the tap (home brew kit best, but 20L pail can have it also).

That way you don't have to worry about inventory, as there's only one supply.

Would you do it or not ?

would you encourage others to do it, and what benefits do you believe that it offers ?

 

[demarpaint]

Interesting topic. Would I do it? No, I'd pass. I wouldn't encourage it either. The only time I mixed oil was in beaters. Typically if I need to top up, I top up with the same product I used for the oil change. Fortunately my current fleet can complete an OCI w/o topping up. I eventually get rid of widow and orphan quarts in OPE.

 

[fdcg27]

This strikes me as an ignorance is bliss approach, very much like those who mix whatever odd quarts they have laying around for changes in often very decent cars.
A large volume of oil with unknown and unknowable viscosity grade and specs met? What's not to like?
I think that you might be pulling our legs a bit with this post.

 

[Shannow]

As additive packages evolve, you won't be left with gallons of obsolete oil.

Your stash will be evolving in real time with the state of the market oil, along with your fleet.

Never again be stuck with 2 gallons of SG in 8 differently branded containers, when your car was built on the cusp of SL/SN, and your brew kit could be holding the pace.

 

[wemay]

No to use
No to encouraging

 

[spasm3]

In an old oil burning saturn, yes, in any other car, no.

 

[fdcg27]

So you do have some method to your madness here.
I should have known that.
Still, you end up with an evolving bunch of oil that may not meet the viscosity grade that you're aiming for and that may not meet the standards desired for your engines.
I think that the oldest oil I have on hand is a couple of quarts of SJ Syntec 5W-50.
If I had two gallons of SG, six quarts of it would go into the old E350 for a shortish run, and this was the originally specified oil, leaving one quart for top-off and another for the OPEs.
You can almost always find a use for odd bits of oil and OPEs and beaters fit the bill.

 

[pbm]

I have a quart of 'remnant' oil that I acquired by draining containers of many different types and weights of oil over a couple of years. I am leery of using it in anything but OPE since it has 0w20 and 10w40 and everything in between in it. It also contains syn. and dino.

So the answer to your question is NO, I wouldn't do it.....except in an oil burner which I don't have...

 

[CourierDriver]

Some days we all have to much time on our hands or may have missed our medications....

 

[Mr Nice]

With about 15 different brands and different weights, I mix all the time.

 

[FCD]

Shannow posting a question? i thought you knew it all about everything lol

 

[Cardenio327]

I wouldn't, but only because of supposed "additive clash"

I did buy a drum of QSUD 10w-30 a few years ago. It got used in all of the family's vehicles except motorcycles and my brother-in-law's Ranger that never gets its oil changed. One oil for almost everything.

Sometimes I daydream of buying a drum of that beautiful unicorn oil known as Mobil 1630 and using it in everything. It might even work in my Fit's transmission as it probably passes GL-4!

 

[SilverFusion2010]

No, I would rather use the odd QTS as top off or give them to those in need

 

[otis24]

In a beater, yes. Or, I would mix like brands. I.E. PYB, PHM, Pennzoil Platinum, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum. I purchased six 5 quart jugs of Havoline HM. I plan on mixing it with Havoline Synthetic to make a synthetic HM. Got the Havoline HM for $1.80 per quart.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
As additive packages evolve, you won't be left with gallons of obsolete oil.


I like obsolete oil. I buy the obsoletest oil I can find.

Originally Posted By: Shannow


Your stash will be evolving in real time with the state of the market oil, along with your fleet.



You say that like its a good thing

Originally Posted By: Shannow


Never again be stuck with 2 gallons of SG in 8 differently branded containers, when your car was built on the cusp of SL/SN, and your brew kit could be holding the pace.



If I had a brew kit, I'd be brewing with it. In another couple of weeks the campus is going to be littered with tons of rotting mangoes and lychees going to waste.

I could use the CO2 in my tyres though. That count?

Anyway, you're a serially documented anti-mixer, so I doubt many people are buying your pitch.

 

[E150GT]

I will mix oil for my older cars but i do not like removing them from their original containers except to consolidate two same bottles into one. Less chance of foreign invasion of anything from dirt to bugs.

 

[vintageant]

BITOG posts are very interesting, but I believe if oil is checked frequently and maintained at the correct level, and changed every 5K miles with a good filter, pretty much any good oil will keep the engine running for a long time!

 

[SilverSnake]

Your post was a joke right?

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
Your post was a joke right?


Definitely

 

[Ducked]

IF you're going to mix anyway, it does make some sense to do it this way. The bulk mix can probably be better protected from atmospheric oxygen and water, and if, say, you don't want thin oil, an odd litre or so of skinny stuff will only be a minor diluent (or vice versa).

OTOH you'll have even less idea as to what is in it than you would with a "normal" ad-hoc mix, and some of it might eventually be very old.

I don't think oil "goes off" on the shelf but there's not much point in asking for trouble.