RE-using motor oil

[Divemaster920]

I don't understand how oil can break down over time. It's been sitting in the earth for millions of years, hasn't it?

Go eat meat.........

 

[WillWagner]

I have seen the results of reclaimed MO. UPS was in the habit of centerfuging their WMO. They swore it was as good as newly refined stuff. They would fuge it, add an additive package and re use the stuff. They wiped cams out within days. I remember putting a truck back out on the road on friday and it comming back on monday with another wiped out cam. On cold..well Ca. cold mornings around X-Mas, 35 38 degrees, the oil flowed out of the pan like water, this is on and engine that had not been run in 12 + hrs. After the switch to regular oil, their issues of low oil pressure failed cams and wiped bearings stopped. It took a few spun mains to break them of the used oil habit. OIL IS CHEAP, what will it cost you to swing an engine?

 

[area52]

This is the cheapest I have found a centrifuge new online:

Centrifuges -

never used them, but thought I would pass it on.

 

[number9]

Great thread.

.......

 

[stumps]

I don't understand how oil can break down over time. It's been sitting in the earth for millions of years, hasn't it?

While it was sitting in the earth, it wasn't doing anything. In your motor, its molecules are rolling between the bearing surfaces, which tends to break down the longer chain molecules into shorter chain molecules. Long chain molecules form the high viscosity component of the oil. Short chain molecules are the thin lower viscocity component. After extended use, the oil breaks down and lubricates less well.

-Chuck

 

[chris837rj]

Your oil has a sheer factor. That contributes to the lifespan of the oil as a lubricant. Like the post above it breaks down after use due to being sheered and high temps. It literally "wears out" and at that point it is not a good idea to continue using it. In light of this throw it in the fuel tank and help boost out carbon footprint!

 

[Divemaster920]

The 275gal totes are available in central va for $20. Most have some glue residue in them.
Curtis

 

[exbrown]

I don't understand how oil can break down over time. It's been sitting in the earth for millions of years, hasn't it?

It is not the Oil molecules that break down, it is the additives. Motor oil is made of several components. The first is base oil, which only comes from 2 sources. The others are additives that perform specific functions.


The additive that makes the motor oils have different weight ratings, such as 15W40 are long strands of polymers. Think long pieces of plastic. These are the molecules that provide the “shearing” action. The base oil is 15 weight oil, which means it flows very easily. The polymer additives allow it to protect like a 50 weight oil. Over time these polymers get broken down into smaller and smaller pieces and their lubrication properties are diminished.


When you use the centrifuge to clean your oil, nearly all the particles are removed. Essentially what you have left is the base oil that the oil producer began with. The oil is still in the same state that it began, it just does not have all the other ingredients that it takes to meet the SAE rating. You could purchase the additives that are required by the SAE rating and reuse the oil, but it is easier and cheaper just to burn it as fuel.

 

[chipola]

I know most of you have the holy grail of fuel oil fever, but if i were you i would find someone with said setup. And watch the process with your own eyes before you shell out the money for this.I have heated wmo and run it thru the fuge 5&6 times there is still stuff floating in there that i would not blow thru my engine.I know someone is going to deride my statment but for you ,the guy fixing to shell out this money what can it hurt to find someone with this setup and run your waste motor oil thru it. dud

 

[exbrown]

but if i were you i would find someone with said setup. And watch the process with your own eyes before you shell out the money for this.

I have to agree with this. My experience is through the power industry, and we have big industrial centrifuges. My plant has 3 centrifuges that turn 15,000 rpm, and we send off oil samples to ensure that is within specs. I have no doubt that some of these homemade centrifuges will improve the oil, but unless it is sent to someone for analysis, there is no telling if it is clean enough to use as fuel or not.

 

[Scarecrow1]

The only thing I will ever use old oil for is to keep the yard and garden tools from rusting , its not worth trashing an engine for . I hope all the unused oil that I go through the trouble to give to the recycle place someday finds its way to right place and isn't being hauled off and dumped in a land field

 

[Spin]

Filtering suggestion

I have a filtering suggestion. For grins and giggles I was out in the garage tinkering, and came up with a fast and easy way to filter. I had a NOS performance air filter, you know the kind, sold by autozone and such places, Looks like a big coffee can, and has red filter paper with screen mesh. Well, I took that, and proceeded to dump some WMO into it, and suprisingly it filtered out nice, and I really couldn't see any crud in it, but there was tons in the filter. Ideas? Suggestions? Maybe I should post some pics and or video.

Spin

 

[stampy]

I figured I would chime in to this thread as I have been using a Centrifuge for years to filter WVO and found the results to be superior and faster and cleaner and cheaper than filtering IMO. That being said... Oil is the sacrificial component btween your rings and the engine block wall...and is subjected to severe stress due to heat, pressure and cleaving stress. This actually causes the oil to break down (some is slightly radioactive as the molecules get cleaved). I would never use a centrifuge to filter oil for use in the engine except as a fuel. I had lots of success over 4 years in my Benz 300sd (the test bed) then the Deuce and 1009. All of them run a 80/20 blend of WVO/Diesel with NO ill effects. We don't get too much below freezing here in NC though...If it was colder I would run 60/40. I believe the centrifuge pulls out some of the heavies in the oil and allows it to flow better though. I always settle/heat/ drain off water/ then centrifuge and have no fuel problems. My main storage tank is a 500 gal with a 5 micron filter on it (just in case). I have been using a simple centrifuge but am probably going to purchase one of Avengeusa's as they may speed up the process. Oh by the way the cost varies widely by the type and output of the centrifuge. Mine is motor driven and stationary. The dieselcraft fuges will fill up quickly if used to filter WVO or lots of used WMO as they are not made to do that. They also have to have oil pressure to run(oil pressure powers the centrifuge). If I had it to do over again I would have skipped the whole biodiesel thing and just bought the centrifuge and saved myself lots of money...but alas live and learn. So yes for fuel, no for crankcase oil

 

[stampy]

I use very little WMO and it goes in the barrel when I blend before I centrifuge but It accounts for less than 5%. Also note that if you use WVO or biodiesel in a truck that has been running regular diesel IT WILL CLEAN THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM AND CAUSE ALL THE CRAP (SLUDGE) IN THE TANK AND LINES TO END UP IN YOUR FILTER. Which is good but have extra filters ready!

 

[PAB]

I'd like to set the record straight on a couple of things - I do agree that the centrifuge is the ultimate way of cleaning oil, wvo or wmo. The discrepancy arises between the simple centrifuge type or the pressurized oil centrifuge. The pressurized oil centrifuge has been around for 70 + years. You could find them on the old war ships built in the 30's and 40's. The pressurized oil centrifuge has been cleaning wvo, wmo, hydraulic fluid and gear oil long before the simple centrifuge type was even a thought. The centrifuge runs at a lower rpm than a simple centrifuge thus more passes are needed. The centrifuge comes in many sizes thus able to process varying amounts from 55 gph up to 300 gph. The centrifuges have varying contaminant holding capacities. You can build a centrifuge filtration unit very inexpensively and it will only take up a 24" x 30" space in your garage - basically the size of one 55 gallon barrel. I noticed people's reluctance or disbelief on using wvo or wmo as a fuel.....People have been driving on this before biodiesel was even a thought. This isn't "frankenstein" science. While using wvo and wmo as a fuel is free, the trade-off is you have to work a little bit for it. We have people driving from the old diesel mercedes of the 70's (where they poured oil right from the fryer into their fuel tank)- now those cars were tanks- to people driving brand new Ford, Chevy, Dodge, VW vehicles of all kinds on straight wvo with a heated dual tank , or blended wvo/blended wmo with no problem. If anybody's got any other questions, feel free to ask....

www.centrifugefordummies.com
www.pabiodieselsupply.com
jmazecorp@yahoo.com

 

[Mark3395]

What do you do with the crud that's spun out of the waste oil?

 

[4x4 Forever]

What type of filtering arrangement would you all suggest if one were to filter only 6 gallons of WMO at a time? In other words a deuce and CUCV oil change.

 

[greenjeepster]

What do you do with the crud that's spun out of the waste oil?

I sprinkle it on my Frosted Flakes in the morning

 

[stumps]

What do you do with the crud that's spun out of the waste oil?

What I would do depends on the quantity, and how much oil is in the crud. If it is semi-liquid, I would donate it to the waste oil bins at the local dump/transfer station. If it is crusty and tar like, I would just trash it. Out here, they burn everything in the incinerator anyway.

-Chuck

 

[stumps]

Oil is the sacrificial component btween your rings and the engine block wall...and is subjected to severe stress due to heat, pressure and cleaving stress. This actually causes the oil to break down (some is slightly radioactive as the molecules get cleaved).

Radioactivity is not a molecule thing, it is a nucleus thing. There is nothing you can do with fire/heat/water that will have any effect on the nucleus whatsoever.

As far as our engines and oil goes, if it is radioactive now, it was radioactive before.

-Chuck