Filtering Waste Oil

[Cattletrkr]

Waste oil, as in drain oil. Anyone here filtering it and mixing it in the fuel tank? What sort of filtering setup do you have. I have a fair amount of waste oil from tractors and the couple Dodges we have in the stable that I would like to burn up. My mechanic has a wate oil heater, but he doesn't like synthetic.



Or is this just a bad idea?

 

[keimmmo]

First, some synthetic motor oils do not burn well. So, if your used motor oil is synthetic, add just a little and see how it burns. Decide from there if it works well for you or not.



I have added used motor oil to my fuel for years! It is a great way to get a little better fuel economy as well as getting rid of your waste oil! The old '92 will smoke too much if I add more than a couple of quarts per fill. I normally add a gallon per fill to the '01. 5. I have added as much as 4 gallons per fill to the '01. 5 without problems when I really wanted to stretch the fuel and had plenty of oil available.



I used to use a home made filter set up. It was slow and messy. For the last few years I have been pouring the oil into gallon jugs and letting it set for at least a week in a warm place before pouring it into the tank. Leave a little oil in the bottom of the jug... it will have all the crud. You can still pour the dirty oil back into another jug and let it settle out again. Mixing a little diesel with the waste oil makes it settle out faster and better.



Avoid non-detergent oils, hydraulic oil, and REALLY avoid gear lube!!! They tend to gum up the fuel system and make more smoke. Good quality multi-grade motor oil works the best... as well as ATF.



Steve Keim

 

[Nate]

What I do is run the oil through paint filters... they are coned shaped, for auto paint, etc.



They are ~250 microns though, so it will only get the bigger junk out.

 

[DMcPherson]

I let it sit and pump about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom, I dont filter it, as I beleive the oil filter does pretty well.

 

[Nate]

I'm not worried about the oil out of the truck being dirty, but bits of junk in the drain pain, dust, etc.



When I did my oil change last, I ended up with a few bugs in the filter. And I made sure to cover the oil pan right after I drained the oil and I then poured it through the filter. So no idea how the bugs got in there.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Nuts. My oil is all mixed. Gear Lube, hydraulic (very little), and whatever else might be in there. I trust the trucks filter to keep the oil clean, but the pan and the barrel I store it in are another story.

 

[JWilkinson]

The British have a system that they developed to clean the oil in their locomotives, after draining for recycling. They use an additive of some sort and then use a 12 volt dc current through it. The dirt and soot literally fall out almost instantly. I have spent a lot of time trying to find the process on the web. I hope someone else might find the process and share it. Sure would be a lot of clean oil to burn. I know some of you might think that this is just BS but it was actually on TV years ago. As far as the additive goes, what I have found has to do with pH. I just havent found a paper dealing with the locomotives. Good luck to those who are interested. jac

 

[Nate]

Yeah the fuel filter will trap the stuff, but I don't want chunks of crap getting in the tank and the lift pump.

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

Have mine go into a 5 gal pail with a fitting I drilled, down thru a 10 micron fuel filter and into jugs. I sometimes mix with kero to thin if I have any left over at the end of winter. So far no problems. ran a fuel filter well past it's interval, and no drop in pressure. Thinking of putting a magnet around the inside of the bucket drain for sport.

 

[keimmmo]

Cattletrkr,



Hydraulic oil burns fine... it just tends to make more smoke. If there is fery little of it mixed in with the motor oil, I wouldn't worry about it. The gear lube in another matter. That stuff is NASTY in a fuel system!!! Again, if there is VERY little of it in comparison to the total, try burning a little and see how it works. If you add only a gallon or less per tank, I doubt that it will cause any trouble.



In the future, store the hydraulic oil and gear lube in a separate container and dispose of it elsewhere. Keep the motor oil and ATF for the Cummins! I have used up to 4-5 gallons of motor oil with a tank of fuel... some have gone even richer than that!!!



Steve Keim

 

[Cattletrkr]

Very little Hyd oil if any. Now that I think of it, the only gear lube that gets mixed in with all of the engine oils would be what comes out of the two Dodges and that's probably not enough to worry about. Sounds like I have my Saturday project all lined up. I like the magnet idea.



This is just a guess, but my waste oil is probably 80-90% synthetic. Is that gonna be a problem?



Am I gonna gain anything by doing this other than getting rid of my old oil in a fun way?... ... . lotsa smoke.

 

[Nate]

Schlickenmeyer would you have a pic of your setup, or perhaps a part # or suggestion where I could get this filter? You are able to just gravity feed it though the filter?

 

[keimmmo]

From personal experience... some synthetic motor oil DOES NOT burn!!! It just drips out the tail pipe and makes a mess out of the whole fuel and exhaust system. Other synthetics burn just fine! I know of no way to know how it will work other than to just try it.



For this reason, I stress to add only a gallon max to a tank of fuel... even better would be to add a quart to a 1/4 tank of fuel. If it doesn't burn well, you can fill the tank to dilute it and not have any trouble. It it burns fine, POUR IT IN!!!



Steve Keim

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

I stick with the 5% or less that cummins sez is ok.

here is the setup, very simple. don't mind the leak, I used old epoxy, and it never cured. Gotta take it apart and fix that.



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[JPereira]

I am going to create a similar gravity setup with a couple additions. The feed for the oil filter I am going to have it come out like 2-3" up the side and add another on the very bottom. That way water and crap that collects at the bottom I can drain out of the bucket and hopefully have the filter last a little longer. I was hoping that the heavier crap in the dirty oil will settle to the bottom of the bucket. May even let the oil sit in the bucket for a day before I let the oil flow thru the filter to try and give it a chance to settle.



Has anyone ever burned the Amsoil 15/40 diesel oil? I run regular dino oil in my wifes vehicle and will be adding that oil to my diesel. My synthetic i have always disposed of when the town has there annual waste disposal. Never thought that some of the synthetics could be burned. .



Jeff

 

[Nate]

That filter just a fuel filter?



I think down at the farm store in town they sell those setups to put on aux fuel tanks before the nozzle.



I just got 15 gallons of oil today from Napa. I asked them if I could get some used oil and they were happy to donate considering they have to pay to get it hauled.

 

[Schlickenmeyer]

Yep, 10 micron fuel filter. got it at the local farm store. . the head was cheap too. the hoses were like 5 or 8 bucks ea. the valve was 5. mabye 45 bucks into it total. paid for itself right away at 3+ bucks a gallon.

 

[Nate]

Yup. The only problem I have with the oil from Napa is it's normally in a home heating oil tank, and the guy told me there's no drain on the bottom. So I suppose I'm going to need to figure out a way to pump from their tank, or I maybe if I brought them a few buckets they would just put it in there.

 

[DThelen]

He's what I have,



I have a Used oil heater. 300 gallon tank goes to a 25 gallon barrel. I take the oil off about 6" from bottom on both tanks, The have drians to drain water off. Then I pump with my waist oil heater pump. It goes throught the waist oil heater filter, then through an oil fillter 10 micron then through a Diesel fuel filter of a VW jetta.



I'll see how this works.



Hooked it up today. I just have to turn a valve and plug in the pump.



Dan

 

[steved]

Yup. The only problem I have with the oil from Napa is it's normally in a home heating oil tank, and the guy told me there's no drain on the bottom.

Another problem is you have no idea of what you are getting... brake fluid, motor oil, gear oil, solvents (brake clean), additives, old gas, spoiled diesel, etc. were poured into our waste oil tank at the garage I worked at without discretion... a little brake fluid would probably be murder on injectors...



I like that bucket idea... might do a setup like that myself... does it gravity feed pretty good? Does the filter catch most of the garbage?



steved