Technical Speaking of oil:) does it go stale/etc?

Lol. I better go shake that barrel. Hate to see ya show up with 3 or 4 5 gallon buckets and only have a gallon left!

 

This thread, seriously...... sometimes you just have to say WTF????

 

Lol. It started off in good intent. I had oil that back when would have been good for a start up. Yes, as many threads do it morphed to some other things.
In reality we are all still kids looking for answers we know nothing about

 

Hello,

If you have that much oil, find a dealer and make a trade for some freshly recycled or reclaimed oil. That way, if you can’t trade for reclaimed or recycled oil, then at least you have a place to dispose of the old oil.

In So Cal, there are specific parts of the trash disposal service program that separates stuff like oil, batteries, electrical circuits, etc from all other land disposal trash. Many years ago, trash was trash. We used to take large household trash and drive to a place along the 405 freeway to a known disposal place. It was a huge empty field. It did not matter what it was, back then, home recycling or gas station recycling was upside down cans of oil that dripped into a large barrel. Those centers were strictly for oil to be made into reclaimed oil or recycled oil.

Today, that large dump site was a golf course and other newly configured land uses. Across the freeway a huge golf course was built in 1966 and the old one disappeared in to barren land use again.

Jnaki

As a teenager in 1960, cans of real oil was expensive for most high school age drivers. My Flathead sedan delivery did not leak oil, burn oil or have any drips, or any smoking exhaust. But, it did use oil like it was growing in a backyard pond. Cans of real oil was used at the beginning, since it was readily available at any gas station. The cost was high and so we turned into a neighborhood no name gas station for its famous reclaimed oil 55 gallon cans with hand cranks on them. For a gallon of oil, it rivaled the cost of one quart. So, that was what the Flathead motor in my sedan delivery used for 5 years.

So, despite what expert mechanics said, we could not take the time of a total rebuild due to school attendance, surf trips and just cruising around having fun. So, we needed alternatives to spending money with a can by can oil for the Flathead. It was coming out of a 55 gallon container with a pump.

This is/was home away from home for a gallon+ of reclaimed/recycled oil in our own containers. The reclaimed oil pump drums were usually located on the side or rear of the gas station and we had to pump the oil into our own gallon cans.

“Reclamation may take place off-site where the vendor of the reclamation service drains the existing charge and replaces it with previously reclaimed oil. Reclamation usually involves the lube oil being filtered and cleaned of debris, sludge and fine particles. Centrifuging also occurs to remove suspended particles and some water. The reclaiming of a lube oil is essentially a non-chemical process that restores in-service lube oil for reuse in a system.”

There were several Flathead experts that looked at my motor and offered to rebuild it with new seals and stuff, but it was not leaking anywhere. It just used up oil like it was a holiday. So, a lack of money kept the rebuild away for the whole time and my friends who rode to school and surf spots usually paid for the extra cost of reclaimed oil. A can of oil in the back cave for emergencies was replaced with a gallon can of reclaimed oil for a return home trip from San Diego county surf adventures.

So, if you don’t or can’t trade it in for newly reclaimed oil, find a good recycling company. The reclaimed oil looks like real cans of oil and it worked its magic for thousands of miles in several motors. Luckily, our 58 Impala 348 motor did not need extra oil, but did get its oil changed when necessary. YRMV

 

Everything 'goes stale' and/or 'expires'. Given enough time, EVERYTHING goes ... including you and I. There is no hard and fast answer to your question though, as there are just too many variables to give an accurate estimate as to the time frame. All the data you will find on this subject is meaningless without any sort of 'control group' to compare it with, which simply doesn't exist.
Personally, I'd probably use what you have, but I like to live life on the edge ...

 

I was taught that the use of lighter oils was in pursuit of the holy grail of fuel mileage. A lighter oil doesn't require as much power to pump, therefor more of the power created in the cylinder goes to power the car. The tighter clearances are the result of the lighter oils.

 

I'm sure your oil is better than most oils fed into a flattie back in the day. Just make sure it's condensation free and mixed up.

 

^^^this from a guy who is in the lubrication business is enough for me….