Hey guys,

I have gone to a few shops asking for waste engine or transmission oil to burn in my car and eventually the truck. I have been told two different stories by shop owners.

The first: (a corporate tire and lube shop) they have a contract with a recycler because it is corporate policy and they have to pay to get rid of the engine oil.

The second: (a small transmission repair shop) They get paid $1/gal for WATF and they have to have the recycler sign off on paper for the state or whatever.

My question to y'all is how do you procure waste oil and is it just my state that has some kind of regulation on its disposal? Any suggestions are helpful as I want to start blending higher concentrations of WMO/WATF. I currently only burn what I have saved from past oil changes and that has been long gone for a while now.

I will post this on other forums as well to garner more opinions.

Thanks!

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1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

keep bugging them, I have been getting between 5 and 20 gallons a week from a garage i know, i know that's a big difference but it does swing that much from week to week.

Just today i picked up a place that does transmission repair, he said usually 10 to 20 gallons a week, he actually go hold of me through my friends shop.

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"NEW" 1984 300D TD needs some love

In the past, the first scenario would be the most common. Waste oils were considered just that...waste. Businesses would have to pay a recycler to come take it away... ala Safety Kleen and the like.

Nowadays, the second scenario is much more common. People realize waste oil can easily be repurposed and reused, and have figured out how to make some money doing it.

In all my recent encounters, the second scenario holds true. Every shop gets paid between $1.50-2.50 per gallon of used oil. Shop owners are reluctant to turn down "free money", so they really dont like giving the stuff away.

I have, however, been able to get off with paying $1/gal to get some of my own out. Shop owners are more likely to agree to a small amount being sold for less here and there, than let it go for nothing.

Now each state has its own rules for "disposal" of oils, and some may be tied into the shop's auto repair business license, so YMMV.

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1985 MBZ 300D (DD, 240k, unmuffled hellion!)
1982 MBZ 300D (372k, retired for parts)
1981 MBZ 300D (575k, parts pig)

I realize this is an old thread, but I feel this might be insightful to anyone looking for WMO.

We get paid for waste oil although it's only $.27 / gallon. The disposal company wouldn't pay anything last year but they're losing waste due to recent competition so I guess they decided to pay up. We don't have a contract with the disposal company and I have given out waste oil to local shops using it for heat. I would be nervous giving it to an individual that I don't know. We're responsible, legally, for ensuring the oil is disposed of properly. If an individual picked up 25 gallons of oil in cubies and was hit on the way home, leading to a a spill, the state EPA could show up at our place asking questions. I have more important things to do than be involved in that and I don't want my company mentioned in a news article that might paint us as the evildoers behind all global warming.

Any company selling large amounts of oil is supposed to take in waste oil. Advance Auto, Autozone, and others have tanks for waste. People have to sign a sheet so there's a paper trail in case the oil is contaminated. Contamination includes chlorinated solvents, gasoline, diesel, paint thinners, soap/detergent, and other stuff. It's common to find people leaving bottles of oil outside the store when the store is closed so they don't have to sign the sheet. Quite often, the oil is not contaminated, it's just the people don't want to sign the sheet. The stores aren't supposed to mix in any oil they can't trace to the owner so what do they do with it? There's about 30 gallons of oil in quart and gallon jugs sitting outside the Advance Auto across from the shop here. I'm not afraid to open a bottle to see if it would be good base stock.

If you're looking for shops to supply it, you've got a mixed bag to consider. Small shops, the informal places that operate in a 2 bay old garage of an alley and have a hand painted sign might let you put a drum out to collect oil. It's a matter of convenience as they have to bring the oil to a larger place for disposal. But you're likely to end up with all sorts of garbage in your oil. Anti-freeze, brake fluid, brake cleaner, gasoline, and anything else might end up there. Yuck.

The the large shop for the most part doesn't care as much about what's in the tank as the big collection company takes care of it. Motor flush chemicals, brake fluid, solvents, and antifreeze can all get into the big tank. Settling gets rid of some of it, and the right cleaning process can evaporate more. If you can take oil off the top and then clean it right you'll probably be ok but there's no guarantee that the only thing you're burning is oil.

The most consistent clean oil I've found is from individuals. You know, the guys who change oil religiously at X number of miles, always use the same brand, always have a nice, clean drain pan in the garage. They'll even make sure they put it into an oil jug to return it to the store. If you can find those guys you'll get a nice source of oil that requires little clean up before burning. And if you're lucky they'll even bring it to you. It may take time to build up that network but it's a good one to have if you can do it.

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When life gives you lemmings... make lemmingade.

I always paid for my waste atf,$1.50 a gallon,them mix with 50% diesel.Good stuff.I don't burn wmo because it pollutes the air bad.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

I am running 100% fileted WMO and it does smoke bad until it warms up. I really want to add an O2 sensor soi can see what I am putting out the tailpipe. Waste transmission fluid has been a mixed bag, I think I get some that has higher synthetic oil and it actually runs worse than the WMO. It's been a busy summer but I hope to be building a reformer for the oil this fall.

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"NEW" 1984 300D TD needs some love

Fileted oil eh? Is that oil that fish filets have been fried in?

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2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel 4x4
1994 GMC S-15 pickup 4.3 5MT
1985 300 SD
1978 300 CD
1962 220-S Fintail - awaiting restoration

Not good advice.

Shops are very busy and don't want to deal with non profit producing "customers" / low margin customers. If someone would have tried that at my shop, were told in no uncertain terms that I'm not interested and they persisted, the police are not far away.

In some states, there is a chain of doccumentation a shop must adhere to showing that any waste was properly disposed of. A shop can be held liable for improperly disposed waste taken be another party even if they gave it away. ( RE: if there was a huge oil spill at your house and the law said we will go easy on you if you tell us where you got the oil, would you keep quiet then go to jail or tell them where you got it and get probation? )

In the 80's shops got paid for waste oil, in the 90's they had to pay and now some areas are paying again. Why would a shop give a profit center away and have to use non productive time that costs them $$ ?

And there are huge fines ( Like $ 10,000 ) for running "red" diesel as it isn't taxed for road use. The same will apply to any untaxed fuel as the taxes go towards building and maintaining roads.

Regardless of all of this, burning used motor oil and ATF is a bad idea, neither are designed to be burnt and leave ash deposits. Used motor oil can be acidic, do you really want to put this through your injector pump?

I agree - don't bug shops for their waste oil. Enforcement varies by state, but the US EPA classifies auto/truck repair facilities as 'waste oil generators' and as such these shops are regulated as to how they can dispose of their oil, etc and are buried in government paperwork that tracks the 'waste oil'. Chains, dealerships & larger shops tend to get regular visits from EPA or their state level representatives checking their methods and auditing their paperwork. Its a big enough hassle without the added risk of kicking a few gallons to some local joe. On the other hand, you might want to look at other unregulated places that generate waste oil. As an example, rural airports with a population of small, light aircraft will have a groups of plane owners that maintain their own aircraft (ie: change oil). Stay away from the FBO (the professional shop onsite) as they face the same regulations as the auto shops. The hobbiest owner/pilot will generate 1-3 gallons of waste oil per oil change. Additionally, aircraft are 'sumped' before flight (a few ounces of fuel is pulled from each tank to be tested for water content) . Most old school pilots just throw out the sumped fuel. A clever 'ramp rat' will furnish a collection barrel for waste oil and a collection pail/small drum for waste sumped fuel. A fellow A&P (aircraft mechanic) who drives a w126 yearly collects several drums of WMO and about 100 gallons of waste fuel (kero, JP4, Jet A & avgas). He also collects left over/stale 2 cycle fuel in fall & spring (most ultra lights are 2 cycle). He rarely has to buy fuel at the pump. His benz is pretty ragged, but it starts & stops OK so he uses it for his daily driver. I don't use WMO/WATF, etc in my benzes, but I do have a small diesel rescued from an old mower that loves the stuff. It's perfomance isn't critical, and it was free.