Burning used oil - [Fryerpower, please help]

[Mercedes Man]

I've read that diesels burn oil like diesel fuel. Does anyone burn their used oil, even just a small amount per tank full? I supposed it would have to strained, but I think it would turn your filters black.

[ricali]

I burned used motor and trans. oil in my 240 for the last 2 years.
I made a filter that cleaned the oil after about 48 hours.
I had at times in the summer as much as 50% used oil. During this time I had no smoke after warm up and only slight smoke on starting. I put at least 30'000miles during this time on used oil. Never had any ill effects on engine or injection system. That car is still running today with 330'000 on original engine and pump.

[MarkM]

You DO NOT want to burn used oil in your diesel.....you will ruin your fuel injection pump, clog filter, clog injectors, and soon things will come to a grinding halt! Don't think of diesel fuel injection system as an oil burner in furnace that burns No. 6 (dirty, tarry) fuel oil. Two different things.....your injection pump on the diesel car is one of the most sophisticated achievements of engineering delivering precisely measured quantities of fuel to several injectors at the precise moment fuel is needed at each cylinder, and injectors must blow fuel into chambers in very fine atomized form..etc. etc.. Put in used oil with dirt, minerals, metals, carbon, etc., even if filtered, you will ruin the injection pump and the injectors.

Used oil can be burned in an oil furnace designed to burn No. 6 oil, as the two materials are very similar in nature...in fact, the used diesel oil is probably cleaner than No. 6 oil.

A a totally unrelated aside, when I was a kid, I lived on a dirt road, and every summer, city trucks would come by and spray black oil...must have been used crank case oil on the road to keep the dust down...of course this is where us kids played as well!!! The oil probably also contained waste PCB oils and other nasty stuff!!!

good luck,

mark

[MarkM]

After reading RICALI's post, I guess I need to retract?!?!....but I cant imagine using used oil .....even if filtered, very small particles will get through filter, and some of the particles consist of metal and minerals (road sand and metal from engine). I cant imagine that not hurting injection pump. But I can't say I really know for sure.

[Benzmac]

Ricali, did you filter the oil before using it in the tank?

It's actually a common practice now among the larger trucking giants to do just that. They usually mix it in at about 10% but I have seen it done much higher. Say maybe twice that? I mean when you think about it an oil change on a 60 series Detroit or a Cat. or Cummins your talking about between 10 and 12 gallons of used oil. Then just stick it in the 150 gallon tank and top it off.

It DOES need to be filtered though, I would suggest 5 micron which is what MOST fuel filters are. I have sock filters that I use to filter my biodiesel with , they are washable and I LIKE that. I have a 25 micron and a 5 micron. The 25 is about what an oil filter would be, and you wouldn't believe how much crud will pass through the 25 that gets stopped by the 5 micron! There is a lot of crap in that "in-between" zone! To see an equally amazing comparison drop down to a 1.5 micron, this is finer than a coffee filter!

I got mine from Grainger, I figured I would tell to save time. ( someone is bound to ask!)

I didn't look to see where that fella lives that they use #6 fuel oil, but THAT would suck! We use #2 up here, yes same as you buy at the truck stop just a different color dye.

Do they still put oil on the roads there? I wish they would quit using chloride in Mi for dust control, sure is hard on the car, and my wallet from every other day washes! I personally think if they quit spraying that stuff on the road there would be fewer critters getting hit. ( road kill) You wouldn't believe how many squirrels I see licking the road because of the salt! Tom

[engatwork]

fp - can you post a pic of your filtering system. I am trying to picture it and envision something to the effect of pumping the "raw" oil out of a 55 gallon drum through the filter system into a clean 55 gallon drum that you then put in your "alternative" fuel tank on the car. Do you have to keep it "hot" in your storage container to keep it "flowable"? Is that the reason you have to keep the container in the car hot along with the lines? Do you use solenoid valves to switch between tanks in the car?
Thanks

I know that Ryder burns up to 5% mixture of drained and filtered crankcase oil. They do extensive research on all things like this. They can justify this because they have the second largest vehicle fleet in the world, second only to the US Government. Many over the road rigs you see belong to Ryder. If you will look on the trucks you will often see a little R Ryder logo somewhere mixed in with their various numbers painted on the cab.

I did this some years ago for awhile with my 240D and had no problems whatever. I just stopped doing it because I found a convenient place to turn in my used oil.

Good luck,

[P.E.Haiges]

Ricali,

Would you describe the filter you made to clean the used oil? Why does it take 48 hours to clean the oil?

P E H

[Mercedes Man]

Will a coffee filter do the job?

Mercedes Man: Yes a coffee filter would work, I used them myself in the early experimental stages of my fuel making. HINT: it will our through much faster if the oil is heated!

Engatwork: I don't have possession of the digital camera right now, my wife ( more likely my daughter) took it with them when they left last summer. However I can post a link here that will take you to where I borrowed the idea from! http://home.swbell.net/scrof/Biod_Proc.html This is a very elaborate system, but you can do the same thing with a small pump. Also you don't need 2 filter tubes, one will suffice.

The oil I collect doesn't require heating at room temp. to "flow". The reason for heating the second tank and the lines is this; veg-oil is a much higher viscosity than diesel fuel, by heating it to 165°F it reduces the viscosity to where it needs to be to properly flow through the IP and injectors. ( It would "coke up" the injectors if just used cold)

Yes, I use solenoid valves to switch tanks, got one from JC Witney then discovered I could get them cheaper (same valve) locally.

FOR you guys that just want to filter your used motor oil try this if you want something other than a coffee filter. Get a 5 micron bag filter and use a section of 6" woodstove pipe, set the bag filter into the stove pipe and fasten with a rubber band or piece of wire. ( the filter should be able to stretch enough to have the top pull over the outside and then fasten) you can then either drill holes in the bottom of the stovepipe or cut slots in it for the oil to run out of. Set this in a 5 gallon bucket and just pour your used oil in the top of the pipe. It will go through the filter and into the bucket, when it hits the bucket it's filtered to 5 micron! Tom