This is Why I Don't Change My Oil

[eschaider]

I think we need more government control ...

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by eschaider

I think we need more government control ...

I hear Californians are crying for more regulations.

[patrickt]

I got a message asking for the SAE paper saying older used oil is way better than newer oil, so I'll just post it here:
https://www.sae.org/publications/tec.../2007-01-4133/

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

I hear Californians are crying for more regulations.

This is the world's largest open air sanitarium, Brian. What else would you expect.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by eschaider

This is the world's largest open air sanitarium, Brian. What else would you expect.

And the inmates are in charge.

[65snake]

Patrickt 65 years ago my dad (who owned a garage and started my career as a gear head) told me that he sold the old used oil back to a few oil companies. He said they refined it and use it in installations that needed finer oil. Never thought about it again. I also attended a class on rebuilding Solar Turbines which used Mobile 1 oil and ran at 20,000 RPM. Also didn't change oil, but sent samples to lab. They would tell us when to replace oil or any part that should be replaced (mostly bearings since not many moving parts).

[65snake]

About 60 years ago my dad told me that he sold old oil back to some of the oil companies. He said they would refine it and would come out with a product that was used where a finer grade of oil was needed. Never thought about it until Patrick mentioned old oil being reused. Dad owned a Mobil station from right after WW2 until he passed i 1987. If I broke it he made me fix it. That's how I learned to wrench.

[65snake]

About 60 years ago my dad told me that he sold old oil back to some of the oil companies. He said they would refine it and would come out with a product that was used where a finer grade of oil was needed. Never thought about it until Patrick mentioned old oil being reused. Dad owned a Mobil station from right after WW2 until he passed i 1987. If I broke it he made me fix it. That's how I learned to wrench.

[Godabitibi]

All the test you show talk about miles. Nothing over a long period of TIME.
What are your TBN results ?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Godabitibi

All the test you show talk about miles. Nothing over a long period of TIME.
What are your TBN results ?

In my first post you can see the TBN is 8.7 -- virgin Brad Penn has a TBN of 10.6 and the time element is four years.

[CompFi]

This thread got me thinking about how much more I would like to learn about my engine. So, I will give it a go and send off a sample to Blackstone.

But, I am missing a key part of the process. What is the recommended approach for drawing an adequate sample of used oil without emptying the whole oil pan? And ideally without making a mess?

Making a mess might be the only area where I excel.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by CompFi

What is the recommended approach for drawing an adequate sample of used oil without emptying the whole oil pan? And ideally without making a mess?

Blackstone will sell you a small vacuum pump that looks like the little air pumps we had as kids to pump up those red rubber balls we would use for kick ball, killer dodge ball, and the like. It draws the oil directly in to a little plastic bottle that they send out for free to take the sample. You then run a small plastic tube down through your dipstick until it touches the bottom of the pan. Then back it out about two inches and wrap that spot with tape so you can easily fish the tube down and it will stop with the end of the tube right in the middle of your sump. Then just draw a vacuum with the pump and it will fill your bottle with a nice sample from the middle of the pan. Unscrew the bottle from the pump, put a cap on the bottle, put it in a box with a form and a check and send it off to Blackstone. It's about as easy as you could possibly imagine.