USed Oil

Years a go I used to pick up waste oil then deliver to a refinery in North Vancouver, way back then I got a $1.00 a gallon sometimes less depending on moisture content.

On every load coming into the refinery they took a sample to run in the lab to check how much moisture content the oil had. This was all done during off loading the oil, with a check printed and signed alway waiting for me as I left the refinery.

Now I have my own waste oil fired hot water boiler, the hunt for used oil is on again, anyhow my point is there maybe some market for used oil. Plenty of shops and car washes using these waste oil heaters driving up demand for used oil.

What is even better you do not need a pump, just use the vacuum from your intake manifold to draw the liquids into the tank your using to haul; your oil. Only works from a gasoline engine, diesels to not make vacuum.

For fun next time you have a metal fuel drum, weld or braze a pipe nipple into one of the bungs, then replace the bung attach a hose from your intake manifold then watch what happens to the drum.

As the drum is being evacuated from the engines intake, just use the vacuum hose of the power brake booster. The drum slowly collapses into itself. It generally gives way in the center first then the ends will pull towards the center.

I have sold used oil before. Mostly oil out of large transformers diatect oil i believe or something like that. Mostly though its been hydraulic fluid or 90 weight well I don't know if its 90 weight but that's what I always heard it called. The stuff is thick like honey. I know I got over a buck usually per gallon. They always deducted for water once they figured out what the percentage of water to oil was when it was contaminated or tainted oil.

Never had a problem with a 55 gallon drum collapsing they always would open up both ports on the top of barrel before sticking the tube from the vac truck in it. It would suck up like 30 gallons a minute of regular oil or something crazy like that. I remember when we put it in barrels and lined them up in a row it didn't take long to suck them all dry.

Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

Duhhhhhhhhhhhh Sorry Gus got you Now in simple terms

Hook Line up to intake of engine Run it to a tank say 55 Gallon tank that is air tight Put the Vacuum Line at the top of the Tank.

Then take a Static Line connect it to say like the bottom of the tank and Start the Engine let the Vaccum work to Draw out the Oil from the other tank and Monitor it GOTCHA GUS lolololol

Yes that is the principal behind it. Engine makes more vacuum at an idle so higher RPM's will not help. If you have watch a vacuum gauge hooked up it draws heavy vacuum at an idle or when the pin the throttle for only for a short time. If your going up a long hill yes you will be making good vacuum.

We old farts use a vacuum gauge to monitor our driving habits, if the gauge is showing lots of vacuum or inches of mercury being pulled your not getting good fuel economy.

The gauge can tell you plenty about the health of your engine.

Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

I agree Gus Vacuum Gage can tell lots going on with the engine. Remember the old Vacuum operated Window wipers? lol


Off of Engines now back to tires I am sure you know the Old Trick of using either to Seal a Bead on a Tire also lololol

Yea I have a story on either, but it's not going into print.

Originally Posted by PistoneScrapProcessing

I have sold used oil before. Mostly oil out of large transformers diatect oil i believe or something like that. Mostly though its been hydraulic fluid or 90 weight well I don't know if its 90 weight but that's what I always heard it called. The stuff is thick like honey. I know I got over a buck usually per gallon. They always deducted for water once they figured out what the percentage of water to oil was when it was contaminated or tainted oil.

Never had a problem with a 55 gallon drum collapsing they always would open up both ports on the top of barrel before sticking the tube from the vac truck in it. It would suck up like 30 gallons a minute of regular oil or something crazy like that. I remember when we put it in barrels and lined them up in a row it didn't take long to suck them all dry.

Easy money, whenever an old apartment building, hotel or large industrial building was slated to come under the wrecking ball, most of these old building had boilers fired from bunker oil. The tanks sometimes had 5,000 gallons left inside to recover.

Some of the old buildings had a retrofit of the same boiler using bunker fuel over to natural gas, the tanks left untouched still half full or more. The tanks held when full 10,000 gallons

Buck a gallon that was over 10 years back these days probably get double that.

I heat my laboratory and a small reactor with a waste oil hot water boiler, next year I'm going to pour a new slab in the shop with hot water heat in the floor then plumb the house into that boiler. So far I've been lucky and get all the waste oil I need for free.

I get a lot of waste vegetable oil, next on my to do list is bio diesel, I've been dragging my feet on this project waiting for a patent to be released. A student discovered a catalyst that simplifies the process of making bio and utilizes almost 100% of the feedstock.

I still collect used oil, mostly from restaurants to use in my waste oil fired hot water boiler. the boiler resides in a small workshop attached the the rear of my garage.

Pure comfort pulling up a chair in front of that old cast iron radiator with a sore aching back listening to some old Pink Floyd CD's while pulling them rheostats and relays apart. I'm using an old propane tank for my expansion tank on the boiler. Well it's not really an expansion tank just catches the over flow when the anti freeze expands by 30% when heated.

Gus, I love reading your stuff even though I don't comprehend a quarter of it. BTW, is that moonshine in the jug you have there....you gonna tell us how you make that too !! lol