Product that’s made from an ingredient that’s taken millions of years to convert,….. And goes bad in less than 2 years…
Not all oil comes from the ground. True synthetic oils, group 4 and 5, are laboratory created, but, that's neither here nor there in what happens when oil goes bad. There are many additives mixed into the base oils to change thier properties and performance in engines, transmissions ect. These chemicals are blended into the base oil and over time, some come out of the base oil and settle to the bottom of the jug. Others get used up just setting. Additives that keep the oil from becoming acidic for instance. Or anti foaming agents. So no, the base oil doesn't go bad but that's not the problem. Loss of the additive package is. It basically brings the oil back to its original base oil state.
Well, true to the title of the thread, I can say that I learned something new today...very interesting! But, while I don't discount what was learned from the lab tests, I do discount what it means to the average person in the real world using oil that is maybe a couple years old in the average engine. (not some exotic high strung nitro breather) If oil really "went bad" to any degree that really matters, then you can bet your bottom dollar that the oil companies would be putting expiration dates on it! But the only dates I've ever seen on oil is when it was bottled, no mention of "best by", or expiration date. (but maybe someone out there does it?) Also, OEM's would make a point of using "fresh" oil too, but I've never seen/heard that one either. In all my years of tearing down engines and mechanical assemblies, of all types, I've never seen a situation where it wasn't pretty clear what caused any premature wear, or failure...usually VERY dirty oil, or not enough oil...I've never found one that had plenty of clean oil, and was just plain worn out. (unless VERY high hours...the few I can think of owed not a thing to anyone) Air filtration issues are a common issue too...also water (etc) contamination is not rare in some types of equipment. But I personally just don't think "old oil" is really much of a problem. I would have no issue using some really old new oil, as long as some common sense is applied. (like don't dump 40 YO Valvoline in your 800HP Shelby Super Snake 'Stang...but that same oil would very likely do just fine in your 70-80's inline 6, old Cub Cadet/Kohler, or Ford 6N! just for example) So oil separates from itself/additives over time, but not once mixed in gas, which in and of itself is well known for storage/longevity issues?!
I would be very concerned about old oil like that in a modern engine. some of those old SAE spec oils would never offer the protection these new oils do. the additive packages are just not in them.
Agreed...it has to be the correct spec for the engine...but oil age/freshness is not spec'd, that I'm aware of.
My bad, I’m thinking API standard. an API SA oil won’t work in a car requiring CK http://www.pqiamerica.com/apiserviceclass.htm
I use Mobil oil for most things. I spent some time talking with Mobil engineers and basically was told keep it sealed after opening and try to use it in 10 years. Also said that anything that settles out is excess of what is needed and don't worry if you see separated additive pouring into your equipment.
I'm in full agreement with you on this. I have yet to see anything like this myself as well in all of my years.
Speaking of separated additive, I didn't like how he shook the bottles...should have used a paint shaker or something...2 minutes by hand (and didn't even turn them over...gravity took it out, it can help put it back) is inadequate IMO...I've had badly separated oil based paint that 2 minutes shaking by hand would have done very little to it (one was Rust-Oleum that had been frozen...his dad said in the video that it was bad after that, not true, I've used previously "frozen" oil base and it's fine. (I'm not sure what temp oil base actually freezes at, maybe the paint I used wasn't actually frozen, just well below 32* and VERY thick!)
I tend to agree, but I think his logic was everyone doesn’t have a paint shaker nor the time, just go get a new quart of oil.
I think Rust-oleum enamel is hard to kill. I have put previously opened cans that were well over 40 years old on the shaker and the stuff was still good.
Your money, your engines. Do what you feel comfortable with. I'll continue to buy new oil vs hoarding it. Besides, in a grid down apocalypse situation, you will run out of non stale gas before your oil goes bad. This isn't the walking dead, there will be no endless supply of good fuel for 10 years. Lol. I imagine old oil isn't much of a problem because the vast majority of people buy it when needed or take it somewhere to have it done. Places where the oil is turned over regularly and not setting around. Plus, without oil analysis, you don't know if the oil is bad from age to begin with. Being inside an engine or many won't tell you if the oil had died in the bottle. As far as oil companies and expiration dates...they don't need to do that as they already have a large portion of the population believing you need 3000 mile oil changes. They sell plenty of oil with that old school marketing. From what I've found on the internet, 3-5 years the recommended life in the bottle if stored correctly.
Amsoil says two year shelf life on the dominator. I mix it in fuel that has a 5 year shelf life in the steel can it comes in and 2 years in the machine. I use it up in 2 years. I feel safe doing this and all my 2 strokes run well on it, even at the 2 year mark. This works for me. It might not fir others.
How many lab tests have you had on old, unopened oil or from engines ran on old, separated oil? If none then you don’t actually know if you have seen anything detrimental from its use. All speculation.
I talked to him about that because I was looking at a paint shaker for that exact purpose. He said shaking does not re blend the additives. Its not how they are put in the base oil to begin with and no amount of shaking will fix the problem. You also must have missed the point that some of the additives degrade and are used up while setting, not just settling to the bottom. It's a situation that is easily avoided by not using old oil.
Its a no brainer, well I thought anyway. Buy oil and use it in a year or two. Pretty easy concept. Why chance it. Because you're cheap? Lol
We had an oil specialist come into work to try to help us consolidate all the many different oils we stock...he was in the store room and saw that some of it was pretty old, never said a word about it going bad...I'm not denying that it degrades over time (as do most things) but I just don't think that it's a real problem out there.
