Shelf life for oil?

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: SilverC6
No need to over buy oil and have it sitting around 10 years in your garage.

I like to have at least 3 changes for each vehicle on my shelf at home.

Let the store be your back up supply.



Do you suppose that the store, as my back-up supplier, will let me have the oil for the FAR price I would have paid for it a couple of years ago?
Those of us who have a few hundred quarts have only accumulated the oil becuase we got it very cheaply and we'll go through it in a few years.
Most of those of us who stash oil probably have very few quarts or jugs more than five years old.
I go through about seventy quarts each year on our seven family fleet vehicles and I might do a few freebees for people in difficult straits.
If you want to give an oil change to someone who's struggling, a stash of cheap oil and filters makes this an easy hand to lend.

 

[CoconutTelegraph]

I used to stock up on Mobil 1 5w30 when AAP would do a 5 quart + M1 filter for $29.99. At the time, both my truck and my wife's Matrix both used the same weight. My truck went first then the Matrix, leaving me with 20+ quarts and 1 M1-113 filter that I had no use for. We inherited an 02' caravan so I've been using the oil which has turned the color of new transmission fluid???

 

[KzMitch]

Originally Posted By: Noey
..Castrol 20w/50, 5 qt jugs.. stay fresh and OK for how long after purchase?


Shelf life is not a worry.
But if you listen to BITOGers, 20W50 went out of fashion 20 years ago.

 

[ac_tc]

I would tend to say forever...
had an oil analysis made on an excavator that held 120 gallons of 30 year old hydraulic oil and it did come out as good.
The excavator having lived outside all of its Life with steel tanks and withstanding Winters down to -30c and summers up +30c
rain and snow etc i would say that stored Indoors in the original even opened container would make it last forever.

 

[Amirkhat]

Dino oil I would think would have a longer shelf life, its when synthetic oil is manufactured with additives that there may be some separation?

 

[FLauto]

Originally Posted By: Amirkhat
Dino oil I would think would have a longer shelf life, its when synthetic oil is manufactured with additives that there may be some separation?


"Motor Oil University" on this site talks a little about this. The implication is that dino oil has more additives than synthetic, to improve viscosity at operating temperatures. Also waxes can form in oil in cold environments while in storage (or while in service, for that matter).