what can used oil be used for?

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My truck holds 3 gallons of oil, so needless to say I have quite a few gallon jugs of oil. 18 to be exact. I know up north don't they burn it in heaters or something? I'm in the south so we don't do that here. What can I do with it besides haul it to the auto parts store?
 
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back in olden times, they would use it as a fire starter, and also sprayed on dusty roads to keep the dust down.

now they tell you that a tsp of oil can contaminate umpteen skillion gallons of ground water, or some such...

umm, soak metal tools to prevent rusting?...

if you had an OLD diesel, you could add it to the fuel tank, not like ALL of it, but... maybe 1/2gal per tank? (pulling that figure squarely out of my backside btw...)
 
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Pour it down your sink and shower drains - it will lubricate the plumbing and prevent clogs.

There's very little that can be done outside of burning it for heat, mixing in to diesel/fuel oil, rust prevention, or any number of environmentally irresponsible things you could imagine. I hear it's been used by cheapskate commercial landlords to prevent dry drains and traps (and the accompanying horrible stench).
 
Think rural folks used to use it for a flea / tick " dip " for pets / live stock ?

Back when , use it to treat wood to " weather " proof wood . An Uncle had a 1962 model ( I think ) Chevy pick up with wood bead . He used used engine oil on the wood bed .

Remember Dad spraying the checken house with it to kill fleas / ticks .

And , as has been said , some politically incorrect applications .

Best to you all , :)
Wyr
God bless
 
I used to live near a landfill that had a tank you could pour used oil in without having to deal with the auto parts store denizens. It was great.
 
I filter it in a paint strainer and use it to lubricate fench gates and mower blades after cleaning and sharpening for winter. Buddy of mine used my used synthetic oil in his Dodge PU. Just strained it, added two fresh quarts and ran it another 3k miles with new filter. No wander he came over to help me change oil AND he brought beer too.
 
I use it for starting fires in my fire pit. One of these winters I'm going to build a heater out of a 55 gallon drum to burn it to heat my garage. I also use it as lubricant when cutting/drilling metal.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
My truck holds 3 gallons of oil, so needless to say I have quite a few gallon jugs of oil. 18 to be exact. I know up north don't they burn it in heaters or something? I'm in the south so we don't do that here. What can I do with it besides haul it to the auto parts store?


The shop I used had a couple of oil tanks and they'd just filter the oil and pour it into the oil tank and use it for heat in the winter. They held about 275 gallons each. Shop said they didn't really have to buy much oil.
 
What happens to any contaminants in it when it's burned for heat? Like fuel, heavy metals and other carcinogens? Is it safe?
 
Safe?IDK but if its strained and has a filtration system on exhaust side it is as good as it gets. I'd exhaust filtration with pantyhose,old buffer pads and keep it slightly moist to keep pollution down. Old dryer filters work too
 
Wow I can't believe some of the responses as I have been selling all of my used oil for over 15 years. Price varies from %.80-$1 per gallon, they bring a tank truck and pump it into the tank and write the check. I just use an old fuel oil tank for storage.
 
When I was a young fella, my grandmother would get me to paint the old wooden fence with used sump oil after my uncle did an oil change. Cheaper than paint and no insect would touch that fence. It's probably illegal to do that now.
 
What SR5 said. We still use it for wood fences in the fields. 2-3 coats and it's good to go for 20 years.
 
IF my car didn't seem to be putting quite so much metal in the oil, I MIGHT put the used stuff in motorcycles.

As it is I could sell it to an iron foundry and they could make girders (or Irn Bru, which it sort of already is) with it.

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Irn-Bru
 
Originally Posted By: NoNameJoe
What happens to any contaminants in it when it's burned for heat? Like fuel, heavy metals and other carcinogens? Is it safe?



I always wondered that too.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: NoNameJoe
What happens to any contaminants in it when it's burned for heat? Like fuel, heavy metals and other carcinogens? Is it safe?



I always wondered that too.


Fuel burns. Carcinogens burn too. Heavy metals don't.

Combustion won't be complete so some of the carcinogens and teratogens (eg dioxin) will probably come over, and new ones may be formed, which would probably also happen if you burned fresh oil.

From a quick scan of this (there's lots of small print) it might be regulated/illegal?

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-04/documents/50fr49164_1.pdf
 
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