Re: Used oil in fuel tanks
The following came to me from a filter salesman; who monitors this list, but
almost never posts to it for fear of being accused of trying to sell his
product to us. That is sad, since he is normally full of very useful
information, which he shares freely. I have checked out much of what he has
written, and have never found any significant errors in it. I can certainly
agree with the portions that I'll copy below for you:
[snip the part about eliminating routine oil changes with any one of about
40 different by-pass filters currently on the market, so that you do not
need to dispose of any oil, except the part absorbed by the filter elements
that you still have to replace periodically.]
If you seldom use your engine and only need to change the
oil every year or so then the by-pass filter concept would
probably not be cost-effective for you.
That is a very important point. To me, a "casual" engine user is one who
puts less than perhaps 500-800 hours per year on his engine. If you fall in
this range, you need to consider your situation carefully before you listen
to folks like me and buy a by-pass oil filter. You really do not need it,
and it may not save you any money in the long run. The actual "break even
point" may be less than this for you. The major point is that you should
consider what your break even point is before you go invest in a by-pass filter.
To carry this one step further, a "casual" engine user would not see a
positive pay back on an automatic oil blending system, either; but could
blend the oil manually.
BUT, if you use the
engine frequently, which necessitates frequent "oil changes"
to get a reasonable long, dependable life from the engine,
then GET A BY-PASS FILTER from the company of your
choice so you don't have to worry about having to get rid of
a lot of "dirty" oil.
Point well taken. Getting rid of the dirty oil is part of the cost that
needs to be accounted for when you are trying to decide if you should buy a
by-pass filter or not.
One, by
the Army on "tests" they had done. THE ARMY LATER
CANCELLED THE CONCEPT OF PUTTING "DIRTY" OIL
IN FUEL TANKS - don't know all the reasons they came up
with but I have a pretty good idea. These "tests" were done
at Ft. Hood, Texas.
I talked with one of the people involved with those tests. His rank was
high enough so that he could pretty well set the policy for at least the one
base he was assigned to. He had a personal objection to putting used oil
into the fuel because he believed that represented more air pollution than
if he burned fuel without the oil. That is a point that he and I disagreed
upon, but we agreed on most other things. He at least agreed that his
injector pumps and injectors lasted longer with the oil blended than
without. (He was using jet fuel rather than #2 diesel fuel in his diesel
engines, so your results might be different with #2 diesel fuel.) I've
talked with other military people at other bases, and they are all blending
oil to one degree or another.
The second paper was presented by Gary Bessee, head
engineer on the fuels and lubricants. (SWRI employs over
2500 with most of them engineers that carry out "tests" in
their 13 separate labs on 1250 acres at San Antonio.) His
paper showed the results of WEAR to INJECTORS and
INJECTOR PUMPS when "dirty" oil containing particles in
the 1 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 20, & etc., micron ranges. THE
MAJORITY OF WEAR ON THE INJECTORS AND PUMPS
WAS, if memory serves me correctly, IN THE 5 TO 10
MICRON RANGE.
This is new information to me, but it is pretty much what I had expected
based upon tests with hydraulic pumps and valves that I had previously
applied to diesel systems. I had felt free to do that, since the pumps were
so very similar. The injectors are also very similar to certain hydraulic
valves.
This is a very excellent argument for using ultra-fine depth type fuel
filters, oil blending or no oil blending.
The majority of fuel "blending" systems I know of DO NOT
filter in that range.
That is true. These systems us your regular full flow oil filter to clean
the oil before it is routed to the fuel tank. That would be in the 15-30
micron range that most of these factory filters clean to. Keep in mind that
the same particles that these filters cannot remove from the oil are the
same particles that are causing very significant wear in your engine.
YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO JUST
SIMPLY POUR YOUR "DRAINED, DIRTY OIL" into the fuel
with NO filtration.
Absolutely.
Hope this helps you with your decision to dispose of your
"dirty" oil.
Me too...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
::
Paul and Cindy Kruse :: KJV Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you,
165 South Kenneth Court :: my peace I give unto you:
Merritt Island, FL 32952 :: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
E-mail: plkruse@iu.net :: Let not your heart be troubled,
407-453-6206 :: neither let it be afraid.
::
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Paul Kruse wrote:
Hope this helps you with your decision to dispose of your
"dirty" oil.
Me too...
Paul,
Enjoyed both of your recent posts concerning used oil blending. Have
you any thoughts on the potential benefits to the recreational user of
using soy diesel as an additive to the no.2 in the 5-10% range. I think
I read somewhere that it has good natural lubricity for happy injector
pumps.
Mel Knott
Sandpiper
West Indian 36
Annapolis, MD
I received a message from another marine list which should intrigue any
trawler enthusiast.
extract a snippet
As a matter of some urgency the future of this ship must be secured.
Information, albeit dated in some respects, is available at :
http://wkweb4.cableinet.co.uk/davidbowie/explorer/
Further details are available upon request from:
The usual disclaimer applies, don't know these people, have no pecuniary
interest etc. only the words trawler and free caught my eye.
Cheers
Arild