Add as much as 5% used crankcase oil to fuel

[DA BIG ONE]

I've researching what is going on in the recycle world as far as adding used crankcase oil to diesel fuel. Recent military program allows 5% used crankcase oil to diesel fuel.

However, before used crankcase oil can be used it needs to be filtered equipment to do this is costly, so, how about ideas from everyone on how to filter this used oil w/o spending lots of $$$$......

[Robyn]

YESSSSSSSSSS what a wonderful way to get all of our money out of our old oil and not have to argue with the moron at the recycle station about the type of container its in. (ours will only take oil in milk jugs)
The filters need to be reusable to make $$$ sense.
Any materials passing through must be at least as small as what is allowed through our diesel fuel filters.
Much of the Black stuff is carbon from blow by.
I wonder what this is going to do to the IP???
I wonder if a small centrifuge would help to rid the oil of much of its contaminants??
Then filter it through a real high micron filter.
Oil never wears out it just gets dirty and loses some of its detergent additives due to heat and such.
This would surely be a great thing to be able to use your old crankcase oil and harvest all the investment.
Take the filter elements that are left and burn them in the wood stove to help defray the home heating cost.
My neighbor has a waste oil furnace that he heats his house with. He gets all my waste oild from the big truck.
Not sure about filters but I dont think a filter system that will make the product palatable to our trucks is going to be cheap.

What about a still? Would the cost of firing it be more than the resulting benefit.
If the oil is vaporized then condensed the crap would be left behind. You would most likely lose any detergents but so what??
A still could me made with relative ease, then use a standard fuel filter to do the mop up before you store it to use.
Is it going to be cost effective??
The military has an unlimited budgit to replace worn out Ip's and such if this plan is tough on pumps.
The Hummers are supposed to be able to burn a mixture of a lot of things Im told.
I bought an IP from a Hummer and it was a number that the local pump guys had never seen. They finally got the replacement parts for it and its supposed to be able to handle jet fuel, kerosene, diesel 1 & 2 as well as a mixture of gasoline and motor oil (exactly what proportions I dont know)

We however have to soak up any expense incured no matter what.
I am very interested in what you come up with. Please keep this going.
Robyn

[DA BIG ONE]

I've been reading about diesels in real remote parts of the north/south poles that automatically cycle used oil to fuel system. These engines are setup with an extra tank to install fresh crank case oil that is allowed into crank case as used oil is sent to the fuel system after some filtering process that is attached to engine assembly. No waste oil to despose of........

[aloharovers]

Don't the bypass filter kits use a very small micron type filter?
Maybe use one of those to filter the oil?

Regarding the comment about the military using old oil, we never changed engine oil. Just did annual oil analysis.

[DA BIG ONE]

Change it out when it fails, or?

http://p2library.nfesc.navy.mil/P2_Opportunity_Handbook/6_I_2.html

[dieseldummy]

For a while I ran used motor oil in my '93. I filtered it through a regular diesel pump fuel filter. I think that running mil spec parts in the IP would be a bounus, but the stock stuff should last ok. For me there was never any starting trouble or power loss. The exhaust had a slightly different smell, but didn't smell like burning oil. I went up to a mix of 75% used oil at one point with no ill effect. The only problem I noticed is that on short trips where things don't get up to temp there is a problem with coke/ash buildup on the glowplugs.

[rustyk]

Some Cummins engines use this technique. As a former lube engineer, I don't like it. The object of changing engine oil, especially on a diesel, is to get rid of nasties in the crankcase. Sending them through an expensive IP just makes no sense, especially since the ash does nothing good, even if contaminants haven't altered it - and filter micron size is selected to allow unaltered ash-type diespersants to pass, while filtering the larger particles resulting from combining with the acid.

Stanadyne suggests (strongly) that its pumps get an additive (preferably its own - no surprise there) but 2-cycle ashless dispersant oil can also be used to lubricate the pump in low-sulfur fuel areas. And with the new ULSF infecting us all, it's just about mandatory.

There are two type of detergent-dispersant - ash-type and ashless. The former consists of a very fine powder of, typically, barium or calcium salts. They chemically neutralize the acids (usually sulfuric acid) in the engine oil. Ashless detergents are usually liquids, which have a chemical affinity for acid and metals (anything wih a positive chemical valence) and so "coat" the acid particles and also the metal engine parts. Usually a combination of ash-type and ashless detergent-dispersants are found in engine oils.

[jmpidgeo]

has anyone ever heard of using acetone in diesel fuel? i read an article on it, and adding 1/4 to 1/3 of one percent worth of acetone into fuel is supposed to increase the MPG by 20% when 2 oz. were added to 10 gallons of fuel. anyone ever do this? I think i might try it. If i do, i will definitely post the results up.

[murphyslaw]

I have heard about that in gas, but not diesel.

[rustyk]

Acetone shouldn't be used in diesels, IMO. It can be beneficial in gaso engines (it'll dissolve some crud and absorb water - which is why I used to add some to my boats' tanks) when used with restraint.

It does reduce the lubricating qualities of diesel fuel, and for that reason I'd not use it. Note that 2 oz. of Stanadyne's additive in 10 gals. fuel is said by them to provide adequate lubrication for the IP; I would guess (with no facts to back it up) the same amount of acetone would have the opposite effect.

[jmpidgeo]

if you guys choose to, read this article. the guy has been collecting data since 1953 on the subject. it was either 1953, or something else, but regardless it was a long freakin time.

Acetone Article via Google (http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm)

[DmaxMaverick]

True or not, I won't despute the claims. Problem is, it comes with some pretty heavy side effects.

First off, acetone, and the others in the string's family, can be very dangerous if not handled correctly. The are listed at the top of the list for "cancer causing chemicals", or generally, "carcinogens". One main factor (little known is the seriousness) MTBE was removed from fuels. You don't have to handle, or drink the stuff. .01 PPM aerosol is supposedly enough to incrementally accumulate a detectible amount in a body, and it isn't readily evacuated (expelled), meaning it accumulates faster than it is processed out. The labels state it, "vapors may be harmful or fatal, and are known to the state of "X" to cause cancer".

Acetone is also a powerful catylist. It reacts with many other chemicals (which is why it is so good at what it does). Problem is, it reacts with nearly all chemicals in one way or another, and most of the time, the results are not desireable. This is why we don't mix bleach and amonia, among other things. The same reaction will happen inside a vehicles fuel system. If you have a poly fuel tank, it won't take long. Remember, the stuff is cummulative. Not to mention, there are several other compounds that make up a fuel system. It will also react with aluminum, making it brittle, and it will erode micro-fissures which normally occur in aluminum castings. The molecule is very small, relatively speaking, and will permeate into otherwise non porous materials.

The list goes on. I will limit my use of this stuff to managing resins as necessary. I can only suggest all but experienced chemists do the same. Even if it can produce mileage increases like the claims (which I seriously doubt), the side effects aren't worth it. If it were remotely possible, fuel efficiency such as the claims made would not go unnoticed and would be marketed by big oil. It's not a "100 MPG carburetor" that just means selling less gas. Think of it. Even a 5% increase in economy would spark more than that in bulk sales. People are that way. My wife is a prime example of this any time a sale goes on.

[rustyk]

Great, informative post! And what is also important is that a number of fluids used routinely for parts cleaning, etc., (like gasoline [benzine*] or lacquer thinner) are even worse on the toxicology meter!

This, plus the much lower flash point for other solvents, is one of the reasons I encourage the use on mineral spirits only to clean bearings and the like - but not the only reason.

* Ever wondered why many European cars' fuel gage was labeled "benzina" and not "gas"?

[More Power]

Members in Europe have been adding motor oil to their fuel tank for many years. For an earlier mechanical fuel injected diesel, this should work fine if clean oil is used. I spoke to a member a few years ago who "recycled" all of his used engine oil and ATF in this manner in his 6.2L Suburban. For a Duramax still in warranty, I'd be a little more cautious...

I saw an ad for a engine oil filtration system a few years ago (don't remember the name) that didn't use filter elements, but was able to remove almost all soot particles and other particulates from the oil. Used primarily by the over-the-road trucking industry, it was a an oil filter device that used engine oil pressure to drive a spinning cylinder - creating a centrifuge. The soot caked out on the inner surface of the spinning cannister, which was then scraped out periodically. Other than time, there was no cost in routine maintenance. :)

Jim