waste oil and diesel fuel

Can I put some of my waste oil in the diesel tank and use it up by burning it through the tractors?

I guess as long as it's clean.A friend of mine burned all his used oil in his logging truck for years.As far as I know he had no adverse effects.He ran a big cam 400 Cummins.Ron

It depends on how dirty the oil is, and how clean you can get it. I wouldn't do it if you are just running it through a typical oil or fuel filter but some people do that and have got away with it. I would want to have an efficient centrifuge setup to filter the oil with but they are expensive too. A good centrifuge setup can make dirty oil pretty clean or at least look like a gold colored tea after a good pass or two. You can still have the concern of chemicals or acids in the waste oil and oil can coke up the combustion chambers, injector nozzles and pistons too.

I've ran up to 100% oil/atf before, or at least as close to 100% as I could without draining the fuel tank and lines. When you start getting over 50% you need to consider the outside temps, cold, thick oil doesn't move very well through fuel pumps and IP's.

Boberjagel,Years ago we ran all the waste oil in semis.Cummins and Detroit engines,used a Cummins flow blender that mixed the waste oil with 3/4 full tanks of fuel,It had a pump and two large fuel filters that filtered and blended the fuel/oil mixture at oil change time.It worked quite well,with no problems.It was like dumping 10 - 11 gallons of free fuel in the tanks.UNTIL EPA and Sam said No More!

I have done that, no issues other than its started a little bit harder when it was cold out. Did it when I knew I could burn an entire tank in one day.

boberjage,
I grew up on a dairy farm, we had diesels. I don't own a diesel now, but I remember how expensive fuel injector pumps are, injectors and filters. I wouldn't take a chance saving pennies burning used oil when it could cost me hundreds in repairs.

Recently I purchased a used 15 year old gas powered terramite that had been neglected. I flushed out 10 gallons of hydraulic oil that has been used for 100 hrs, 10w40. So I put some oil in old quart bottles and discovered after a month or so, a lot of dirt rust settled to the bottom of bottle and oil looked like new.

Then I found some detergent bottles. Position them on a shelf like in the pic. Filled them with used hyd oil. Seems like all the dirt is on the bottom side of bottle. I just push on spout and get clean oil. I only plan to add this used oil in the hydraulics, not burn it in an engine.

I've come up with a lot of uses for waste oil but I wouldn't put it in one of my diesel engines. My German friend heats his shop with a Behr stove that's designed to burn waste oil. Even then, he has to clean the burner nozzles every day with a brass brush. He has an extra set of burner nozzles to save time. Waste oil works great for shop heating in a barrel stove set up where you would burn wood and drip oil onto it. Just don't tell your insurance company what you're doing. I use it to start brush fires and to burn old stumps. Soak the stumps real good and when it's cold and dry, torch them. Works even better if you set a 55 gal barrel with the ends cut out on top and feed brush into it. What are some other uses for waste oil? Someone help me. You can usually dump it for free at a recycling yard. I dumped some at mine onetime and asked where it went. The yard foreman just said: "Most of the guys here take it home and burn it in their barrel stoves".

I take mine to a local auto repair shop that has a waste oil burner. He gets some free heat and I get good price on any repair I have done.

No,,"NO"....that will not work at all...

I know of one repair shop that has a used oil tank that is used to fuel a diesel pickup. Old oil furnace fuel tank with a wide funnel with a filter on top for the used oil to be poured into, second filter inside tank fill neck assembly and a third filter on fill hose connection at bottom of tank. Pickup is a late 90s GMC, another small dump truck that gets some of the used oil has a 6-71 Detroit in it. Both truck have dual tanks, the main tank gets the used oil, second tank usually gets light diesel in winter for purposes, Both trucks have a extra filter in fuel line setup before the main filters. Shop does tuneups and oil changes, has a lot of used oil to burn, pickup did something like 25,000 miles on $15.00 diesel 2 years back, annual extra filter change. JD 720D or 730D diesel tractor some years back on neighbors farm ran a lot of used oil- the fuel tank setup had initial filter and fill hose filter also. Couple different furnace rigs for used oil use- a simple gravity feed 'pot helmet' burner unit derived from a old military design can heat a garage in winter so you don't freeze while fixing tractor with snowblower or plow, have to prime the burner and watch it a few minutes but was about $400.00 5 years ago. Electric blower motor, force feed control and 25% fuel oil mixed with used oil that has passed through a filter was in another shop close by to where I used to live- $1000.00 for the adapter parts, filters, extra tank, controls over the price of the regular fuel oil furnace, paid for itself first winter that was rather colder than average, $700.00 savings or so a year afterwards. RN .

Plenty of guys running older diesel trucks and tractors on filtered and centrifuged waste oil with good success.

I ran my 1987 ford IDI diesel truck on centrifuged waste oil cut with regular gas for about 20,000 miles without any trouble. I still run the waste oil whenever I acquire enough of it make it worth my time.

(quoted from post at 09:54:10 01/16/16) No,,"NO"....that will not work at all...

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Well, yes it does. One of the best places to burn used oil in addition to starting brush fires is in a JD D. 20% gasoline and 80% motor oil gives you a lot of power from the fuel oil tank. Probably work pretty good in an MD too.

Great idea, George! Premade gravity separator. Wouldn't hurt to put a heater like an incandescent light bulb next to it. I have set a five gallon bucket on bricks with a light bulb under it to help separate oil and water. The ehat source helps circulate the oil and facilitate separation.

Yep - lots of companies used to do that, RYDER for one but, as you say, not anymore!

Maybe in a 40 year old engine if the oil was filtered properly but not a new or nearly new engine.