13 hours on a one year oil change

[IslandTractor]

Here is a post from the "bob the oil guy" website:

"OK, Here is another question. How long does oil last in sealed 5 quart containers that are exposed to temps below 32F for long periods of time in the winter? I seen in a previous post it could last for 60 months if not exposed to freezing. I have an unattached garage that regularly sees cold temps all winter long and have always stored my oil there without problems.


SOPUS & Mobil both said 24 months. The schedule they sent me was:

Unopened in factory sealed container stored indoors = 60 months
Unopened in factory sealed container stored subjected to freezing = 24 months
Once opened and air introduced = 12 months."

So, assuming that advice comes from industry sources as claimed, and knowing that industry is typically quite conservative about shelf life figures, I would still be comfortable not changing year old oil with minimal hours.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

In 1991 we ran break-in oil for 5 hours in a new 7000 watt Coleman generator with 18 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine.

18 years later we drained out the Castroil synthetic oil. It was black.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A farmer I worked for as a teen had 2 ea 806 Farmall tractors and he never changed oil in them, NEVER, just the filter about every month or every 500 hours whichever came first. Of course back then all diesel engines when worked hard would use a couple quarts of oil per day. He claimed that each week he was changing the oil. His tractors never used more oil than the others (he partnered with 2 of his brothers) and never had any problems with them. I don't think anyone ever changed hydraulic oil back then either and no tractors had filters on the hydraulic oil either. Only oil added was when hoses burst and lost a couple gallons of oil. I put full synthetic in my LS P7010 when I did the 50 hour change and that was in fall of 2011. I only have 83 hours on it now and don't intend to change it this year either. I don't think acid build up is as prevalent in the ULSD fuel as it used to be. Synthetic oil shouldn't break down as fast as regular Dino oil either.
I think the fuel quality has a lot to do with manufacturers extending their oil change intervals along with the better quality of oils.
Some folks now claim that there is no such thing as break in oil used in engines. I am positive that my LS had non-detergent oil in it from the factory. After 50 hours of use, the oil was as clear as new oil. I replaced it with high detergent diesel service oil and after only a few hours the oil was black with carbon, just like it should be.

 

[tomf]

"Oil does not wear out. Its usefulness is limited by contamination." per Blackstone Labratories in this article on bypass filtering: By-Pass Oil Filtration

The question is: Does 13 hours of run time introduce enough contamination to limit the oil's usefulness? IMO, I doubt it. It's only 13 percent of the recommended oil change interval.

 

[ehamp5050]

There is no shelf life on oil. Oil would remain 100% perfect oil forever. What ruins oil and makes us have to change it is the contaminants that are introduced to it as it spins and sloshes around our engines doing its job. It takes heat away from bearings and lubes them at the same time. Gas and or fuel and soot work their way into the oil a little at time which breaks down the oil as our engines run. This is what turns it from golden brown to black. The bottom line, if you want to change your oil @ 13 hours give me the oil you take out and I will run it in mine. There is nothing wrong with that oil. I have never seen oil go bad from sitting especially with 13 hours on it. Just my 2 cents worth

 

[greasemonkeyok]

That doesnt say the additive go bad.

I know. I haven't found the article that discusses the basis for the 1-year recommendation. I recall it has to do with exposure to moisture. Will post the link when I find it. Here is one link talking about moisture, but this does not discuss duration of the additives:
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1033/diesel-engine-oil-contaminants

There was a thread a while back in which one member who hadn't changed the engine oil in his tractor in several decades, but I also recall he lived in the desert.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

"Oil does not wear out. Its usefulness is limited by contamination." per Blackstone Labratories in this article on bypass filtering: By-Pass Oil Filtration

The question is: Does 13 hours of run time introduce enough contamination to limit the oil's usefulness? IMO, I doubt it. It's only 13 percent of the recommended oil change interval.

I respectfully disagree, and would phrase the question this way: Does sitting in the crankcase for one year introduce enough moisture contamination to limit the oil's usefulness?

Water In Oil Contamination

Maybe the 1-year recommendation is based on the humidity in Gulf coast states, or cold states, and a longer period is perfectly safe in dry climates.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Valvoline.com > FAQs > Motor Oil Car FAQs > General Motor Oil

 

[Midniteoyl]

There is a shelf life on oil. I'm not sure where you find it, but I do know for a fact that there is. I'm a Supply Technician on a Marine Corp Base and we have a Hazmat Warehouse that has numerous differerent oils stored in it and they all have some type of shelf life. Our shelf life date is tracked in the computer system. I don't work with the material much so I don't know how the date is determined or anything, but I do always have to check the shelf life date when performing inventories on it.

Thats the military. They ALWAYs have a 'throw away and buy more' time. Doesnt matter if its oil, paint, tires, or rope. But, I can see why 'cause when you really need it to work, it had better work.

 

[Midniteoyl]

In any case, I guess the oil OEMs say 2-5 years depending on who they are and how its stored.

 

[IslandTractor]

I would imagine that the oil industry does not have a lot of data on the lubrication and additives many years after manufacture. Not a big issue for them as most products are used pretty quickly so not worth doing the formal testing to demonstrate exactly how quickly important parameters of oil deteriorate (if at all). Easier and much cheaper to just slap an umbrella time limit on when pressed. Same issue for many food items etc. The "best by" date just means that they tested it out that far and found no differences from standard "fresh" materials. Does anyone really think product deterioration occurs in convenient 12 month, 24 month or 60 month cycles?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I think they just leave a lot of crude oil in the ground because it is out of date most likely.

If motor oil did not wear out then someone would be selling recycled motor oil for engine use I am sure.

 

[WilliamBos]

I think they just leave a lot of crude oil in the ground because it is out of date most likely.

If motor oil did not wear out then someone would be selling recycled motor oil for engine use I am sure.

They do. I wish G oil was sold in Canada.

http://www.getg.com/autoOil.php

I think Safety Kleen does also.

 

[IslandTractor]

They do. I wish G oil was sold in Canada.

Green Earth Technologies

I think Safety Kleen does also.

The Castroil website linked earlier today has a discussion of Castroils version of recycled oil. I think they just clean it up and put more additives in.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I think they just leave a lot of crude oil in the ground because it is out of date most likely.

If motor oil did not wear out then someone would be selling recycled motor oil for engine use I am sure.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Valvoline NextGen is recycled oil..

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Thanks Midniteoyl for clearing up the meaning of my last post.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Thanks Midniteoyl for clearing up the meaning of my last post.

Figured you forgot the tags

 

[tomf]

I respectfully disagree, and would phrase the question this way: Does sitting in the crankcase for one year introduce enough moisture contamination to limit the oil's usefulness?

Water In Oil Contamination

Maybe the 1-year recommendation is based on the humidity in Gulf coast states, or cold states, and a longer period is perfectly safe in dry climates.

Following a link Strategies to Achieve and Sustain Dry Oil in the link you provided gives strategies for dealing with water in oil. This is one listed:

"For normally hot-running machines, low to moderate amounts of water can move out of the oil by evaporation through the headspace and vent. The hotter the oil and the lower the relative humidity in the headspace, the faster the water extraction process will occur from evaporation."

I also point you to this link How Does Water Get in Motor Oil that says basically the same thing.

So as long as the engine gets up to normal running temperature, and run for, say, 5 minutes or so at a time, water in oil from condensation isn't a problem.

As an aside, Toyota had a problem with sludging in thier 1MZ-fe engine. One of the causes was numerous trips without the engine getting to operating temperature. Thus preventing moisture from evaporating. This would cause the engine oil to sludge, eventually leading to engine failure.

So, yes, water in oil is bad. But water from condensation is unlikely to cause serious contamination due to the fact that it is routinely purged from the system under normal operating conditions.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Having experienced the black death in a Toyota engine in the '80's, I learned what was known about the problem back then. One thing that was not intuitive to me was that the additives were critical to keeping the oil in good condition so that it could lubricate and cool properly. Base oil without additives doesn't last long under operating conditions.

Been using full synthetics ever since.