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Borrowed from the update thread so not to hijack.

bloke wrote: He gives the burned oil back to me, and I squeegee it on either my trailer bed or my deck. The (formerly-looked-like-it-needed-all-new-boards) deck is recovering quite nicely and the (brand-new-boards-right-after-I-bought-the-old-trailer) trailer bed almost resembles furniture. Both the deck surface and the trailer bed cause rain to bead up. The smell is completely gone from either about a week or two after an application.

I would be interested in hearing more about this for future reference. If I am understanding you correctly, you are just spreading the used oil on the wood and then basically pushing it into the wood and this helps to preserve and protect the wood from the elements, would that be correct? How often do you do this and is there anything else that I would need to be aware of before trying to do this myself.

I am not the handiest of people but I am learning and wanting to learn more that I may be more self sustaining and save myself money in the long run.

Does anybody else have any other good tips or uses for used oil, or anything to help save money by recycling stuff to another use?

Previous thread with some good photos:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=29774" target="_blank

Sounds like a good idea. Only one question - is it a fire hazard? Does that greatly increase the flammability of the wood compared to something like Thompson's?

Of course.... Blokepatch will qualify as a 'Superfund' site if he ever sells it!

MartyNeilan wrote:Sounds like a good idea. Only one question - is it a fire hazard? Does that greatly increase the flammability of the wood compared to something like Thompson's?

Short answer: no compared to an oil preservative like Thompson's.

Slightly longer answer: not after the "smell" is gone. The volatile fraction of the oil is what is easily flamible, and there is very little of it in well used motor oil.

The bigger issue for Bloke is the potential for oil runnoff from the drips getting into his really nice pond, and potentially f*n up his fish/plant life. It sounds like he's got the runnoff issue under control (plastic and tight fitting boards).

MartyNeilan wrote:Sounds like a good idea. Only one question - is it a fire hazard? Does that greatly increase the flammability of the wood compared to something like Thompson's?

No. Lighting motor oil on fire is a lot harder than you think.

The oil itself is no problem in this application, but I would probably prefer oil not loaded down with a bunch of additives. All motor oil has detergents and anti-foaming agents in it--probably do no real harm.

Rick "whose antique motorhome probably leaks more oil than Bloke spills" Denney

I used to spread used machine-tool cutting oils onto a dirt road near my house back in the 70's. That came to a halt when the EPA declared it 'Hazardous Waste'.

I don't quite understand all the goings-on regarding used motor oil. It's considered 'hazardous waste' yet it's OK for it to be burned in a furnace for heating purposes.

Is the oil itself hazardous?.... or is it just a problem when it becomes mixed with waste-water and run-off? I see nothing wrong with many of the uses for it. But... every so often I see where a site has to be excavated because kerosene and oils have contaminated the soil.

An inquiring mind wants to know.

After a shower, my wife coats herself out with some mysterious kind of oil - not motor oil - but something that smells better.
I reached over to give her a big ol' hug and she slid out of bed onto the floor.

TubaTinker wrote: I don't quite understand all the goings-on regarding used motor oil. It's considered 'hazardous waste' yet it's OK for it to be burned in a furnace for heating purposes.

Used motor oil contains lots of contaminants that your cutting oil didn't
Combustion byproducts, additives in the virgin oil, modified additives due to it's use, fine metallic particles, etc.

That said, I'm unclear as to why oil on the ground is hazardous waste, yet they pump the stuff out of the ground. At one time it oozed out of the ground naturally, but we've collected all of those supplies. Other sources, like tar pits or the Canadian oil sands would be Super Fund sites were then not naturally occurring.




As to other uses for used oil, I know a few people in norther climates (Maine and Canada) that spry used oil, thinned with solvent on the undercarriage and inside the panels of their vehicles as a corrosion preventative.
I think there are/were shops in those regions that do/did the same as a commercial endeavor.

ThomasDodd wrote:As to other uses for used oil, I know a few people in norther climates (Maine and Canada) that spray used oil, thinned with solvent on the undercarriage and inside the panels of their vehicles as a corrosion preventative.

Hey, my '73 motorhome, probably like your behemoth CDV, does that automatically!

Rick "no rust under there" Denney

TubaTinker wrote: 'snip'

Is the oil itself hazardous?.... or is it just a problem when it becomes mixed with waste-water and run-off? I see nothing wrong with many of the uses for it. But... every so often I see where a site has to be excavated because kerosene and oils have contaminated the soil.

An inquiring mind wants to know.

The short answer is that the oil and it's various contaminants (metals ground off the interior of the engine, burnt oil detergents) are bad for water and water supplies. In much of the US where surface water (rivers and such) are used for drinking water.....runnoff from oil spills and/or oiled roads can be a big deal. In areas where folks pump groundwater for use.....stuff soaked into the ground has the potential to be a problem, though it is a measureable problem less often.

In addition, the 'burnt' fraction can contain dioxins (some of which are VERY toxic to wildlife) due to the incomplete burning of the oil/detergents.

Bloke's right... as usual. Now... where did my cup of used oil (on ice, of course) go!