How long does oil keep on the shelf

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by jcussen

Many ships with big diesel engines seldom change oil. They run the oil through centrifuges which removes solids and in some cases water. They also send oil samples in to test for metals and minerals that may indicate component failure. Worked on one ship where the oil had not been changed in 7 years. Your coach could probably do the same with regular oil analysis and filter changes.

Quite a big difference between a multi-thousand horse power dry sump ships engine with an external 100 or so gallon engine lubricating oil tank with a centrifuge style oil scrubber to remove contaminants along with condensation and a wet sump diesel in a motor home with at best a dual cartridge oil filter. I suppose you could add a large external engine oil reservoir with an oil scrubber to your motor home however you'd have to give up much of one of the storage bins if not the whole storage bin if you did.

[Blaster]

Originally Posted by Crasher

I'm close to 80 and do not remember oil stored and sold in glass bottles. The only glass bottles I recall were the ones that service stations used to transfer oil from their bulk tanks to the vehicle. They had a screw on metal top with a tapered spout. My son has some with his gas pump collection. Does that date some of us????

Thats the ones i remember, the glass bottle with the spout, We had an old oil burner of a car, and would go get a gallon at a time. They would pour it from the bottle in our jug.

[Jchemie]

I’m an Amsoil dealer and I had the same question, so I contacted the oil techs at Amsoil. They said an unopened container of oil should be good for 5 years, after that time some of the chemicals inside might seperate and can’t just be shaken to mix back in. Now an opened container will be good for about the same as long as it isn’t exposed to the air for a long peroid, i.e., opened, some used, re-capped soon.
Now, in use in an engine, oil is only good for a year if the vehicle is mostly in storage, infrequent used. Exposure to the air and by products of combustion cause it to degrade. Oil analysis is the best way to go, it will tell you the exact condition of the oil. Some fleets test their rigs oil frequently and are able to run their oil 3x their stated change intervals with no adverse effects on the engine becaus3 the oil hasn’t degraded. (Yet. It will eventually).
This was the advice given to me by a leading synthetic oil manufacturer. Many years so far it has been accurate and my vehicles are all running great.

[Xmcdog]

Originally Posted by Jchemie

I’m an Amsoil dealer and I had the same question, so I contacted the oil techs at Amsoil. They said an unopened container of oil should be good for 5 years, after that time some of the chemicals inside might seperate and can’t just be shaken to mix back in. Now an opened container will be good for about the same as long as it isn’t exposed to the air for a long peroid, i.e., opened, some used, re-capped soon.
Now, in use in an engine, oil is only good for a year if the vehicle is mostly in storage, infrequent used. Exposure to the air and by products of combustion cause it to degrade. Oil analysis is the best way to go, it will tell you the exact condition of the oil. Some fleets test their rigs oil frequently and are able to run their oil 3x their stated change intervals with no adverse effects on the engine becaus3 the oil hasn’t degraded. (Yet. It will eventually).
This was the advice given to me by a leading synthetic oil manufacturer. Many years so far it has been accurate and my vehicles are all running great.

All good points. There is another. The oil itself may be ok but remember over the years oil has been added to or engineered if you will, so many of the new additives are missing from old oils and for this reason alone I would not use it. The modern engines need the newer additives.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by NeilV

Quite a big difference between a multi-thousand horse power dry sump ships engine with an external 100 or so gallon engine lubricating oil tank with a centrifuge style oil scrubber to remove contaminants along with condensation and a wet sump diesel in a motor home with at best a dual cartridge oil filter. I suppose you could add a large external engine oil reservoir with an oil scrubber to your motor home however you'd have to give up much of one of the storage bins if not the whole storage bin if you did.

I have seen 3406 Cat engines [about the same displacement as a Cummins ISX] with a 10 gal engine sump on centrifuge oil systems. As the centrifuge itself probably weighs about a ton, not very practical in a motorhome, but the point I was trying to make was that it was not always necessary to change your oil with proper filtration, and periodic oil analysis. Ships also use predictive preventive maintenance. This uses the trending values of different metals and elements in your engine oil to predict different component wear, and plan future maintenance accordingly.