Couple quick questions-oil storage life - Diesel Forum

ClassicFordGuy · 09-29-2009, 11:00 AM

Hey guys, been meaning to get my oil purification setup going for a while now but keep getting sidetracked or discouraged by lack of an oil source.

Well I finaly got a good oil source for peanut oil and have started collecting some. My plan is to store the dirty oil in a 500 gallon tank and process it as I need it for my truck.

I have about 100 gallons that I collected about 8 months ago from a pizza place that has been sitting in two 55 gallon plastic drums ever since. I pumped out on of the barrels and the oil on top looked good but the bottom was about 8 gallions of water, probably from some rain getting in.

1. Is this oil still good or does it go bad? Should I just get rid of this old pizza place oil and only use the newer peanut oil Im getting?

2. Do I need to worry about the oil in my storage tank going bad (up to 500 gal) if it does go bad how can I tell?

3. What do you guys do with unusable oil and the watery junk from the bottom of barrels?

Thanks in advance for any advice, can't wait to get this going

I'v got alot of

to do.

-Rob

RoGrrr · 09-30-2009, 11:00 PM

From what I understand, storage of collected oil is not a problem as long as you don't store it in a steel tank. Find an IBC and store it in that, covered from sunlight.
Once you convert it to bio, it has a several month shelf life.

Beyond that, I can't tell you much, since I just got back into the loop for VO. I was going to use it but the cost of thekit for the truck and the axxhol who builds those 'fry' kits turned me off so I started running MO. No conversion, just filter it and go. I'm finding I have to cut it with diesel but fella just alst week got me interested in VO again. So I'm going to look into converting to bio.

Dirtcheap · 10-01-2009, 02:13 PM

not that it matters but, you didnt say if your doing bio or svo... water in the oil is always a prob but as you have seen and heard water and oil dont mix i.e. they seperate over time... just remember to test the oil you get for water ( do the pan test) the oil will go rancid over time if you store it un filtered ( the food will rot in the oil and raise the acidity )if you are gonna store it for long periods of time then i would filter it first... i store oil outside in an ibc tote for 1-3 months at a time til the tote gets full... that way mother nature helps with the trash in the oil.... the heat and time will drop alot of the crap to the bottom

ClassicFordGuy · 10-06-2009, 06:15 PM

Sorry about not responding for so long, had some computer problems.

Why does a steel tank make the oil go bad? I painted the tank flat black so that sunlight will heat my oil and help with water seperation.

I plan on doing straight oil instead of bio. Filtering before I store shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again for the input.

-Rob

Dirtcheap · 10-08-2009, 05:21 PM

i think the problem with steel is when you continually reheat and let it cool you get polemerization??

RoGrrr · 10-08-2009, 06:57 PM

Heating or not, I've always been told that it's the STEEL tank that causes polymerization. Don't ask me why, tho.

I'd use plastic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirtcheap

i think the problem with steel is when you continually reheat and let it cool you get polemerization??

ClassicFordGuy · 10-10-2009, 08:40 PM

Well that's too bad, guess I'll sell the steel tank and get a plastic one. Any idea what I should expect to pay for one of those big square cubbies?

Thanks,

-Rob

Dirtcheap · 10-11-2009, 11:09 AM

classic, now that the market has been flooded with them you can find them for next to nothing ... ijust gave 5 away free... if you leave them outside in the sun/weather they have a lifespan of 3-6 years or so

ClassicFordGuy · 10-11-2009, 03:07 PM

Cool, so with the plastic tank or plastic 55 gal drum its ok to leave them in the sun for a while to let them heat up and settle?

-Rob

Dirtcheap · 10-12-2009, 05:47 PM

most definately... just try to get them as full as possible.. the heat and humidity will let moisture collect inside... and remember to draw from the top.. leave the bottom few inches alone.. thats where the crap goes...

ClassicFordGuy · 10-13-2009, 12:04 PM

Great, thank you for all the help.

-Rob

Dirtcheap · 10-14-2009, 08:18 PM

if your ever in up in the panhandle hit me up.. im in pensacola..