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I chose teams in the great oil debate (Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil in 20W50).
I go to my local auto-parts store and there are only 2 quarts on the shelf, dude says "I can order you more" so I tell him to get me a case. The Confuser tells him it's NLA, discontinued but the replacement should be available soon.
The stuff I was after is $3.99 and the replacement is $8.99 so I hit 7 auto-parts stores, wiping them out on the $3.99 oil.
I got 80 quarts!

Vince

Unclviny wrote:I chose teams in the great oil debate (Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil in 20W50).
I go to my local auto-parts store and there are only 2 quarts on the shelf, dude says "I can order you more" so I tell him to get me a case. The Confuser tells him it's NLA, discontinued but the replacement should be available soon.
The stuff I was after is $3.99 and the replacement is $8.99 so I hit 7 auto-parts stores, wiping them out on the $3.99 oil.
I got 80 quarts!

Vince

Now can you get some sleep?

I'll sleep very-well, $5.00 X 80 adds up nicely.

Vince

Unclviny wrote:I'll sleep very-well, $5.00 X 80 adds up nicely.

Vince

I did similar recently. Thanks for the heads up that it's NLA, I will check the local stores tomorrow.

What's the shelf life for oil? Personnally, I don't feel comfortable using oil that's more than a year old. Especially if I've cracked the container to top something up. Can you be sure that moisture is not seeping into the container even if you've not touched the cap??

Here's something I found:

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Rea ... orage-life

What's the API rating for that Valvoline? There are other options out there for good quality oil...

Kurt in S.A.

cut open an old bottle of oil , you can see whats settled out.

Kurt in S.A. wrote:What's the shelf life for oil? Personnally, I don't feel comfortable using oil that's more than a year old. Especially if I've cracked the container to top something up. Can you be sure that moisture is not seeping into the container even if you've not touched the cap??

Here's something I found:

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Rea ... orage-life

What's the API rating for that Valvoline? There are other options out there for good quality oil...

Kurt in S.A.

Wasn't it OK for the last 300 million years?

mattcfish wrote:

Kurt in S.A. wrote:What's the shelf life for oil? Personnally, I don't feel comfortable using oil that's more than a year old. Especially if I've cracked the container to top something up. Can you be sure that moisture is not seeping into the container even if you've not touched the cap??
Kurt in S.A.

Wasn't it OK for the last 300 million years?

Nope. That's not anything you'd want in your crankcase. Besides, motor oils have all sorts of ingredients besides "oil."

Oil does off-gas some materials, but, in a sealed container, I have no idea how long it stays good, and that may vary with the ingredients. I think one year is a VERY conservative limit, but I don't know if twenty year-old oil really is as good as when it was produced.

It's an interesting question though.

Edit: okay, here's what I found with a quick search: Motor oil has a shelf life of maybe 3-5 years. Here's a string where someone talks about finding oil where the additive package settled out and gelled in the bottom of the container: http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=57154

And, here's a site that discusses the shelf-life of motor oil and describes that exact problem as one of the things that can happen to old oil: http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html (just about at the bottom).

macdaddy wrote:cut open an old bottle of oil , you can see whats settled out.

I just put 10 year old sealed and properly stored Mobil 1 15W-50 into my R100. I poured the stuff into a clear container. It looked perfectly clear and there was nothing at the bottom of the bottles. Considering that the new Mobil one ( and most others) may not be pure synthetic anymore, I feel I'm using a superior product. The oil stays clear on the dipstick all year long, and comes out just a bit dark. This is the end of my hoarded oil supply. I'll have to find something new in the fall.

I read somewhere that the Mobil 1 marketed for "Big Twins" i.e. Hogs, has a additive package which suits Airheads too,

Bast place to ask is the Bobistheoilguy forum - the Mobil guy is on the forum and he will know the current situation - most of the stuff elsewhere is years out of date.