Oil conundrum

[GUMPY]

My supplier has failed to deliver the oil for the oil change on my Beta 2203!

It takes 9litres

I have in my shed 5L of 15w40 and 3L sae30 and 2L of 20/50 all of which are mineral oils

The Beta normally takes 15w40 

Would I be mad to just use what I have or should I source some 15w40 in the morning?

 

ETA I have previously used all three grades in the engine but only one at a time.

The 15w40 is CF the other two are CC

Edited September 27, 2019 by Loddon

[frangar]

Given that oil manufacturers recommend a "shelf life" of 12 months for unopened cans...and the cost of oil vs engine I'd stick to one brand/viscosity of fresh new oil for a main boat engine.....use the old bits you have in an oil can for things that aren't as critical or stuff like lawn mowers.

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Didn’t know oil had a shelf life. 

Why’s that then?

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Goliath said:

Didn’t know oil had a shelf life. 

Why’s that then?

After millions of years in the ground it is near to its best before date by the time it is extracted.

[frangar]

1 minute ago, Goliath said:

Didn’t know oil had a shelf life. 

Why’s that then?

Im guessing its chemical makeup may change.....and also that if there is a problem with a batch that the manufacturer only keeps samples of batches for 12 months....I know thats true for West System epoxy. 

i was given a very old tin of Castrol....and wanting to keep the tin to decorate the workshop I put the contents into the waste oil container....it was like treacle so it does age over time.

[Eeyore]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

After millions of years in the ground it is near to its best before date by the time it is extracted.

Just like most bottled water then.

[frangar]

Just now, Eeyore said:

Just like most bottled water then.

I wonder if like bottled water some of the problems are caused by reaction of the product to the plastic in the container??

 

Morris Oils website gives a storage life of 12 months....Im guessing after that you are on your own if you want to claim the oil was at fault for any reason.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

5 minutes ago, frangar said:

Im guessing its chemical makeup may change.....and also that if there is a problem with a batch that the manufacturer only keeps samples of batches for 12 months....I know thats true for West System epoxy. 

i was given a very old tin of Castrol....and wanting to keep the tin to decorate the workshop I put the contents into the waste oil container....it was like treacle so it does age over time.

Will my treacle go off too?

[frangar]

Just now, Goliath said:

Will my treacle go off too?

You need to ask my mother about that...her kitchen cupboards resemble a packaging museum.......( yes it does go off.....goes all granular!!....)

[Sea Dog]

I wouldn't be so bothered about shelf life so much as the mixing of different oil which I wouldn't do and I doubt Beta would condone.  You only do this once a year or 250 hours and oil is far cheaper than engine work - might as much do it right.

[Slim]

12 minutes ago, Eeyore said:

Just like most bottled water then.

I was just about to say that 

 

Seemingly it's all to do with 'nasties' leaching out of the plastic bottles.

[Momac]

39 minutes ago, Loddon said:

 

ETA I have previously used all three grades in the engine but only one at a time.

 

Oil is cheaper than metal.

I dont think it will hurt but it's your engine.

 

I kept a few litres of leftover oil from the previous oil change a year ago  and used it recently.  The engine has not exploded.

 

The 5 litre plastic container I keep the leftover oil in must be at least 8 years old as I bought it to top up  car engine that started to consume oil. Sold the car in 2011. The plastic  container has contained oil (but not the same oil) all that time . However the container has not dissolved. 

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by MartynG

[tree monkey]

18 minutes ago, frangar said:

You need to ask my mother about that...her kitchen cupboards resemble a packaging museum.......( yes it does go off.....goes all granular!!....)

That's not off, just warm it through and stir

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Just now, tree monkey said:

That's not off, just warm it through and stir

Same with a jar of honey. 

 

 

[Onionman]

Here's an oil manufacturer's comment on the shelf life of oil:

 

" You are probably wondering if you can still use cans of oil which seems old: the oil is usable as long as it is sealed, stored in a cool dry location and no water or dirt has gotten in the bottles."

 

https://www.elf.com/en/lubricants-faq/about-lubricants/does-motor-oil-expire

[frangar]

16 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

That's not off, just warm it through and stir

Indeed....not sure it works for oil tho! 

[The Dreamer]

51 minutes ago, frangar said:

I wonder if like bottled water some of the problems are caused by reaction of the product to the plastic in the container??

In Africa, some charities promote a thing called SolDis, or solar disinfection.  In short, people with no clean water supply, fill up an old, once use, water bottle with swamp water, and place it on their corrugated steel roof for 12 hours of sunshine.  Miraculously the water becomes safe to drink, arguably because it is cleaned by the chemicals released from the degrading bottle. Controversial, I suppose because it is a lesser of two evils approach.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, frangar said:

Given that oil manufacturers recommend a "shelf life" of 12 months for unopened cans...and the cost of oil vs engine I'd stick to one brand/viscosity of fresh new oil for a main boat engine.....use the old bits you have in an oil can for things that aren't as critical or stuff like lawn mowers.

 

I normally buy a couple of years worth at a time, I didn't know that

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

When I had high revving expensive motorbikes I used to choose oil very carefully. 

 

now I have a diesel lump it’s somehow different, I buy cheap mineral oil. Always the same brand. Have done for the 8 years i’ve had the boat and it still starts clean and runs lovely.

 

To answer the OP: yea chuck in a cocktail of oils it’s a Diesel engine. Might do it some good. 

 

Disclaimer: I’m not a mechanic. I know nowt. 

 

 

 

 

 

[GUMPY]

Its the availability that's the problem not so much the price, 

Struggling locally to find a oil that meets API CF spec, I have found API CH-4 which says its a replacement for CF  or a 20/50 API CC locally (within 10 miles) but that's about it.

Problem is I only have tomorrow as an available day to do the change.

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

17 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Its the availability that's the problem not so much the price, 

Struggling locally to find a oil that meets API CF spec, I have found API CH-4 which says its a replacement for CF  or a 20/50 API CC locally (within 10 miles) but that's about it.

Problem is I only have tomorrow as an available day to do the change.

 

 

Just do another 50 hrs or so on the oil you’ve got? Or until you get the correct oil, if sooner. 

It won’t do any harm, will it ? Really?

 

 

Disclaimer: I’m not a mechanic and I really do know nowt. 

But I like your avatar. 

 

[GUMPY]

13 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Just do another 50 hrs or so on the oil you’ve got? Or until you get the correct oil, if sooner. 

It won’t do any harm, will it ? Really?

 

 

Disclaimer: I’m not a mechanic and I really do know nowt. 

But I like your avatar. 

 

50 hrs more will be  sometime like June 2020!

Its already a year late should have been done end of 2018 only did 50hrs this year........just wanted to get it done before this winter.

[Richard10002]

8 minutes ago, Loddon said:

50 hrs more will be  sometime like June 2020!

Its already a year late should have been done end of 2018 only did 50hrs this year........just wanted to get it done before this winter.

When will your next chance to change it be? If you aren’t going to run it much between now and next June, as long as you do it by say, end November, you should be fine. Some people do 50 hours in a week  

[GUMPY]

5 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

When will your next chance to change it be? If you aren’t going to run it much between now and next June, as long as you do it by say, end November, you should be fine. Some people do 50 hours in a week  

No idea.

We are presently just about to exchange on our cottage in the same village as the boat and are moving 250 miles away. I doubt the engine will be started before next April. Just trying not to leave the old oil in for yet another winter despite it having done less than  250hrs between services as its not been changed  since 2017..............

 

I used to do high hours but life has got in the way recently.

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

13 minutes ago, Loddon said:

50 hrs more will be  sometime like June 2020!

Its already a year late should have been done end of 2018 only did 50hrs this year........just wanted to get it done before this winter.

?

then I’d do the oil cocktail for now then at least you’ve got something ‘fresh’ in there. 

 

When the good stuff arrives you can put that in. 

 

Is it easy to change your oil? Have you got a little brass pump? 

 

Disclaimer : I’m not and never have been a mechanic. 

 

50hrs a year? I wouldn’t worry. Chuck anything in.