Question about a potential waste oil source

[fx4wannabe]

i got a buddy that is a forklift mechanic that I can get about 100 gallons from a month. Its a mix of hydraulic oil and motor oil. Anything that is found in a fork truck. The thing that has me a little concerned is he says from time to time there is coolant in there. I would think getting the water out wouldn't be that hard but is having anti freeze in the mix going to be a bad thing?

 

[Matrix37495]

As long as it doesn't get into your fuel it should be ok. I get my oil in 55gal drums and pump the bottom 5-10gal off and dispose of it. I've had drums with as much as 17gal water/coolant in them and after settling i pump the water and some oil out then burn the rest.

If it's an option, i would let it settle and draw off the top as much as you can.

 

[fx4wannabe]

Yea that's what I was thinking. His bulk tank has a drain at the bottom so I could run it into a bucket until i see good oil and pump the rest or just hold my hose up some and only suck out about 75 gallons, then let that settle and see if its got the water out. Still have to get my centrifuge setup but I am trying to get a good oil source nailed down before I drop the change for it. Need to have a 100-150 gallons a month to make it worth it.

 

[Brad S.]

Ditto what was said above.
If you have a good water filter that should help as well.
The hydraulic oil should make that mix pretty good for viscosity, then later on the filtering process.

 

[Devilish]

Swoop on that source! Antifreeze migrates to the bottom just like water. Hydraulic oil is thinner than motor oil but mixes well with motor oil. I think hyd oil is a 10w. That could mean less blending than you might do with wmo.

 

[PsycoBob]

Drain off what you can & heat the daylights out of it in a part-full drum. Antifreeze will boil out like water, but it needs to get something like 40F hotter. Insulating the tank will make it much easier to heat. If you can, a water-absorbing filter is a good option- some use starch that'll swell up & auto-clog the filter before free water gets thru.


If you're really careful, you can get water-test paste for diesel/gas/ethanol/bio use & check the final product on occasion.

 

[wmoguy]

Get that hydraulic oil! It's thr best IMO. In summer you can run it straight without mixing.

I wish I could get hydraulic oil full time. My source for this only earns me about 50 gallons a quarter or when they have equipment failure. I'm always calling my buddy asking if they need me to come bust a hydraulic system or something. Lol.

 

[m67tang]

Hey, don't forget Indoor fork trucks run propane. the oil should have a lot less contamination.