Sourcing WMO

[steelheadguy]

Does anyone have any tips on where to get quantities of waste motor oil? What do most garages do with their waste?

If I were to post a craigslist ad looking for wmo, what specifics should I include? Is any motor oil good? From any engine? Other industrial sources?

 

[towcat]

repair shops are a good source. be cautious of cross contamination though. if the shop is a clean ethical shop, chances are they are good about segregating their fluid drops. problem is those kind of shops have customers who predominately use full synthetic oil. that stuff doesn't burn as well as genuine dino oil. I own a shop and my guys know better than to drop coolant into the oil. in kali, there's a demand for WMO, so there isn't a charge from waste oil collector/transporters when they come pick up the stuff but they're not rabid on "siphoning" as the WVO generators are.
hope this helps.

 

[homelessduck]

I put an ad on craigs. Picked up over 1,000 gallons in a week. I just offered to pay $.25 per gallon.

 

[chris142]

repair shops are a good source. be cautious of cross contamination though. if the shop is a clean ethical shop, chances are they are good about segregating their fluid drops. problem is those kind of shops have customers who predominately use full synthetic oil. that stuff doesn't burn as well as genuine dino oil. I own a shop and my guys know better than to drop coolant into the oil. in kali, there's a demand for WMO, so there isn't a charge from waste oil collector/transporters when they come pick up the stuff but they're not rabid on "siphoning" as the WVO generators are.
hope this helps.

Who told you that? We pay $2.25/gallon to have used oil hauled off.

 

[towcat]

Who told you that? We pay $2.25/gallon to have used oil hauled off.

lucky you they come by once a week offering "free" pickup. as long as I get a manifest for Cal EPA, I'm all good

 

[F350camper]

I dont run WMO anymore, but I've parked by the Advance auto before on a Saturday. They have an oil tank for recycling, on a nice Saturday the weekend warriors come rolling in to recycle their wmo. Its as easy as, hey man I'll take your oil if you want. Most want to get rid of their containers too, but some have reusable containers, so I brought a big funnel and some 6 gallon containers.

 

[jwalterus]

What do most garages do with their waste?

That depends on where you are......
Up here in the Great White North, almost all garages have a WMO furnace of some sort, why get rid of free heating fuel?

 

[steelheadguy]

So besides synthetic oil what should I stay away from. I saw an ad stating that they did not want oil from a diesel engine. Why? Can I use the oil out of my truck?

 

[towcat]

So besides synthetic oil what should I stay away from. I saw an ad stating that they did not want oil from a diesel engine. Why? Can I use the oil out of my truck?

that's because they want primo level stuff. They're prolly worried about the microscopic levels of soot in the diesel oil. I'll take the soot anyday over the crap present in ATF when a transmission commits a slow suicide with fine aluminum shavings. It's WMO, it's not going to be like running ****** #2. There's going to be contaminants and stuff that will shorten the life of your injection pump and injectors. That's the trade off for cheaper fuel. There's no free lunch at the end.

 

[janssen]

I just talked to some garages, as long as you have a good way of picking up - they are mostly worried about spills. I have a gear pump and 1000L tote on a trailer, they call me when they are full and away I go. You only really need 1 maybe 2 shops. Dropping off the odd case of beer helps takes me 15-30 min to pump 1000/L

I also provide a tote/barrels, 900L home heating tanks etc. for them to store in if needed. My best interest that they have large storages so I don't make multiple small trips.

I don't worry about contamination, that is what settling & filtering are about. Coolant settles out in less than a day. I have 2 auto shops and one farm shop. I get hydraulic, motor, tdh(lots) synthetic you name it.

Worse is hydraulic with water that has been run - turns beige and doesn't separate but does separate from the other oil in the bulk tank. Is useless - hardly even burns in the burn barrel.

 

[steelheadguy]

I made a craigslist ad offering $.25 a gallon. I will start asking around shops when I am in town.

 

[steelheadguy]

that's because they want primo level stuff. They're prolly worried about the microscopic levels of soot in the diesel oil. I'll take the soot anyday over the crap present in ATF when a transmission commits a slow suicide with fine aluminum shavings. It's WMO, it's not going to be like running ****** #2. There's going to be contaminants and stuff that will shorten the life of your injection pump and injectors. That's the trade off for cheaper fuel. There's no free lunch at the end.

Even after settling, filtering and centrifuging are there still contaminants going to the ipump? Ive heard of going through many filters, but what are wmo users experiences with killing pumps and injectors.

 

[homelessduck]

I burned around 900 gallons of CUTTING oil. There was about 4 inches of metal shavings in the bottom of the drum. After running 2 passes through the fuge it went in my tank. The exhaust smelled weird for sure.. Kind of like a house burning down. But the truck LOVED it. It ran quieter, smoother, and I actually increased mpg by 1-2.

 

[Greg5OH]

^ "kinda like a house burning down"

 

[steelheadguy]

I was just offered 150 gallons of wmo for free. It is in 3 barrels, I just need empty barrels to replace the ones I take. How would you transport this oil? My truck bed is up high. I need to find a source of drums and also a transport tank/transfer pump. Ive got a couple bucks to throw at this project but still want to be cheap when I can.

150 gallons at the pump comes to almost $400.
So $400 will be my startup investment/budget for barrels, on-board filters, offboard filters and pump(s).
And eventually a centrifuge and oil heater.