Shelf life for oil?

[smikail]

I bought mineral motorcycle oil back in april, never opened the container. since I live in the great white north and riding season is all gone, I will not be using this oil till next april.

Would the it be ok to use it?

Thanks

Smikail

[Clint]

Of course manufacture date comes into play, but oil generally has a very long shelf life.

[Rockhead]

Not a pro but Id say yes.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Of course manufacture date comes into play, but oil generally has a very long shelf life.

Measured in years, not months.

[DrBob]

I buy oil in bulk for my shop, and the general rule is that oil is good for 4-5 years on the shelf if you store it right. Keep the container closed, and store it where it will not go through temperature extremes- the garage or basement is fine, but don't leave it in that unheated backyard shed that reaches 130 in the summer and -20 in the winter.

[omegajim]

You let the oil sit around long enough, it will become obsolete.

How? Simple..... Look at the rating on oil these days - SL is current, excuse me SM is current. The rating has been updated and changed every couple of years it seems.

So, in general, I don't buy out much over a year ahead because of it.

It will still work fine, but then there will be better stuff available.

[DrBob]

I have always gotten a chuckle out of 'that oil is obsolete' - the motor in his bike was designed in 1986 after all, so any oil made after that point is going to exceed what was intended anyways. I don't worry about oil much period, other than making sure it is at the right level and changing it every 3000 miles. My Intruder went 135,000 miles on 'obsolete' non-name brand car oil, and my Harley is approaching 200,000 miles on the cheap crap, so no one is ever going to convince me that there is any benefit in paying more for the latest and greatest.

[omegajim]

DrBob

I have always gotten a chuckle out of 'that oil is obsolete' -

Not arguing that at all, I find amusing myself......

that said, don't buy so much oil it's going to sit around more than year.

My old yamaha is still running quite well. There are many arguments one way or other, but I believe one of the reasons is because even current off brand oil is better than anything available back in 1980, when it was mfg.

It's a rule of thumb. Don't buy coolant, oil, etc, that you won't use in a year.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by smikail

I bought mineral motorcycle oil back in april, never opened the container. since I live in the great white north and riding season is all gone, I will not be using this oil till next april.

Would the it be ok to use it?

Thanks

Smikail

I do know that Exxon and Mobil say their shelf life is 5 years.

[DrBob]

I buy oil in a drum, so it takes me 2-3 years to use it all. But I also get it real cheap this way, and when a drum is full of used oil I sell it to a company that burns it as fuel in an industrial boiler. So when it is all said and done, it works out to about $1.25 a quart- about half of what the same brand costs if you buy it one quart at a time.
While most people never have a need for that much oil, you can still see a substantial savings (in the order of 20%) if you buy oil in a 5-gallon bucket.

[Rockhead]

Originally Posted by DrBob

I buy oil in a drum, so it takes me 2-3 years to use it all. But I also get it real cheap this way, and when a drum is full of used oil I sell it to a company that burns it as fuel in an industrial boiler. So when it is all said and done, it works out to about $1.25 a quart- about half of what the same brand costs if you buy it one quart at a time.
While most people nave have a need for that much oil, you can still see a substantial savings (in the order of 20%) if you buy oil in a 5-gallon bucket.

Thats alot a lube.

I have a sod steel sod roller my grandpa gave me that he filled with oil a couple thousand years ago. Wonder if that stuffs any good?

[omegajim]

Going to have to check around if anybody has castrol semi synthetic by the 5 gallon pail.

This is something I may have to investigate further.

Around here, the local oil change place takes the oil for free; of course only about 8 people change their own oil, so it's not a big deal (out of a town of 6,000).

[DrBob]

Buying oil in bulk and changing it yourself is a great money saver, especially if you have multiple vehicles that can all use the same oil. Oil change places and many auto parts stores are more than happy to take your used oil- they sell it back to an oil company, as oil can be easily re-refined back into base stock. Recycling oil is a great thing for the environment also, and it saves a bunch of energy, as the re-refining is a lot easier than refining crude.

As for semi-synthetic, it is the biggest rip off in the industry. The problem is that there is no regulation as to what constitutes a semi-synthetic blend, and manufacturers do not have to disclose the mix on the retail packaging. They do, however, have to disclose the mix to commercial customers to comply with OSHA regulations, so the data is out there if you know where to look. While the name 'semi-synthetic' or 'synthetic blend' make it sound like it is a 50-50 mix of conventional and synthetic, it isn’t. Cheap brands are as little as 1% synthetic and 99% conventional, while even top brands average only 5% synthetic. And the mix often varies from batch to batch, so the brand that has 7% in it today might have 3% in it tomorrow. These semi-synthetic blends are an oil company’s wet dream- they cost only 5-15% more to make than conventional oil, yet they retail for 200-300% of the price of conventional oils.
Use a good quality conventional, or buy full synthetic. Or, if you want to save money, mix one quart synthetic in with three quarts of conventional, and you will still get 5 times as much synthetic as if you bought the semi-synthetic.

[omegajim]

Use a good quality conventional, or buy full synthetic. Or, if you want to save money, mix one quart synthetic in with three quarts of conventional, and you will still get 5 times as much synthetic as if you bought the semi-synthetic.

I'm working on it.

So back on topic, the worst that could happen to oil in the cold is what, condensation? With a full bottle, there's precious little air space in there, and the water will boil off after about 5 minutes of running the engine.

[DrBob]

Yes, condensation can be an issue, as the water will form a tan, milky, foamy layer on the oil. This foamy stuff, and the water, will not lubricate, so you don't really want it in your bearing races. Extreme tempurature swings will also make the additives settle out faster, forming a gooey layer on the bottom of the bottle or drum that sticks to the container when you pour out the oil. And if oil gets cold enough it will freeze (looks like caramel and gets all stringy) and when it thaws out it is no good. Very high temps cause the volitiles to evaporate, and they will sit as a layer on top insteaad of mixing back in.
But we are talking extreme temps here, not the teens to high 90s most garages experience. Unless you store it outside in Alaska or the desert, motor oil is good for 4-5 years after you buy it.

[omegajim]

Now I gotta go out and get the oil out of the garage.

Somehow, I think it needs to get even colder than it gets around here for the additives to settle out.

Wi cold is about 0, for a week or two.

Typical, 10 - 30 between December and February.

[DrBob]

Like I said, extreme temps are the issue, not the temps you see inside your garage.

But for fun, get some oil (the thicker the better, like a 20W-50) and leave it outside overnight in below 0 degree weather. Get a stick and play with it a little- it will be all thick and sticky.


Yes, I am easily amused! LOL!

[omegajim]

How about gear oil?

I know that gets crazy at even 30 degrees; take my word for it.

the 80w90 doesn't like to flow at 30; it's more like honey from the cupboard, from last year.