thinning wmo

[beachbummer]

I have read where people are using gas or diesel fuel to thin wmo. Can Ethanol be used as well, and if so would it be worth running a still to make the ethanol?

 

[eagle4g63]

Sounds interesting, however:

Honest officer, I am only running my still to dilute the free motor oil for my truck so I can get away without paying ANY taxes for road fuel at all.

 

[eagle4g63]

I wonder if that would be considered avoiding 2 taxes: Alcohol tax and road tax

 

[Tlauden]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't ethanol extremely flammable/explosive??? When it's by itself that is. I know it's added to fuel that you get at the pump but that's small amount. I think our local gas station says ethanol is only 8% of the fuel your getting

Then again I may be completely wrong with this

 

[eagle4g63]

Well, yes and no. It is highly volatile. I looked it up and compared it to other fuels. It has a flash point low like gas not high like diesel, but the down side is it's autoignition point......it is surprisingly high, no where near diesel(higher than gas even) so I would think it would be very bad in a diesel engine. And if you know where I am going with this.....the autoignition point is what you need to watch for a compression engine, gas motors have a spark to light things off.

And well, E85 is actually 85% ethanol. But yes most gas is only 8-10%. So it is used in a high % just like gas in some cars.

 

[dozer1]

Sure, sell the hooch for 15 bucks a gallon and buy 3 gallons of gas with the money to thin the oil. Seriously tho I would just use gas and/or diesel to do that job. I think there is alot of threads on the portions of each that different guys like to use.

The tax comment is a good one. I know that the money a good lawyer costs to get out of some kind of trouble would buy a he!! of alot of gas..

 

[wreckerman893]

I would stick to diesel or gas....alcohol attracts water.

 

[Kaiserjeeps]

In my late night filter searches it seemed that ethanol required a specific filter for ethanol based fuels. I am thinking there might be internal problems like dissolving glues etc. I saw it mentioned a few times on filter specs. I don't know the science behind it. But I saw it mentioned more than once.

 

[oddshot]

I would stick to diesel or gas....

+1

Gasoline is your best choice as a thinning agent.

Since the specific gravity and viscosity of diesel is your target range ... if you thin with diesel ... you'll require more diesel to get close to its range.

Further, the BTU's, lubricity, and auto ignition point of waste oil is so high (higher then diesel) you'll do no harm using 35% to 40% regular gasoline if needed.

Finally, in most times, gasoline is much cheaper than diesel and almost anything else you might try.

BUT ... ethanol is being used to lower emissions in diesel. I have read where folks that use it notice a drop in power and MPG's. Your mileage may vary.

Oddshot

 

[gimpyrobb]

+1

Gasoline is your best choice as a thinning agent.

Since the specific gravity and viscosity of diesel is your target range ... if you thin with diesel ... you'll require more diesel to get close to its range.

Further, the BTU's, lubricity, and auto ignition point of waste oil is so high (higher then diesel) you'll do no harm using 35% to 40% regular gasoline if needed.

Finally, in most times, gasoline is much cheaper than diesel and almost anything else you might try.

Oddshot

Actually, for some reason, gas does not completely mix with WMO. It stays near the top. I have found it is better to dilute with diesel.

 

[DeucesWild11]

Gimpy.. that's interesting, what if you used a mix of diesel and gas with WMO? Would that help the gas mix?

 

[gimpyrobb]

I can only go by what I've done, no reason to guess.
I used gas for a summer since it was much cheaper than diesel. Every time I used it, the mixture near the top was much thinner than the mixture toward the bottom. Barrman noticed this too. I have since moved to using diesel or transformer oil to thin my WMO. Also, I have found a source for hydraulic oil in a good supply and have not used much WMO for the last year.

 

[bjsmith]

I can only go by what I've done, no reason to guess.
I used gas for a summer since it was much cheaper than diesel. Every time I used it, the mixture near the top was much thinner than the mixture toward the bottom. Barrman noticed this too. I have since moved to using diesel or transformer oil to thin my WMO. Also, I have found a source for hydraulic oil in a good supply and have not used much WMO for the last year.

do you thin the hyd oil or run straight? i will be able to start getting used oil from work starting next week and would like to know how it runs on it and if it need thinning thanks