What is the shelf life of motor oil in a 55 gallon drum AFTER you open it?

I've got a chance to buy one for $200 (or $3.64 a gallon) which is a good deal. It might take me 2 to 3 years to use it up.

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

I would think 8-10 years.

Would want to shake the drum before pumping oil every time.

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A million years?

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Probably someplace between those two values.

Is this Synthetic oil or conventional? I would say synthetic would have a longer shelf life. Probably at least 5 years. What usually makes motor oil go bad is the depletion of the additive packages. With conventional oil, it is a bit more hydroscopic than synthetic types. But if you heat it up, as run for over an hour in a motor, then the moister should cook off.
Tom

FWIW, a knowledgeable mechanic told me that oil is good for 5 years. I don't recall whether that applies to containers that have been opened. I also don't know where he got his info. That's not much help, I suppose.

We used to keep oil for years when I was in the oil biz but I don't know how many. There are special steel racks made for storing a drum like this and it might be a good thing to get one or at least build one.

The set-up is simple. The main thing to worry about is water. But oil is heavier than water, so the water falls to the bottom or, as we would say, drops out.

Lay the drum on its' side with a spigot in the filling hole so you can draw from it like a beer keg. There will be a small hole at the top that will also be sealed up with a small screw in plug.

Put something under the spigot end of the drum so it is tilted up a bit. In this way the other end of the drum is lower than the end you are pulling from.

All the water will fall to the lower end and stay there. When you are drawing off oil open the small hole at the top of the drum so it will flow and air will enter the drum to replace the oil you have removed. Otherwise air pressure will crush the drum.

But opening the hole to let air in also lets in water vapor which is in all air. The water will condense on the sides of the drum at night and drop out when it hits the oil.

The only danger is that someday the lower end of the drum might rust out, but this will take many years since while there may be water present there will be a lack of oxygen for it to react with.

Still, it is wise to have a pan under the lower end of the drum so you can see the very first drops of oil and or water when they do start to appear.

Some of our drums were in use for over 20 years. We never bought new ones because when they ran out we just went to the loading rack inside the refinery and filled them up again.

I just talked to a guy that used to work with this oil storage system and he said they would turn the drums like a wine bottle every month or so. Otherwise the additives and the waxes in the oil will drop out with the water.

Storing it flat on the floor will cause the bottom to rust out and that is why they stored them on their sides. The slight elevation was to drop out the water, and the monthly turning kept them mixed.

But they did have to turn them back to the right direction in order to draw from them, but how often will you be drawing from the drum?

He estimated the shelf life at three years.

Reason number 86 to use synthetic......

According to the guys from Kendall that I talked to when buying 5 gallon containers, the life of their oil is average 12 years.

I bought 5 gallon plastic containers, and was told to keep them closed to avoid humidity wherenever possible, and that some guys store the oil outside in extremely cold weather, then pour them into a second plastic container, mindful of any frozen water in the first pail.

They then take the oil into a warmer room, use a physical agitator like a paint can mixer to agitate the oil, then use it because it's free of excess moisture and the additives have been mixed. Accordoing to them, air is not an issue if you have not whipped the stuff into a frenzy.

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