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Today I will be running errands, and as part of it I will be taking another 5 gallons of used oil to Wally World for disposal. I change the oil in four vehicles, my tractor, my mowers, etc frequently, and I usually end up with about 15 gallons of oil to dispose of every year. Servicing the hydro system of my JD every few years is another 8 gallons of used oil alone.

I am always surprised at how few people seem to bother to take their used oil to places for proper disposal, the WW I go to is really the only place to properly recycle used oil in the area, and from the sign in sheets it appears most people only drop off a gallon or two at a time, if that much. And not many people seem to visit as frequently as the 3X-4X times I do a year.

It makes me wonder, am I a minority because I choose to change my own oil and filters? I don't save much money, and the supplies I use take time to purchase, plus the time I spend doing the work...yet I really enjoy the task, and have the satisfaction of knowing it was done right, plus I get to choose the filters, etc. I install.

So, how many of you other guys are like me, DIY or go to a shop? And hopefully, the rest of the DIY guys take the time to properly dispose of their used oil.

Change all my own and one of the local mechanics has a used oil burning furnace to heat his garage - He is always happy to get it and saves it until winter for heat. He gets free heating oil and I dispose of oil safely ! Win - Win !! :thumbsup:

I, like you change my own oil. For me it's more convienent and I'm not comfortable having someone else working on my vehicle, unless it's just over my head. Most people would question the convienence because of the disposal issue and take thier car to jiffy lube or somewhere else when it's on sale or they get some type of coupon. Frequently dealers will have an oil change campaign to generate business and discount the price to get people in the door and tell them about how they noticed the brakes were shot. Most of the used oil is collected by places like these, so I think this is why you see so few people disposing of thier own oil. I take my oil to the parts store 1-2 gallons at a time. I generally pass by 1 or 2 of these several times a week anyway. I drive a truck so the stuff never see's the inside of my cab. I mention this as it is probably the biggest reason most people don't want to deal with used oil...because they drive cars and don't like the idea of used oil spilling on thier carpet or upholstory.
15 gallons a year sounds like much more than the average person would have to dispose of, thats about 5 quarts a month, so you are disposing a lot of oil comparatively speaking. I would think that most people use about 3-4 gallons a year.

I sure hope that everybody knows not to dump used oil on or in the ground but there are still a few that haven't got the memo probably.
Back in the day, I did it myself not knowing any better, thinking that it came from the ground so what's the problem.

I change my own and save my old oil,it's a great way to get brush piles started. russ

Changing your own oil not only insures it is done correctly... with the right (in your mind) oil and filter... but it also gives you a chance to see other mechanical parts that may be in need of attention...

My used oil is also ran through an oil burner or used to start brush fires... KennyV

Kenny,glad to see you use it to start brush piles with it too.I thought I was going to hear some flak about the pollution.If I got a big pile to burn I soak a straw bale and light er up.I usually wait until there's snow on the ground for the big ones. russ

173abn said:

I soak a straw bale and light er up.I usually wait until there's snow on the ground for the big ones. russ

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Ha... Thats exactly what I've always done... (might be a Kansas thing...)
Clip the wires , and with a pitch fork, you can take about a 6 inch flake of fire off the end, and place it at another spot on the pile... Works great. :smile:KennyV

Most definitely a "guy thing".....! I have always been heavily into do-it-yourself, but changing oil in anything other than my deep fat fryer is just not on the DIY list for me!

KennyV said:

Changing your own oil not only insures it is done correctly... with the right (in your mind) oil and filter... but it also gives you a chance to see other mechanical parts that may be in need of attention...

My used oil is also ran through an oil burner or used to start brush fires... KennyV

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According to the sign in Log at Wally World, they took in six gallons in the 8 days between my two 5gallon dropoffs....!!! Given the pollutants used oil contains, I wonder about the safety of using the stuff in oil burners...too bad I cannot figure out a way to use my old oil in my diesel tractor !!!! They say home heating oil is basically just another type of diesel fuel, when I moved out here in '89, my furnace was an oil burner, I converted to natural gas in '93, had I known I'd someday have my John Deere, I might have been better of keeping my old furnace...just paid $3.22 a gallon for diesel fuel.

Kenny...in my township, the burning codes specifically forbid using any petroleum product for fire starting...the only thing you can legally burn are oil soaked rags or other materials contaminated with oil that are a fire hazard. Everything soaked with oil and/or grease because of my oil changes, etc are immediately incinerated in a legal burning pit when the job is done.

JDgreen said:

...too bad I cannot figure out a way to use my old oil in my diesel tractor !!!! They say home heating oil is basically just another type of diesel fuel...just paid $3.22 a gallon for diesel fuel.

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Old engine oil even if filtered will have some carbon in it... Not good for your tractor injector pumps...
USED hydro/trans fluid has no carbon in it ans it is commonly added to diesel fuel on tractors from 10 to 50 percent...

Diesel fuel around here is at $3.05... (was $2.85 for a long time)
Home heating fuel is #2 diesel and a lot of the folks with it also use it for their tractors... cant use in a car or truck as there is no road tax on it... big fines if caught... KennyV

I change my own also - two cars, a motorcycle plus all the various small engines. You are right in that there don't seem to be many people signing the log. I wonder how much of the used oil is ending up in the landfill...

AndyMan said:

I change my own also - two cars, a motorcycle plus all the various small engines. You are right in that there don't seem to be many people signing the log. I wonder how much of the used oil is ending up in the landfill...

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Yes, that is what concerns me most of all, that a lot of used oil is ending up in the landfills, or worse yet, being dumped on the ground. Thanks for your input.

I change my own in the tractors & small engines, but not the car & pickup. They're best done on a hoist, for me!

My old oil goes to a local muffler shop to be burned as heating fuel. ~~ grnspot110

I'm mechanically inclined, so it's easy for me. I do all the oil changes for all our vehicles and equipment. I keep a couple of two gallon paint buckets with lids handy. As soon as one is full, I pop the lid on and take it to the county solid waste facility.

Mean Machine said:

I'm mechanically inclined, so it's easy for me. I do all the oil changes for all our vehicles and equipment. I keep a couple of two gallon paint buckets with lids handy. As soon as one is full, I pop the lid on and take it to the county solid waste facility.

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I use Mobil 5w-30 in my GMC and our 2 cars, Wally world sells that oil in a 5 quart jug for $11.50, buying one quart sets you back $2.65 so you basically get that 5th quart at a real discount (90 cents). One car takes 4.5 quarts, one takes 5, the GMC takes 6...so I end up with almost the exact amount of oil after buying 3 jugs. The jugs are super for recycling old oil, the mouth is extra large and easy to fill with old oil, and although most places limit you to 5 gallons of oil, most places don't realize the jugs are 5 quarts instead of 4, so I can recycle an extra gallon of oil every time. :wink:

I always change my own. I enjoy doing it, and I like knowing how things are done. My mother took her vehicle to WalMart for oil changes, they charged $35 for 6Qts of Pennzoil and a NON-OEM(even though they stock Motorcraft) filter. I started doing the changes in June of this year, to find a missing bolt in the skid plating, and a near stripped drain plug. This vehicle is a 2008, and there's no way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating. I get 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter for $34.xx . Savings, Peace of Mind and a quality job for sure. I am a seasonal small engine mechanic, and I charge $65 for a spring tune-up for lawn tractors. On my mowing tractors, the cost for an oil change (one filter and one without) is $12.00 and $19.00, using Mobil 1 in both. I change the oil in everything I own, Push Mowers, Hinomoto (compact tractor), Other Tractors, etc.

jet62095 said:

...No way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating..

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You are RIGHT
DIY and know it is right and you also know the person doing the work actually cares about the end results of the job... :smile:KennyV

jet62095 said:

I always change my own. I enjoy doing it, and I like knowing how things are done. My mother took her vehicle to WalMart for oil changes, they charged $35 for 6Qts of Pennzoil and a NON-OEM(even though they stock Motorcraft) filter. I started doing the changes in June of this year, to find a missing bolt in the skid plating, and a near stripped drain plug. This vehicle is a 2008, and there's no way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating. I get 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter for $34.xx . Savings, Peace of Mind and a quality job for sure. I am a seasonal small engine mechanic, and I charge $65 for a spring tune-up for lawn tractors. On my mowing tractors, the cost for an oil change (one filter and one without) is $12.00 and $19.00, using Mobil 1 in both. I change the oil in everything I own, Push Mowers, Hinomoto (compact tractor), Other Tractors, etc.

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I service my JD, my GMC, our three cars, two ATV's, a 34 foot MH, all my 4-cycle power equipment and enjoy doing it myself...this way you control both the quality of the materials you use and the labor yourself. I question the capability and knowledge of the techs at the drive thru places. Recently a senior editor for our local newspaper wrote in his blog he asked the drive thru oil change place to replace a fuse in his Explorer, he said he tipped the guy TEN BUCKS to do it as it was beyond the scope of the oil changers "responsibilities". Are people so mechanically hopeless there days they cannot even change a FUSE???