# Anyone tempted to burn a little used motor oil with your pellets?



## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

I've been tempted by this ever since ordering the stove. I don't need to burn much at all to keep up with our three vehicles, and it would save the hassle of getting to a place during the week with a 5 gallon jug every few months. A pellet stove (especially mulitfuel) seems to be nearly the perfect vessel for burning small amounts (1 qt per 40lb bag max) because:

1) There is a method for dealing with un-burnables.
2) There is no "nozzle" which requires filtering and or preheating oil to maintain consitancy.
3) There is air injection to help with the burn (not to mention the pellets burning as well).

Most people I run this by think I'm insane, especially my wife, but I finally got a couple people who thought it was sound logic. So I tried it in my 2 month old Castile, 1/2 qt drizzled within the hopper (the castile claims 40lb hopper but our bucket and the hopper like 20lbs at a time much better, which is a little bit of a bummer but 20lbs does go through the work day fine and is easier to carry up from the basement).

The results...pretty boring actually, you can't tell the difference a bit, I think because the amount of oil is so small. But no noticable side effects including ash, etc. I've done this a few times now, and am used to Maine Wood's? (Athens) pellets, so maybe I dont' know any better, but we love the stove. Interestingly after a couple hours in the hopper you can pick up a noticeably oiled pellet and not get oil on your hands, they soak it up sitting in the hopper.

Tell me if I'm crazy, and by honest if you've every thought about and/or tried it.


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## HEMI (Nov 13, 2009)

i'm new at this and  could be wrong,  but i would have to think that pellets soaked with used motor oil had to make for a real dirty burn.


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

Well I wouldn't say soaked is the end state...I used to word soaked because they soak up the little oil per pellet that is on them, but I don't soak them in a bucket of oil first and fish them out and put in the stove or anything. Again, half a quart drizzled within the hopper is what I've been doing. The burn looks great just like it did before, short/active/whitish/yellow flame.


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## vgrund (Nov 13, 2009)

Sounds like a Darwin Award idea.


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## HEMI (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> Well I wouldn't say soaked is the end state...I used to word soaked because they soak up the little oil per pellet that is on them, but I don't soak them in a bucket of oil first and fish them out and put in the stove or anything. Again, half a quart drizzled within the hopper is what I've been doing. The burn looks great just like it did before, short/active/whitish/yellow flame.


your gonna get some replys from guys here that are gonna steer ya in the right direction with that...i just don't think i would do it.....just my $.02


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## dac122 (Nov 13, 2009)

Putting aside all the issues with burning used motor oil that has additives originally in the formula, and metals and strange combustion byproducts that are trapped in suspension from your engine, but doesn't this increase the chances of a hopper fire?


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

sugar said:
			
		

> yehaw! how does the smoke look?



Other than the normal startup, there is no visible smoke, even with the oil, inside the stove or out the exhaust.

My main concern is that I'm a rookie at this so I won't necessarily be seeing all the tiny differences compared to "normal". But for now everything seems quite normal. I'm not doing this every fill either, just when I remember, but I'm putting a small dent in the oil sitting in the garage waiting to go somewhere else to get burned.


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## jtakeman (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> Most people I run this by think I'm insane...........



I think there 100% correct.

Watch out for the looney wagon, There coming to get you soon.  :lol:

I really would not atempt this with children in the home. I would worry about a hopper fire and wrecking my perfectly good stove. The carbon from the oil will make a mess of it for sure! 

There are waste oil furnaces around. If you really want to burn the oil. otherwise just recycle it like everyone else.

I figured sugar (POOK!) would get all excited about your topic. He/she will have you burning your novels and paperbacks next! 

I bet you can really get your stove nice and clean with a few sticks of dynamite too. Doesn't mean I would try it!


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

dac122 said:
			
		

> Putting aside all the issues with burning used motor oil that has additives originally in the formula, and metals and strange combustion byproducts that are trapped in suspension from your engine, but doesn't this increase the chances of a hopper fire?



Good, question, I actually hadn't thought of that, but motor oil has a pretty high flash point (almost 400 deg F), probably similar to pellets. In the event of a hopper fire I'd be more worried about the 30lbs of pellets than the 1/2 quart of oil simply from a "size of the fire" perspective.

That being said, the quadrafire has never had me concerned about a hopper fire. I'll let it run out soon and give everything down on the bottom end a once over.


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## MCPO (Nov 13, 2009)

ha,ha,ha. I`d have expected this only from pook. Or whatever namesake he`s using today.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Nov 13, 2009)

For crying out loud, here on a forum that has them amongst us (dealers/factory reps) you talk about doing something that without a doubt voids your warranty, invalidates what ever EPA certification your stove had, and puts out additional toxic pollutants.  That's before any other possible problems/consequences.

Other than that enjoy.


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

Smokey,

I'm not worried about voiding the warranty, in my experience any fault with a piece of equipment always comes just after the warranty has expired. Plus, I can fix anything that might break on one of these stoves, they're not that complicated. I'm not worried about burning minute amounts of oil actually hurting anything on the stove.

What are you talking about invalidating EPA certification? It's still the same stove, it's not like it was a virgin and now it's not and can't go back...

Waste oil is burned in huge quantities everyday in commercial waste oil furnances, I'm not sure my 10 gallons max per year is of real concern in terms of "toxic pollutants"...I see you're burning coal.....

Give me an example of a problem I should look out for and I'll consider it.


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## QuadraBurner (Nov 13, 2009)

I'm a rookie with pellets as well, so my $.02 is probably worth significantly less than others in here, but I'll put it in anyway.  The way I look at it is that I just spent $4000 on a pellet stove to heat my home for many years.  If I wanted to burn off used oil, I might try it in my $60 outdoor fire pit from Wally World, not my shiny new pellet stove.  That being said, I hope it works out for you with no ill effects to your stove or your home.


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## krooser (Nov 13, 2009)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> For crying out loud, here on a forum that has them amongst us (dealers/factory reps) you talk about doing something that without a doubt voids your warranty, invalidates what ever EPA certification your stove had, and puts out additional toxic pollutants.  That's before any other possible problems/consequences.
> 
> Other than that enjoy.



Geez... those are good reasons to TRY this... especially those "toxic pollutants".... gives Al Gore something to do.


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## littlesmokey (Nov 13, 2009)

On behalf of all the service tech's out there, GO-FOR-IT. It will be great for our business. Think of all that sticky unburned greasy oil vaporized by the heat, but not quite hot enough to burn. It will pleasantly join all that free ash and circulate around those baffles and air channels. Well, at least partway until it attaches to the ash and cools and attaches to the walls, baffles, blowers, etc, etc, etc.. Well, you get the idea. Enough will slow the motors and burn them out, Goodie, lots of new parts. Ohhhh, the snap switches, will it gum them up, too? What about that air control, sticky for sure. And that exhaust, won't be able to lightly brush that out.  Well, that's if he doesn't cause a combustible buildup enough that the whole thing goes up.

So for the industry guy, heck with the warrantee, we can fix her right up. Now we can get a new piece of equipment, a de-greaser. Fun! Oh, by the way, we'll call your insurance and let them know what you did. For sure. :cheese:  %-P  :lol:


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## ww&hk (Nov 13, 2009)

I would not risk damaging my stove or voiding my warranty when you can easily recycle small quantities of used oil. My town's recycling center (used to be called "The Dump") accepts waste oil from residents. Most chain auto parts stores will recycle used oil if you buy new oil from them. They get paid a few cents per gallon when it is picked up.


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## littlesmokey (Nov 13, 2009)

BTW, here we have inversions during the Winter. That's super smog days when we have no burn days. If you heat only with pellets or wood, you are OK to burn. If you supplement your heat with a stove it has to clean burn. The Air Quality boys are out on those days with sniffers and lookers. You can't see the smoke, but their meters can. I would not want my stove red tagged for being dumb.

Walk to the Recycle Center, or an auto parts store that takes waste oil and feel better about your self. Do it after each change and you would have to deal with 5 gallons.


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## MoeB (Nov 13, 2009)

Jcbyrd, please forgive me, but I just have to ask:  Were you born in Maine? 

Moe


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## freeburn (Nov 13, 2009)

I have a Castile too, I personally wouldn't do it. I'd just as well take to my local garage. They can use it for heat anyway. Every time they open their garage, they practically have to start all over again. If you aren't noticing anything by adding the oil, then why gum up a perfectly good appliance that is manufactured to burn DRY pellets?


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## gmiller1977 (Nov 13, 2009)

I just joined this forum today (new to pellet stoves), but what you're doing is negligent (and borderline insane to boot).

The product that you wish to introduce into your pellet stove has an unknown effect.  The reality is that these stoves were never designed to burn anything but pellets.  They were never tested with other types of fuel sources.

The fact that you wish to dispose of a few measly bottles of oil in such a reckless fashion, I believe, shows little respect for others living in the house with you.

Just my two cents.


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## Czech (Nov 13, 2009)

Funny you mentioned cooking oil BTU! I've been burning for many years, and all that time the pellet/corn bin gets whatever cooking oil I have left after use. The main reason is to keep the dust down, and it is not much oil compared to fuel (if you do this, watch your pets, they will eat the fuel and get ill). I'd be a little leary of motor oil for the reasons above, but I disagree with the hopper fire concern. Motor oil, like pellets, is difficult to get burning on its own, really. Take a lighter or match and try to get motor oil or pellets burning, have some ice ready if you use a lighter as you will have a blister on your thumb before you get things burning. Imho....


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## BDPVT (Nov 13, 2009)

I question why you are doing this in the first place? I doubt you are damaging your stove with small amounts of motor oil, after all wood and oil are both hydrocarbon based fuels , but why bother. Small amounts of oil are not producing significantly more BTU's in your stove. 
Recycling is easy and is the right thing to do. You are wrong to think most waste oil is being burned. Used motor oil is re-refined by removing the contaminated additives and blending the pure base lube stock with a new additive package. It takes 42 gallons of virgin crude oil to make 2.5 quarts of refined oil, but it only takes one gallon of used oil to make the same 2.5 quarts.
How much energy is saved by recycling motor oil?
All of the oil saved by recycling is an energy savings. Oil doesn't "go bad," it just gets dirty. Re-refining cleans it up. This option cuts our dependence on foreign oil and reduces the need for new wells to be drilled.


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

Alright guys, glad I could gin up some laughs. Moe, no I was not born in Maine. Mainer's aren't the only people who try crazy stuff though. Just so you all know I am a mechanical engineer and hands on type. I do my own plumbing, heating and eletrical work to code and all of my own mechanic work (pulled engine out of my wifes Audi too). I'm not completely uneducated about what's I'm dealing with. Also I don't have children in the house and only do this on day's when I'm home.

I'm not going to argue with anyone about the merits of doing this, or try to convince everyone it's a great idea. I really just wanted to see if anyone else had tried it. Kind of surprised they haven't but I suppose typically those types don't frequent internet forums. 

There are definitely less risky ways of getting rid of the stuff and I now work a schedule where I have weekdays off on a regular basis so for my wife's sanity will probably not be burning much more oil in the stove. I'm glad to have shared my experience and to have found this forum. I did learn that my Maine Wood's pellets aren't the best product available and am looking forward to trying something else, but for now we love the Quad, heating 1400sf right now, but it's not cold yet!


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## freeburn (Nov 13, 2009)

I bet after reading this post someone, perhaps more than 1 will try it


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

Motor oil my town is not recyclable, and you cannot go to other towns and even pay to get it recycled. I have no idea what Advance Auto does with it when I take it there. In Maine, I'm guessing that a large majority of used oil is not re-refined/recycled, because there are no refinerys around. I know of 100s of garage's/shops/business' that burn it, beyond that I have little info.

Gmiller, I'm not sure what you think is so negligent and disrespectful, and many stoves are designed to burn other things than wood pellets, though admittedly not used motor oil. I think your opinion is a rather harsh for the subject. Think outside the box a little, that's how the world progresses.


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## daydreamer (Nov 13, 2009)

Some used oil is refined and used again and some is burnt up.
http://www.recycleoil.org/
http://www.recycleoil.org/recycle_oil_process/usedoil.html
My grandpa used to dump his dirty motor oil at the base of a Catalpa tree. He got tired of all the caterpillars eating the leaves. He had no more problems after that. I guess the tree soaked it up and the caterpillars didn't like the taste of motor oil. Definitely not good for the environment.


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## Havlat24 (Nov 13, 2009)

I think that burning motor is a genius idea, why stop there.... I bet there's tons of BTU"s to be had by burning other flammable materials.     Don't bother using your ignitor, or spending $1.00 for a bottle of hand sanitizer... just use WD-40.... works like a charm!   Got some left over paint from a renovation.... dumper her in the hoppper it'll burn no problem!   But don't stop there, the goverment is looking for solutions to their toxic waste buildup problem,  I say you just dump in the hopper to..    It should burn...  in a few hours you'll have to put in a new pellet vent, but who cares right, your  mechanical engineer, and you know better!   Fixing that pellet vent shouldn't be a problem!!   


I feel sorry for your wifes Audi...are you dumping pellets into the gas tank? lol.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> Alright guys, glad I could gin up some laughs. Moe, no I was not born in Maine. Mainer's aren't the only people who try crazy stuff though. Just so you all know I am a mechanical engineer and hands on type. I do my own plumbing, heating and eletrical work to code and all of my own mechanic work (pulled engine out of my wifes Audi too). I'm not completely uneducated about what's I'm dealing with. Also I don't have children in the house and only do this on day's when I'm home.
> 
> I'm not going to argue with anyone about the merits of doing this, or try to convince everyone it's a great idea. I really just wanted to see if anyone else had tried it. Kind of surprised they haven't but I suppose typically those types don't frequent internet forums.
> 
> There are definitely less risky ways of getting rid of the stuff and I now work a schedule where I have weekdays off on a regular basis so for my wife's sanity will probably not be burning much more oil in the stove. I'm glad to have shared my experience and to have found this forum. I did learn that my Maine Wood's pellets aren't the best product available and am looking forward to trying something else, but for now we love the Quad, heating 1400sf right now, but it's not cold yet!



I knew he wasn't a native Mainer.  Not crazy enough to qualify.

Hey, wasn't POOK burning coal in his stove at one point?

If I was going to do something of this nature it would be to build a nuclear pellet stove, current stoves just can't extract enough of the BTUs that is in the pellets.


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## Skunk (Nov 13, 2009)

BDPVT said:
			
		

> I question why you are doing this in the first place? I doubt you are damaging your stove with small amounts of motor oil, after all wood and oil are both hydrocarbon based fuels , but why bother. Small amounts of oil are not producing significantly more BTU's in your stove.



I think this was spot on. I'm not seeing any benefit to doing it. But some people need more important things to get bent out of shape over, sheesh.  :roll:


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## Havlat24 (Nov 13, 2009)

sugar said:
			
		

> Skunk said:
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burning used motor oil in a home heating appliance is responsible??    :lol:


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## Skunk (Nov 13, 2009)

sugar said:
			
		

> he's trying to get rid of the oil responsibly & without megahassle!



Of course.


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## jtakeman (Nov 13, 2009)

sugar said:
			
		

> Skunk said:
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I just hope he doesn't see this one day!


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

sugar said:
			
		

> he's trying to get rid of the oil responsibly & without megahassle!



This really is the reason I would do it regularly, I'm not burning enough for the BTUs to be "valueable". I'm not trying to preach it as the next new thing in home heating. As I said, now I regularly have a weekday off so it's not going to be such a big deal to get rid of it and I was just really curious about it. You know, thought "hey this would seem to work great" and wanted to try it and see if anyone else had.

I agree it's a little silly to do to a new stove that cost $2400,  but I think there is some overreaction in this thread to the actual issue. I'm talking total the amount of oil basically 2 cars produce, we have 3 cars but only 2 drivers. Per bag of pellets a quart at most.

I firmly believe as an educated person that there is:

-Very little if any risk in terms of safety
-Only slight risk of damage to the equipment
-Only slightly more maintenance, but would conceed this as the major reason not to do it often
-Very little environment impact compared to what is normal, or even a freaking woodstove (a seasoned pellet burner could not tell by looking at or smelling the flame/exhaust that there was a little oil in there)

I would not think about burning paint, gas, diesel, trash, etc, etc in a pellet stove for lots of good reasons, but to jump there from used oil is a stretch and insulting.


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## Fsappo (Nov 13, 2009)

I'm not tempted


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## Xena (Nov 13, 2009)

Franks said:
			
		

> I'm not tempted



Me either


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## NotMyJob (Nov 13, 2009)

:gulp:  Good luck with that!  Personally I think I'll keep my oil in my oil burner and my pellets in my pellet stove!


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## Havlat24 (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> sugar said:
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Your right.. to make sure the oil is at maximum viscosity you should preheat it in your microwave before applying it to the pellets....      it is absolutely amazing that some are considering this... furthermore I question your education if you feel this is a "safe" thing to do.


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## ronlat (Nov 13, 2009)

Ever look at a used motor oil anlysis report?  I do every day working in the industry that I do.  I would not recommend adding used motor oil to pellets because it would be like injecting acid into your pellet stove which would lead to corrossion in the stove and exhaust pipe.  Shortened componet life ect.  Not likely to show up in short term, but over time would not be good.  Take a look at used oil heaters, generally you will see quite a bit of cold end corrossion. Just my humble opinion.


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## joefraser (Nov 13, 2009)

If adding a little bit of oil solved my problem of getting the last half of pellets down the hopper instead of stuck to the side i'd almost think about it.  Ok maybe not, I think my wife would kill me with the amount of money we spent on the stove.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> sugar said:
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Now, now, nobody is bent outta shape here, we are just calling them as we see them.   

One should always be careful about telling the world about things.  That is when one discovers what they think is nifty cool isn't always so to everyone.

Just ask POOK who caught a ration for his coal experiment.

I haven't seen anyone insult you yet, unless of course being asked if you are a native Mainer is considered an insult.  If that's the case then I am greatly insulted and think that those here from away should go back to whence they came ;-).


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## krooser (Nov 13, 2009)

I usually go my own way on lots of things... but I have to agree with the "mob mentality" on this one. 

Just for the sake of the stove and it's components I wouldn't use the motor oil. I'd try to find some spent nuclear fuel rods... nuclear is cleaner than oil and you'd save on electricity 'cuz your stove would glow in the dark... better than a CFL.....


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## jcbyrd24 (Nov 13, 2009)

ronlat said:
			
		

> Ever look at a used motor oil anlysis report?  I do every day working in the industry that I do.  I would not recommend adding used motor oil to pellets because it would be like injecting acid into your pellet stove which would lead to corrossion in the stove and exhaust pipe.  Shortened componet life ect.  Not likely to show up in short term, but over time would not be good.  Take a look at used oil heaters, generally you will see quite a bit of cold end corrossion. Just my humble opinion.



Thanks for an objective opinion on why this is a bad idea, instead of proclaiming in infinite wisdom that this is "unsafe, negligent, irresponsible" etc.

This is a good point that I was not aware of/had not though of, and will sway me from future adventures in the realms of pellet stove experimentation, though this was the only experiment I was ever planning on doing.

Guys, I'm heading out for the weekend so don't think you've scared me off. Look forward to more banter on Sunday! And for the last time, I'm not saying this a great idea and everyone should try it!


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## Hot_h20 (Nov 13, 2009)

Sorry, couldn't resist...


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## BDPVT (Nov 13, 2009)

jcbyrd24 said:
			
		

> sugar said:
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Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the reason you are burning used motor oil in your brand new pellet stove is to save you the trouble of recycling? If so, this bad idea is pretty pointless and irresponsible in my opinion.


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## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2009)

I've thought about it off and on, always did it when I was burning wood. Now the town garage has a waste oil furnace, so I drop it off there. Theirs even burns gasoline, and it must work OK, I always dump my leftover 2 stroke mix in the barrel there, and the garage ain't blowed up yet.


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## Czech (Nov 14, 2009)

Man I love your sig, hoss, sounds familiar for some reason. As was said in an old movie, burn 'em if ya got 'em.  Just don't burn your house down. My Castile has seen more 'fuel' than I care to mention, still kicking after horse food, rabbit food, vege oiled corn, beans, dog food, cat food....    You get the idea. Before people jump on the obvious, if it isn't a safety issue, then give it a rest (and as long as your not pouring a gallon or two in the hopper, this isn't). Opinions are great, keep it at that. We used to have a guy here that would jump the heck out of people for every 'code' violation that was posted, if I decide to cut a hole in my wall to move heat, so be it (I did, works great!). Don't tell me if my stove starts a fire that the hole is going to be an issue, the stair case would be up in flames in a heartbeat. Yes, it is always good to be safe (multiple CO's and smokes in my house, fire ladder, fire plan, 4 extinguishers,etc), but sometime I think people jump on the obvious (oil? are ya crazy?). As previously mentioned, my corn crib get all my waste cooking oil, heck sometimes I dump a brand new jug in, keeps the dust down. I agree that motor oil may not be the best due to the additives, and that you don't want to mess up your warranty either. Lastly, people said burning corn would be hard on the vent, that was over 6 years ago and 20 tons, same vent, just did the camera view this fall (fish cams are great!), looks fine. So to each their own, just mho. By the way, my motor oil goes to a guy and family that has a burner in their shop so he can stay warm and busy during the winter, doesn't bug me a bit that it is getting burned.


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## JustWood (Nov 14, 2009)

I think the effects of such a small amount wood be negligible.
Woodn't the burning of oil at such temps elliminate such  corrosives?


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## GVA (Nov 14, 2009)

Couple of things 
One.. this is good for those whom are on the fence about burning oil or pellets :cheese: 
Two.. this could help with those pesky problems of squeaky slide plates, augers, and pellets that won't slide in the hopper....(no more Graphite needed) :lol: 
Three.. cleaning is much easier when you spray a can of Gunk engine brite on the inside close the door and come back after 30 minutes and hose it down.. :red:


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## Excell (Nov 14, 2009)

Wow you really got the boys fired up on this one . It is something I would have tried 20 years ago .But I wouldn't do it now I think these are sensitive little machines .
so I have to go with a no and I have a lot of oil to get rid of . I also looked into a used oil burner decided it would be to messy .


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## sparkydog00 (Nov 14, 2009)

HEMI said:
			
		

> i'm new at this and  could be wrong,  but i would have to think that pellets soaked with used motor oil had to make for a real dirty burn.



But oil would make the unburnable Maine Woods Petllets actually burn...of course it would defeat their other intended purpose...traction on icy walkways


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## fataugie (Nov 14, 2009)

HOLY DOGSH#T!  

You're kidding, right?

There is no way you are burning motor oil in a pellet stove...a NEW pellet stove...you just posted that to tug on our sausages....right?


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## fataugie (Nov 14, 2009)

GotzTheHotz said:
			
		

> By the way, my motor oil goes to a guy and family that has a burner in their shop so he can stay warm and busy during the winter, doesn't bug me a bit that it is getting burned.



Ah hell, I don't care that the oil gets burned....I use old oil to jump start lazy fires in the burn barrel.  My concern would be using it in a brand new stove.  If the stove was old and an experiment in the garage or workshop....fine.  But not something you spend 2K or more.


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## gpack (Nov 15, 2009)

I've had my stove for 4 seasons. I had it serviced professionally for the first two seasons but have been doing this myself the past two so I'm learning a good deal about servicing and adjusting the stove. I don't have access to the manufacturers service manual but use other references and in particular this site to research whatever it is I'm planning to do. I think I'm fairly good with it and would never think to do something like this. I think you will keep the service guys busy or you're going to end up chilly this winter. I'd take the advice of most of the folks here and burn without the additive.


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## Elad (Jan 1, 2010)

I just bought my 1st pellet stove, P68 Harman and with everything, about $3700 with vents & heat reclaimer adding it all up.
I had no fear/qualms about using my old synthetic Mobil1 oil to it at all. Syn will take higher heat to ignite. Its not like gasoline, so no way a hopper will flame up.
The hopper is in a slight vacuum and is usually closed off with the slide plate. Granted, the auger drive could stop with slide plate in the open position so I had thought of that. Certainly you wouldn't want a low flashpoint product in the hopper. But the heat does not get that far back in the auger drive.

I started about the same, a qt/bag but a cold restart with them oiled pellets, it took bit longer to auto-ignite.
So. I have reduced that to a *pint/bag* as I will go through a lot of bags a season and works out great in the stove that I can tell. I too am a mechanic/technician history btw so am not concerned about self-repairing anything on the stove.

When running on them I do notice a bigger, hotter flame (at 1qt/bag) so much so, I had to move my feed down to 3 instead of 4.5, so its burning hotter.
I have no visible smoke and the glass is no different. I do not see any signs of a oil film on the glass at all!
 Them pellets burn so hot - there is no residue left over that I can tell!

I 1st experimented by soaking a handful of pellets for a few days to see if they were going to breakup into mush. They didn't. Tossed them into the pot - got a big flame 
 Then I heavy soaked 10 lbs of pellets (about a qt) and dumped them in with hopper when it was almost empty. Them sure were really big flames - lol.
So, then went to adding a qt into the hopper after I dump a bag in. Mixed them up in the hopper and checked on it all day. Did some cold restarts just to be sure but like mention above, took longer to fire up.
Now, just a pint+/bag as will be running out of oil soon at this rate. And, no problems refiring up the stove like normal at that low level.
 Never thought about old cooking oil. Thanks for that tip   Will give it a try 


Reminds me of my old boss when I asked him for a raise.
He said 'you never get it if you don't ask', even though I asked, didn't get it... lol
 The point is, you never know unless you try. I tried, and as far as I am concerned, I scored on this one.
Some people are just TOO SCARED. Probably Obamaized.
Like winter drivers. There may be a foot of snow on the ground, but a bare clean street, yet they will drive 1/2 the speed limit. How frustrating!
Maybe there just too cold to be able to push the pedal to the metal.
 No Guts, No Glory... You go play with your warranty... I'll be burning my warranty...

From a ultralight flyer, motorcycle driver & hot-rod driver (1972 Gremlin w olds/455c in, 6pack, 3/4race cam,headers, modified heads - burn baby burn!













	

		
			
		

		
	
 I will Live Free, or Die!


p.s. Its just me living alone in the country, a single guy now so am really Free ;-) , so don't 
get bent out of shape thinking I am endangering anyone else in my home & how I burn my stove


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## ffspeed (Jan 2, 2010)

I don't know how it is where you live. But where I am, just about any place I can buy motor oil, takes old motor oil. And I do also believe if they sale just so much, they have to take it. Also if you have enough of it, they will come and pick it up. There is a fee to do this, but if you have enough they will pay you.


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## Elad (Jan 2, 2010)

Not out here. Am 45m away from town. I don't want to carry dirty oil jugs in my CR-V even to the garbage recycle area some 10m away which is only open 10am to 3pm - sure during working hours Thr & Sat (which I work).
 I use to use it in the wood stove which made a lot of smoke and far too hot & messy, but no longer am using the stove very much (burn the trash in there about all once a mo.)

 Besides, I paid for that expensive Syn. oil ($30/gal w/tax). Might as well get all I can out of it by burning it and its far easier to regulate the burning of it 
 I turn down the auger feed 1 number (to #3 out of 6#'s) and still maintain 78^ upstairs @28%humidity (split level house 2400sq ft. Its *-14^f* outside now and am nice & toasty upstairs here in the far bedroom converted to computer room.

It really make a difference in getting same heat (if not more using oil) set at #3 instead of 4-4.5 on feed in the Harman 68 as far as pellets consuming. 
My glass is easier to clean - seems to stay cleaner longer as well. Same pellets so nothing changed there...
I closed off the other open port to the chimney so its drafting harder than normal, although the wood stove is still connected and its pipe damper is turned closed. Firing up the wood stove creates more powerful draft in the chimney so I remove the plastic cover during that burn.

The Trimpot for combustion motor on the P68 is set to minimum as too much air moving through my stove. I could use some restrictions in the exhaust so hoping for some buildup... Then I can open the exhaust at the elbow and replace it with a 3"Tee for cleaning.
I use no OAK system. Enough airleaks already.
With clean pellets, I restrict the air intake on the P68 by 7/8th of closing it off, but with oiled pellets I don't - its wide open.
Actually not sure which is hotter - restricted air or open. Flames are a bit higher but a bit more ash buildup in pot, opened intake the mostly burned up pellets do the dance and sometimes pop out. 
I will admit that oiled pellet burning at feed 4, I get some smoke with restricted air input and flames circling down as its at the top heat exchanger.
 So, I leave the air wide open and flames are 1/4th to 3/4 high (new feed - the flames jump up) at #3 setting.
P68 piped into 7"flue chimney some 25'+ high. I run 2' of straight 3" and 3"90^ then step up the 3" to 6". then through a 10 tube heat reclaimer, then into a 6"Tee & into the chimney. I use to keep the Tee opened as too much draft from chimney - its closed so am sucking the p68's exhaust. Yes, that same plastic cover is still there over a month - not melted. You can hold your hand on the Tee and not get burned.
Pop the power cord while the p68 is running hard and I will have no smoke coming into the house


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