mechanic

Dear Sir


I want to build simple home made machine to reycile
used engine oil

How far do you want to go with the recycle process simple cleaning and rejuvenation to be use where non detergent oils would be acceptable
Or do you want to turn it into diesel to be used in any older diesel engine with a mechanical injector pump
For both processes you start with a good filtration system then to a centrifugal filter one run by air is preferable and at least capable of spinning fast enough to remove down to .5 micron from there you need a heat source such as that found in an electric hot water heater this is to evaporate any solvents such as petrol antifreeze water and others. from there another centrifuge at this stage you now will have usable clean motor oil without any additives or detergents
If you want to make diesel then you will need to add in a catalyst in the heating stage and must go to a higher heat and monitor the PH level closely. there are several do's and don'ts on utube many though do not adhere to all safety precautions .
This is one reason that I only gave generalities of the process I wouldn't want someone to build one of these off of my method alone, since to explain all of the safety precautions required will require far more in depth conversations that are not easily just put into words it takes hands on experiences with someone who has done it successfully for years and I have only done it sparingly just to see if I could

I could be mistaken, but one if not first reclamation of motor oil [filtering] was thru red clay pipe. Oil gets dirty, but doesn't really wear out.
I think he [Davis?] was attached to Hart Pottery of Catalina Island, CA. Had a few patents, one for either caned millefiori or swirled peppermint hard candy...

You are correct on both counts what does wear out though is the additives that makes the oil a multi-viscosity and the detergents that helps to keep it clean. what happens when the additives are gone or fully contaminated is the oil becomes a single viscosity which is loosely based on a 2/3s+2/3s-1/6 rule. what that means is if say you run 15/40 like I do take 2/3 of 15 plus 2/3 of the difference between 15&40 or 10+ 16.666you get 27 rounded up then once the oil is hot you loose another 4.4 so your oil winds up being around 22 visc. for 10/40 it works out nearly the same for 20/50 you get right around 27 visc when hot when you run the 5 or 10w 30 is when you are doing damage to the engine if you let the oil get the slightest bit dirty. because that stuff rapidly goes to a straight 15 or less.
On my old ford with the 7.3 IDI I have 2 half gallon filters on it and only change my oil about every 10 to 12,000 miles it has over 400,000 on the engine and still only uses less than 2 qts in 10,000 miles
My little Kenworth that I bought new in 89 had close to a million on it when I sold it and the oil in it only got changed every 50,000 but I had a high speed centrifugal auxiliary filter on it