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Old 09-10-2012, 02:54   #1
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Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

Hi! First post and new boat owners since a week back

We've emptied and cleaned our tank of 50 liter that was overfilled with diesel and stored in a good way before that. Now we've discovered that it hasn't got the clear color it had when we emptied it but is now darker. It seems some old engine oil was in the bottom of the cans and since we sail on a no budget and try using the engine to a minimum, this diesel would be very nice to be able to reuse.

Is there any risk of using it because of the old engine oil discoloring the diesel? Will the fuel filters handle this? Otherwise would it be ok to use it if I clean/replace the filter more often?
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Old 09-10-2012, 03:37   #2
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Re: Using diesel stored in old engine oil cans

Are you absolutely sure that what was stored in the cans was motor oil? If not you can get problems. Even it you are 100% completely sure, you would do well to dilute it considerably.

50 liters of diesel costs how much where you are? Is it worth taking the chance?
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Old 09-10-2012, 04:24   #3
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Old 09-10-2012, 04:58   #4
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Re: Using diesel stored in old engine oil cans

Filter, filter, filter then run it through a filter again
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Old 09-10-2012, 05:22   #5
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Re: Using diesel stored in old engine oil cans

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Originally Posted by sailvayu View Post
Filter, filter, filter then run it through a filter again
filter and use it--if is oil--wont hurt engine.
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Old 09-10-2012, 09:16   #6
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

A small amount of clean motor oil wont hurt anything, but if it is discolored you dont know what you have. The hassle of running it thru filters and setting up a way to do that makes it rather impractical. Diesel tanks get dirty enough without the chance of putting unknown contaminants back in. I know it is hard to discard what amounts to a weeks food budget, but if it buggers up your engine it will cost many many times more. Of course, I only have a 2 cent opinion involved and not a chunk of money for a poor cruiser. Good Luck_____Grant.
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Old 09-10-2012, 10:34   #7
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

On a great many comm. fishing boats, used engine oil is mixed with the diesel in the fuel tanks, of course these tanks are much larger then the tanks in most sailing boats ! but a small amount of engine oil, clean or even a little dirty would not really hurt a diesel engine ! Just my 2 cents, I would filter it and use it
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Old 09-10-2012, 11:39   #8
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

On older engine 1% oil is ok. Newer electronic injection engine, no oil, it will foul the injectors.
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Old 09-10-2012, 12:36   #9
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

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Originally Posted by gjordan View Post
A small amount of clean motor oil wont hurt anything, but if it is discolored you dont know what you have. The hassle of running it thru filters and setting up a way to do that makes it rather impractical. Diesel tanks get dirty enough without the chance of putting unknown contaminants back in. I know it is hard to discard what amounts to a weeks food budget, but if it buggers up your engine it will cost many many times more. Of course, I only have a 2 cent opinion involved and not a chunk of money for a poor cruiser. Good Luck_____Grant.
it takes a lot to kill diesel. is like kerosene, stores like kerosene. filtered is good and usable. without filtering it you WILL introduce stuff into the tanks you do not wish to have in there. filtered doesnt do that. i used 8 yr old diesel to leave sd--mixed with new , also--but it didnt do anything bad. fishing boats in mazatlan use used oil in their tanks--isnt bad for em--filtered.
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Old 11-10-2012, 09:12   #10
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

Thank you all for your help! Will save us quite a lot of money!

Any ideas or suggestions for DIY filters by the way? x)
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Old 11-10-2012, 11:13   #11
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

a neighbor of mine used coffee filters and filtered it 3 times before using and worked well no problems. he did 15 gallons over 2 weeks, manually.
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Old 12-10-2012, 10:15   #12
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

I'll try that out. I got the advice of leggings as well. So I took a 1,5 litre bottle and put a sponge in the bottom, two leggings. I might put a coffee filter in between the sponge and the leggings then. Would coal make a difference? Or is that part of filtering only useful when filtering your ethanol? x)
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Old 12-10-2012, 10:25   #13
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

Coal? you mean charcoal filters? :P

Diesels can run on used engine oil if it is hot enough to flow through the injectors at a thin enough viscosity. Diluted engine oil will be fine if there are no contaminates like metal flakes from shot bearings et al.

Filter for your peace of mind, and safety since your engine is your backup for when sails are out, but oily diesel will run fine.
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Old 14-10-2012, 06:29   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nauti
I'll try that out. I got the advice of leggings as well. So I took a 1,5 litre bottle and put a sponge in the bottom, two leggings. I might put a coffee filter in between the sponge and the leggings then. Would coal make a difference? Or is that part of filtering only useful when filtering your ethanol? x)
Do not recommend the sponge. It could make things worse. Stick with the coffee filter idea.
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Old 14-10-2012, 06:55   #15
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Re: Using Diesel Stored in Old Engine Oil Cans

sponges disintigrate with fuel --makes icky mess...skip sponge....charcoal wont make a difference except to your wallet... regular coffee filters is all--my ericson is still running on old coffee filtered diesel and yannie is thriving--i get status reports weekly.
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