A relative died, and for some reason I got stuck with a case of Havoline oil. In the old metal cans. Why wasn't it a box of diamonds, in gold settings? The oil API classification is SD/SE. So, I know I am not supposed to use them in the Prius -- although I am slightly tempted -- what would it do anyway? So, I was going to open them and pour the oil into a few milk jugs and take them for recycling. But, is there anything else they would be good for? I could send them off to Bisco to use for his hair, but the shipping costs would be prohibitive. But, seriously, is recycling my best bet? kris
Depending on your outlook, my dad is a 70's era antique. But, you are saying that someone with a 1972 Ford would be safe using this....
Well, dear dad graduated high school in 1976, I remember that because he has a bunch of USA bicentennial stuff from that year. He had a 1962 Ford Falcon until about 10 years ago. I liked that car. It was easy to work on.
*ouch!!!* A case is 12 cans - right? It's hard to remember back that far since CRS is setting in. That's an awful lot of the wrong oil to run through your Prius. They didn't have 0wANYTHING back then. Do I think it will hurt it??? Naaaaah. Not really since your G2 is getting old enough to start disrespecting parental advice, but it can get cold in OR....so I'd probably just recycle the oil. Since you're old enough for your dad to start to be getting smart again, you might ask him. MY advice would be for you to recycle the oil and donate the cans to a Cracker Barrel. I checked and they have them on your side of the continent. The problem with giving the oil away is that somebody might think that the cans are antiques (like some people think that I am) and they might do something environmentally irresponsible with the oil IN the cans. Good Luck!
my father is a writer, and he has a lot of old sayings he likes to pass along. Since he is a Southern boy, lots of them seem to be from Mark Twain. There is one in particular that he used to quote, mostly at my brother when my brother was a teen. “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” He also liked one that said something along the line of "sorry this letter is so long, but I was in a hurry."
(Not to get too far off the OP but) someone with a lawnmower might give them a use before they hit the recycling stream. Just a thought!
Although oil gurus don't like it you can mix a can of it in with each oil change and besides slight increasing cold viscosity you actually will keep the same detergent properties. And yes that stuff is fine for antique motorcycles, old cars and small gas engines. May even sell at a swap meet.
My old Tercel used to burn so much oil, I stopped doing oil changes. I just changed the filter. I added a quart almost every gas tank, about 300. I started pouring used motor oil from other cars. No need to recycle. No muss no fuss. It was disappearing into my lungs as far as I know as there were no leaks on the driveway but boy do I smell it at a red light. See if your fiends have any extreme oil burners.
All I can add, is that after the passing away of my Grandfather, one of the most challenging aspects was going through a storage shed and trying to figure out what to safely do with tons of old, old chemicals, sprays, and other chemical items, and I also think it included some amount of Oil that still had Dinosaur skin mixed in. In Oregon we have a Metro Recycling center that was VERY helpful in identifying and accepting, and safely disposing of nearly all the items. But if you are not located near something like that? What to do can be challenging. Good Luck.
Similar story when my father-in-law died. Went through his garage and found: Several COILS of 1-1/2" copper boiler tube Hundreds of feet of BX cable (Sold both to a scrap dealer and made $900 ) Two, 1 quart bottles of Chlordane, an insecticide banned by the EPA in 1988. An approximately 5 gallon metal can of what he called a "special oil" that he said "fell off the back of a truck." I think it was just hydraulic fluid. Both of these were turned in to the county during one of their "Stop Throwing Out Pollutants (STOP)" days.
Sell on eBay or local antique stand. People collect old metal oil cans. Don't open them. That will hurt the value.
