Golf courses often have those oil heaters as well. I used to give my old oil to a friend of mine, who worked there at the time.
The main issue I see with extended oil changes is people simply do not check their motor oil level. 3000 miles gives a motor a fighting chance with a little to some consumption. 5000 miles+ the chances go way up that the oil level is not proper. This is harder on oil since it is extended more in its life and there is of it to take the load degrading it quickly.
Then again my 2007 MDX with 96k just passed 5000 miles with 20% left on maintenance minder. The oil level(abeit dark) is still right at the full line.
That EPA survey done in 1981, in 1981, there weren’t as many options for oil disposal nationwide as there are now. I’ll bet that if that survey was done today, most DYIer’s would be recycling their oil.
In 1981, I poured the used oil back into the bottles and put them in the trash. The only other option at the time would be to dump it in the back yard. If I drove it to a recycling center, I would have had to do another oil change as soon as I got back.
I agree with Keith. Times have changed as far as recycling goes. I have about 15 gallon jugs to hold used oil. When full I dump them at a recycing center. Back then though I was lucky that there was a waste dump where I bought gas. He closed it when too many people were dumping other crap in it. It was not easy to find another alternative then. Still I find it hard to believe that that many people were just dumping it on the ground like we did back in the 50’s to keep the dust down on the gravel driveway.
My policy remains the same. Change oil when the OLM reaches about 50% which is around 3500 miles on the Pontiac and 5000 on the Acura. Lawn mowers and snow blowers at beginning of season and midway if necessary at about 20 hours use. Oil door hinges every couple of years. Seems common sense for me. I think people that like extended oil changes are people that really don’t want to be bothered by general maintenance duties and try to justify it as being smart.
"The oil sludging and coking complaints that occur in vast numbers are due to ________________ "
In addition to water contamination, contaminants from combustion will degrade the oil. Mobil1 Extended Life oil allows extended life by using significantly higher levels of additives that keep the oil from degrading. Mobil1 also sells synthetic oil for more usual change intervals, like 7500 miles. It’s not being synthetic that extends life so much as the buffering additives that prevent the oil from turning acidic.
“Every oil change I do or have done the oil is recycled so how is it wasted?”
Wasted reprocessing. Fuel is expended to reprocess the oil, and even then there is no such thing as 100% yield. Think about this:
There are about 300,000,000 cars in the USA. If they average 15,000 miles per year, hold 5 quarts, and have an oil change every 3000 miles, total oil usage is 7.5 billion quarts per year. If the change interval is extended to 7500 miles, usage drops to 3 billion quarts per year, and wasted oil is 4.5 billion quarts each year. That works out to about 27 million barrels. The largest supertankers hold a little more than 3 million barrels. So, it would take 8 and a half of the largest supertankers to hold all the wasted oil. How much does it cost to reprocess that much oil? What else could we do with that money?
I’ll follow the auto manufacturer’s recommendations for my cars, including using the OLMs on the 3 GM cars we have with them. 130,000 miles on the Silhouette (with OLM) and it doesn’t burn oil.
I fear for the future. I’ve learned the hard way that waste distribution facilities now charge to accept lots of things…it cost me $20 to drop off an old TV. I’ve also become aware that some people are starting to dump electronics and appliances into the woods like they used to. I worry about the impact of those new disposal fees on the welfare of the woods.
MountainBike:
Best Buy takes old TV sets and computers for free. Just bring them in.
See their website (type in recycling) for more info.
In the US, I take my old oil to Autozone.
Here, in Mexico, I give it to a builder. Houses are made of concrete beams and columns, which are made using wooden forms. When they put up a form, they must coat the inside with used oil (allegedly used oil works better then new, but I am taking their word on this) so the forms can later be removed.
Some of the oil they use looks like burned molasses.
And, most places here that sell car oil will tell you that 5W30 is bad for your motor, that you need 20W50. Grrr! Grrr! Even Autozone in Tehuacan at times only has 20W50 in stock. There is a small store in my village which has the right stuff, if I need a quart in 5,000 miles.
Well, usally since I normally use Mogil-1 EP, I bring a quart with me for that purpose.
I personally believe if a person wants to change the oil every 3,000 miles, it’s their money and their car. What gripes me is when someone insults those who don’t want to change it until it needs to be changed, by saying they simply don’t care about their expensive car.
And, for those who aren’t sure, I recommend at least once, or maybe once per season, test it, and then you will not be guessing.
In the US, I take my old oil to Autozone.
Here, in Mexico, I give it to a builder. Houses are made of concrete beams and columns, which are made using wooden forms. When they put up a form, they must coat the inside with used oil (allegedly used oil works better then new, but I am taking their word on this) so the forms can later be removed.
Some of the oil they use looks like burned molasses.
And, most places here that sell car oil will tell you that 5W30 is bad for your motor, that you need 20W50. Grrr! Grrr! Even Autozone in Tehuacan at times only has 20W50 in stock. There is a small store in my village which has the right stuff, if I need a quart in 5,000 miles.
Well, usally since I normally use Mobil-1 EP, I bring a quart with me for that purpose.
I personally believe if a person wants to change the oil every 3,000 miles, it’s their money and their car. What gripes me is when someone insults those who don’t want to change it until it needs to be changed, by saying they simply don’t care about their expensive car.
And, for those who aren’t sure, I recommend at least once, or maybe once per season, test it, and then you will not be guessing.
@mountainbike Where I live Staples, the office supplies store started by Mitt Romney, as a public service, now takes in all kinds oif electronics, including TVs for recycling. Where it goes from ther, I don’t know. They also take rechargeable batteries but no the other knid.
IKEA, the Swedish furniture store takes batteries, again as a public cervice.
Thanks guys. i’ll have to try Best Buy, Staples, and office supply stores. I have a TV that I bought in 1976 (stll have the owner’s manual), clicker channel changer and all. It still gets a good picture, amazing as that seems, but I think it’s ready to get rid of. While the electron gun still seems to be providing a focused beam without excess cathode erosion, I’ve gotten so spoiled by the image on my new TVs that the image seems poor by comparison. Besides, it’s much easier to have a digital selector in the TV than on a seperate box. And, needless to say, the ol’ TV doesn;t have remote controls.
How DID we survive back then?
I change my oil every 6 months. I rarely go even 1000 miles within that time but my manual says 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. I suspect I could go much longer (time wise) before changing the oil but that would be second guessing my owner’s manual. It doesn’t cost much anyway and I always do it myself. It’s worth it for the peace of mind.
“I have a TV that I bought in 1976 (stll have the owner’s manual), clicker channel changer and all. It still gets a good picture, amazing as that seems, but I think it’s ready to get rid of.”
If it works, donate it to a charity. Maybe someone else can get a few years out of it.
"How DID we survive back then?"
We didn’t have cable. There was nothing on worth watching.
Good TV programming nowadays is of course also ‘rare’.
We all know it certainly isn’t ‘well done’.
Regarding Best Buy let me add this. Unless it’s changed in the last year Best Buy would haul off an old appliance, etc when delivering a new one. The kicker was that they would charge a 100 bucks for hauling off one appliance and 20 each for any additional; and there’s more to the story. They reserve the right to resell your old appliance so it’s not going to a recycler.
Best Buy also has, or had, a shell vendor set up to sell things on eBay. Their ID just flat escapes me but they are selling return appliances, electronics, etc. as good, useable items. PCs are sold without hard drives, various other electronics without cards or what have you, and so on.
Their ads are misleading by stating that an item is in “good working condition” but even on the BB website they state that hard drives, cards, etc. will be removed.
The problem is that someone dealing with the eBay ID does not know that they’re buying returned goods that are often non-functional.
That ID also picks up negative feedbacks at the rate of hundreds a month and yet people still bid without perusing the Feedback for that ID. Most complaints involve DOA electronics.
Now you know where all of the returns, damaged and otherwise, end up… 
Remco, that’s true, we didn;t have cable. Cable allows me to get a much better picture when I’m watching Daniel Boone, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, and the other great shows.
I grew up in Europe, where we didn’t have any of those shows. We only had two channels.
Channel one with the news.
Channel two with a test screen that read ‘turn to channel 1’.
Edit: Once a week we had monty python. That’s about it, I think.
We had NBC, ABC, and CBS. At some point UHF was added, but my memory is unclear on that.
Not to really go off topic, but the first time I was in England I thought it was hilarious watching the TV news. They just grabbed a newspaper and read the stories off of it. Now I’ve noticed Minneapolis radio stations seem to be catching on to the same tactic. No one knows but their stories are word for word from the paper or AP. Guess nobody has any reporters anymore digging up news. They think we’re fooled but we’re not. Oh for Walter Cronkite and Skip Losher again.
Goodwill in our neighborhood also takes electronic items for free, plus allow you to take a tax write off.