Not a question per say, but asking for opinion… I was buying oil today for my Wifes Mini-Van… Once again there is a sale (it seems to be forever on sale) on the Valvoline Next Gen oil (green bottle), so I once again look at it… Put it down and grab the regular more expensive Valvoline. NextGen for those who do not know is a 50/50 mix of recycled oil and fresh oil. I just don’t know if I trust recycled motor oil… ANYONE who has worked in a shop knows what goes into the oil catch bins (oil from cars with blow head gaskets, blown motors, and WORSE ). I guess I have doubts about them getting all of the contaminants out. So the question is, what are your guys thoughts?? Thumbs up or thumbs down?? Good for use in the beater, but not in the primary family truckster? Good for any car??
I’d have no problem using it, all the contaminants can be removed pretty easily - you should see what crude oil looks (and smells) like! And Valvoline’s got waaaay too much to lose to sell a substandard product. This isn’t Uncle Joe running the used oil through a coffee filter…
I haven’t read much about recycled oil, but the main reason for oil changes is due to contaminants (dirt, metal particles, carbon, etc.) building up in the oil. The base oil is supposedly OK so good filtering can recover the base oil and make it useable again. Seems like a good idea.
Refined recycled oil is no dirtier than refined crude oil. Since they refine both to the same standards before they put them in a bottle that goes on the shelf, I see no reason not to use recycled oil.
If it meets the same SAE standards as the more expensive oil, I see no reason not to use it in any car. The only exception being if your car requires synthetic oil. I’d use it in a new car, a beater, or anything else in between.
I am curious, @gsragtop, do you think the more expensive Valvoline oil is any better than the store brand oil with the same SAE rating? Sometimes the store brand is half the price. The store brand oil doesn’t look like it is recycled, and it’s less expensive than Valvoline NextGen.
The only time I buy name brand oil is for my motorcycle, and that is only because there is no store brand motorcycle oil.
I would use the oil if it passed the sniff test (burnt odor). In my younger days bulk recycled oil smelled burnt but I used it anyway since my pockets were usually empty. It was bad stuff.
Te me, refining means distilling the spent oil. The evaporation process will first take out any light contaminants, like water, that might be present. then the oil is evaporated. Valvoline might get some heavyweight stuff out as well, but the leftovers are most of the contaminants that won’t evaporate, like acids (salts) and solid waste. Here’s the info from Valvoline’s FAQ:
Is Valvoline NextGen™ recycled motor oil just dirty oil that has been cleaned?
No. NextGen uses a newer refining process just like crude oil refining. A multi-stage refining process removes contaminants and additives to create fresh oil that performs as good as new. Then special additives are blended to create a recycled motor oil with superior performance and protection characteristics compared to specifications. Valvoline has a rigorous quality control process to assure that NextGen is of the highest quality.
jts - in refining crude oil all but the very heaviest of the the oil components are vaporized, then condensed at differing temperatures to yield the various products. If this is what they do, I imagine the heavy contaminants you mention would not end up in the lubricating oil product.
OK so everyone so far has giving thumbs up… Not an issue. With that said, why is then that ONLY Valvoline makes such a product?? I would think that this would help BIG TIME with cutting down oil imports etc… I am sure many people think like I did at least at first… So you offer pure fresh stuff for them, but I would think that if “real” car guys are ok with the 50/50 stuff it would still have a large impact on oil use.
Petroleum is refined by a vacuum distillation process…So the end product should be pretty close to the “virgin oil” product… Much would depend on the SOURCE of the used oil they use to make the product…Used oil collected at public recycling sites can contain a wide variety of lubricating liquids…Petroleum based, synthetic based, ATF, gear oil, various industrial fluids and lubricants…
It all boils down to cost…Is it cheaper refining that witches brew into a quality, uniform product or is it cheaper using virgin base stocks obtained from large refiners by the railroad tank-car load??
Another thing to consider, not all oil wells are the same…I know for a fact that years ago the Phillips Petroleum Company had one special oil well that produced high quality lubricating oil that required minimal refining and reforming. I suspect this is also true for other producers of quality lubricants.
Perhaps Valvoline is using carefully selected used oil from a controlled source to avoid the worst of the contamination problems and is producing a quality product…And, it gives them another 2 feet of shelf-space in the motor-oil aisle…
Speaking of shelf-space, while shopping in my local Wally-World Super-Store, I noticed there was not a single quart or jug of 10W-40 motor oil to be had…Interesting that this viscosity grade was once the standard of the industry and now is difficult to find…
...why is then that ONLY Valvoline makes such a product?
I believe many of us may have been buying re-refined oil for years. It just wasn't marketed or labeled as "recycled." Maybe I am wrong, but that's what I thought they always did when I properly disposed of used oil, at least in the last 15 years or so.
I completely agree with texasas. If you think used motor oil is nasty stuff, you should see (and smell) the crude oil they start with to make “virgin” motor oil. I have bought several oil changes worth of Valvoline Next Gen. No problem.
All that being said, I never allow Valvoline to be put in my car. Admittedly this is old stuff, but for years whatever car that I had that burned some oil, it would burn 2 or 3 times as much with Valvoline.
As long as it has the SAE and API standards compliance stamps, I’d feel comfortable. Oil out of the ground comes out with lots of stuff that needs to be distilled out, far more than used oil does. And the worst of the stuff, the sulfers, are probably lower in the oil that’s been processed one more time than in the new oil.
My only issue with it is that it’s not appreciably cheaper than the regular “new” conventional oil that Valvoline sells. At the Advance Auto I usually frequent, NextGen is usually only a dollar or so cheaper in the 5+ quart jugs than regular Valvonline. And while I’m sure it’s a fine product. For $1-$2 more, I’ll take the 100% new oil every time. With that said, I only use synthetic in the Mustang, The F-150 get’s whatever’s on sale that day, and the TR6 gets Castrol 20W-50 only.
Whitey, actually, 10 years ago, there was a second-tier oil company selling ‘recycled’ oil that was re-refined used oil. It was labeled as ‘recycled’ oil and sold by the case at a big box store. I cannot remember the company, but the ‘recycled’ label was all over the box. They also sold ‘virgin’ oil right next to it, and the ‘recycled’ stuff sold for about 40% less. Makes you wonder who else was using this stuff. (Quickie oil change places?)
Back in the '50s & '60s, stores like Pep Boys sold what was then referred to as “re-refined” oil in 1 gallon containers–so this concept is hardly new. The only new thing is for a major motor oil company to be selling it, rather than “Jack’s Oil Company”–or whoever it was that sold the stuff years ago.
I recall that my brother used 40-weight re-refined oil in his '54 Ford. Between the leaks and the oil burning, it was just not practical to use anything other than this cheaper stuff in his old car.
I agree. I can not see any problem with using recycled oil. Also store brand or name brand. Stores do not refine oil. Back in the 70’s my Grand Father worked for Mobile Oil. He told me the same oil that went into the K-Mart bottle was the same oil that went in to the Mobile bottle. He was a loyal Mobile man work there out of high school till he retired (Navy during the war). He would bring me cases of K-Mart Oil for mine and my Dads cars. Before I never seen him use any oil but Mobile oil.