How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

My winter truck is unstoppable as long as I have a good supply of motor oil and spark plugs, so I was wondering how long you can expect motor oil to last? I assumed it was near indefinite since I've dumped a cheap bottle from 10 years ago into it a while back and it seemed to be the right consistency and didn't burn off early. But if it does go bad, then how long does it take? Do I get longer storage life with synthetic?

Also, if I want cooking oil, how long is that going to last? And again, is there a type that keeps longer (e.g. olive oil vs penut oil.)

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I would think that motor oils would last indefinitely, literally. There is really no reason they should start to break down unless exposed to very high temps.

Cooking oils? Not as sure there, 2-3 years maybe. Longer if kept in cool dark places. Metal versus plastic containers would be best. I have used canola oil that was two years old and couldn't notice any rancid taste. Olive oil might last longer being a less refined product but I'm really just guessing.

I do know that oils/fats are an important food requirement that most people forget about. We get so much fat/oil in our modern preprocessed diet that is never really a concern. We even try to cut as much of it out of our diet for weight/heart concerns. But if you go on a survival diet that is mostly grains like wheat , rice, barley, or fruits or vegetables from the garden, you will end up needing fats/oils.

I'm not a dietition, or nutritionist so do your research.

sb

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

motor oil, like small arms ammunition will keep indefinitely, as long as it is uncontaminated. World war one 30-06 ball munitions are still quite functional.
I have seen ww2 lubricants used in recent times.
I have eaten ww2 c rations as late as the mid 70's, some were ok, some we rejected ( we were kids). \
I would expect regular soy oil to keep for a decade at least if kept COOL, ie root cellar. store it warm and it will go rancid.
I would expect olive oil in a sealed glass bottle to go fifty years at least, but I offer no proof.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I stock up on crisco, indefinite storage life if you keep it cool.

And yeah, motor oil will last a very long time if stored unopened.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I've been hoarding motor oil as of late....I remember when it was $1/qt...now it is often $3/qt....

The absolute best price I've found is at Costco. They have Shell 5W-30 for $20.50/case of 12 quarts. I just bought 10 cases....figure it will be $100/case down the road. This will be good for any spark ignition engine you would ever own.

Costco also has Shell Rotella heavy duty 15W-40 that is ideal for Diesel engines, but will also work fine in gasoline engines...just a bit thick for very cold weather applications (thick on cold starting...could be thinned with kerosene....for gasoline car applications). The Rotella is a bit more expensive and packaged in 3 x 1gal container in a case...it is still 12 quarts in a case...just packaged by the gal. I have 5 cases of Rotella....might end up with a Diesel later down the road....the Rotella will work in both Diesel/Gasoline....but the 5W-30 will only work in Gasoline engines.

I plan on at least doubling this supply to 30 cases total.....oil will only get more expensive...would make a great trade unit when TSHTF...

Also, pretty tough to beat Costco on basic food stockpiles...Flour is $15/50lbs. Sugar is $15/50#, Rice is also about $15/50#....we are packing away tons of this stuff....flats of salt, blocks of yeast, cases of oats, peanut butter, spam, tuna, canned fruit, etc....we rotate stock...we eat for about 50% of nornal price and have a pile of food for TSHTF. Pasta and Paste Sauce is cheap food.

We also have a lot of Crisco and Veg oil....assume it will last just about forever in our cool dry basement.

Better pack it away right now! .....while it is still low cost and available...

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Sound good Ruprick....I'd watch the veg oil.....my understanding is 3-4 years.

My plan is to rotate out old veg oil thru the tank of my diesel tractor, about a 1/2 gallon to a full tank of regular diesel fuel at a time when and if my stored amounts go rancid before we use them.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Ok, thanks guys. I picked up a few gallons of oil today, as well as some canned food (chili good until 2012, and it's really tasty).

My plan is to build a cold room in the basement that hopefully will keep food and other things a bit longer than the kitchen cupboards will. I guess I'll stick some good olive oil in there once it's done. I figure it costs more... but if it ever gets to the point where I really need it, then the few bucks extra is meaningless anyway.

I found this:
So I guess the trick is that what spoils everything else (heat, light, oxygen) is what spoils cooking oil.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I'm not sure on the cooking oil, I'd have to check with my wife on that. As for the motor oil, I had some stuff that must have been 40 years old and it was still good. It was an old metal can that had been opened at some point in the distant past. I had it in the back of the garage on a shelf and had forgotten it. When I was cleaning out the garage, I found it and dipped a little out and it was still fine. Straight 30W - used it in the lawn mower.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I would expect mineral oil to last just about forever in a sealed container, just get rid of any condensation and give it a good stir through before using.

I wish I'd loaded up on full synthetic in a big way, but the problem is they might improve the formulation, it has basically doubled in price in the last 6 years or so.

Cooking oil doesn't last long, depending on storage conditions 1-3 years probably, then it's rancid and only good in a diesel as Andy indicated.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Here is where I get my automotive oil info

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Good info site plus a forum

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Interesting site Dobgeby.
Appreciate your posing it.
Holy cow, there is a forum for everything isn't there ???
Haystack

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Hello everybody,

My first post!!!

Ive been reading GIM for such a long time but always seem to miss registration. I feel like I know alot of you guys but yet, here I am at my first post :thumpdown

Anywho, as a chef(pastry/baker) this subject is something that has weighed on my mind as well which is why i wanted to post here first to help you all out.

Its a VERY good and VERY real question. I dont know much about the motor oils, but really unless you do something to cause them to break down, like store open, in heat, in sun, etc they shoud last a long time; they are synthetic after all.

But, in regards to storing veg oils or any natural fats for that matter you must be VERY careful with extended storage on these. Say regular old crisco you get by the gallon at the store. Plain, un-hydrogenated veg oil will not last as long as one might think even under ideal conditions. It is pure organic fat and because of this it is prone to rancidity despite your most stout attempts. If you go this route, either A) Buy a lot and be prepared to throw some out or B) by a decent amount and rotate often.

However, the plus side to the un-hydr. veg oil is that it can literaly be poured straight into a diesel engine and run it nearly as efficiently as the diesel. There is no process needed, only cleaning it through filters if its been used. That to me is a HUGE bonus, because when you are done cooking, you have fuel.
It also is a better fuel for your body, which I will get to.

There is the other option which is shortening. Crisco(or whatever) in the can, i guess thats how the store sells em. We use em by the 50 or 25 lb box(same stuff, just more) What this is is hydrogenated veg oil. It has had hydrogen(and some other stabalizers) added to it to stabalize and maximise the shelf life. It literaly has an indefinate shelf life and can be used exactly the same way as veg oil. It has a higher concentrated fat to it as well. HOWEVER the down side is this, your body does not process hydrogenated fats efficiently at ALL. This is the whole "war on margrine over butter" thing. It is not a pure fat and does not break down well, rendering most of the values of fat at half that of regular fat(butter, peanut oil, veg oil, ect)

So, if you are living in a place where fat and proteins will be scarce, natural veg oil is the way to go. Store in pitch black, super cold areas(dont freeze, or attempt it, im not even sure if that works) and use it within a few months once open. You should get a few years out of it.

If pure fats arent a concern(i.e. you have plenty of legumes and what not) and you dont need it as a fuel source(i.e. diesel generators, cars, etc) then go with shortening, cause even open, it will last forever, bugs wont touch it, air doesnt affect, neither does temperature. It is super stable. And you can make great cakes and french breads with it! When we move to our SHTF location, I will stocking up on both.

Also remember, as far as getting proteins and fats from beans is concerned. The only whole protein in nature is animal proteins. Soy beans are the next closest, with 1 amino acid away from benig a whole proteins. Peanuts are one of the next steps, they are higher in fat too and grow like wild fire in the US(southern anyways) In the long run you WILL want to have meat around or you and yours can suffer some sever amino acid and protein defficiency(sp) which is one of the worst case scenarios you can prevent easily.

Hope I helped with my small book above :) Glad to be on board with the GIM family.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Insightful post Heimdhal,
Thanks for the info and welcome to GIM.
Regards,
Haystackneedle

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

What Haystack said.....and welcome.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

TY for the welcome. You all have already helped me so much, i want to return the favors.

hey, if any one needs a baker after SHTF:sarcasm:

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Welcome aboard.

I may add some shortening to my stash. If it got to the point where there is no choice but to dip into my preps or starve, my first concern wouldn't be if I was getting some trans fats in my diet. I'm sure I'm eating plenty of the stuff right now without even knowing it.

This diesel thing interests me. If I had a diesel truck right now, I could dump in a bottle of canola oil from the supermarket into the gas tank?

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

yep, thats pretty much it. If you used stuff you've cooked with you can filter it through some cheescloth and other filters to get the particles out. The closer to clear the better, but it all does the same stuff in the end.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Keep an eye on Checker Auto. Once a month or so they run specials on motor oil, usually Shell or Chevron, for $0.49 a quart after a mail-in rebate. You can usually get 2 cases at that price. :applause_:applause_

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Andy, have you run veggie oil in your diesel before? You can run straight veggie if you rig up a separate fuel supply for the veggie that is heated to thin it out, and just start up/shut down on diesel or biodiesel. Just need a separate tank and lines leading to the injection pump (or whatever your rig uses) and make sure it's filtered and such.

I don't think I'd personally add veggie right to my diesel tank, unless I had a fuel heater of some sort for it, as well... especially in cooler/winter temps.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

Never done it, but I have a friend that does in a Dodge pickup......just filters it thru a coffee filter to take out the big crap, then pours it straight in....he says as long as you don't get over 1/4 veggie oil, you're ok. I'd only do it in the summer, and since this would be new ( but rancid ) oil, I wouldn't even filter.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

For engine oil, if you live near a small airport, go talk to them. Piston driven aircraft use a synthetic oil that works fine in cars, but does not degrade ... period. You change your filter every 5k and top off. I got 6 quarts for $160 and ran for years without changing. Flushed the engine first, naturally. I'd drain the old oil filter through a coffee filter and add it back.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

I was just thinking. All this talk about fuel and motor oil for cars...but no ones mentioned what they are going to do about tires.

I mean, realisticaly, most ideal road conditions will be gone. Services will be slow or non existant, so trash and debris may litter street. Or you might be on the fringe and be off road all the time. What happens when you get a blow out?:confused_ma:

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

You fix it. Rebeading a tire is a simple matter, requiring only a small amout of lighter fluid, a match, and good aim.

Re: How long do oils (motor and cooking) last?
 

im not that car/tire savy :(