# Saving/Reusing Plow Fluid



## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

I was just thinking that I throw away a lot of blue hydraulic fluid.

I never reuse on customers equipment because I don't want to put contaminated fluid back into someone else's plow. Has anyone ever tried a cleaning/filtering method on used blue hydraulic fluid. I can see screening out metal shavings and other debris, but I have no ideas on how to remove water/moisture?

Any thoughts?


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885043 said:


> I was just thinking that I throw away a lot of blue hydraulic fluid.
> 
> I never reuse on customers equipment because I don't want to put contaminated fluid back into someone else's plow. Has anyone ever tried a cleaning/filtering method on used blue hydraulic fluid. I can see screening out metal shavings and other debris, but I have no ideas on how to remove water/moisture?
> 
> Any thoughts?


Is your $1000+ pump really not worth $20 of new fluid?


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## rjigto4oje (Oct 27, 2010)

Ah no unless your name us birdbrain/seed


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Use it to heat your shop. 
Or sell it at half price to guys in Michigan.


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## jimbo64 (Oct 20, 2011)

When you do an oil change on your vehicle would you filter and re-use your motor oil?
Come to think of it you would save a ton of money over the life of your vehicle....if it lasted that long.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

kimber750;1885074 said:


> Is your $1000+ pump really not worth $20 of new fluid?


Why not? The water we drink is recycled


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## carkey351 (Oct 18, 2010)

seems like you would have to have a couple of things:

1. good filtration -for the fine particles

2. it would have to be heated or otherwise treated to remove the water...now is it really worth it for most; not really. I'd just burn it if you have waste oil heater, otherwise put in recycling with other motor oil...my $.02


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

1olddogtwo;1885125 said:


> Why not? The water we drink is recycled


I only drink beer.


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## LapeerLandscape (Dec 29, 2012)

kimber750;1885165 said:


> I only drink beer.


I think Bud Light is recycled.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

LapeerLandscape;1885203 said:


> I think Bud Light is recycled.


I know it's recycled, did a color match at Home Depot


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## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

It's not that I am being cheap ... I don't like being wasteful if I don't have to be.

I was thinking of a large vertical plastic or glass cylinder, with a spigot about half way up. Two filter screens and a magnet where the fluid is deposited into the cylinder. Let the fluid settle so that the water collects at the bottom of the cylinder. Tap clean fluid from the spigot.

I know it seems like a lot of work but I would estimate that I throw away 30+ gallons of fluid each year. The cost savings might justify satisfying my conscience. Or maybe I should just have one of those beers.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Just one of those beers? I'd shoot for more lol .
Don't you get paid for recycling it? Not sure who you have up there, but we have places here that pay for used oil


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## rjigto4oje (Oct 27, 2010)

Hey diesel can the general public take there oil to these place i have 7 vehicle's and a ton of side jobs that i collect oil from i just give it away to jiffy lube just wondering because i generate a few hundred gallons a year


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## cdmckane (Oct 14, 2014)

As a part-time AMSOIL Dealer here in NY, I'm required to accept used oil for recycling since I sell more than 100 gallons of oil a year. I don't have a used oil burner, nor am I going to pay to have someone haul it away for recycling. I call up one of the local trucking companies and tell them that I've got 55 free gallons of used motor oil if they come and get it. Within a day or 2, it's gone and I can start refilling the drum. I wouldn't worry about selling it, just find someone that can use it and let them have it. The good will come back to you, trust me.


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## rjigto4oje (Oct 27, 2010)

Agreed but when i drop that much off sometimes they say we can only take 5 gallons at a time int a pain sometimes


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

We got a 500 gallon tote. Actually 2. I'm not sure they do "home" pickup. If you can get your work to agree, you can put the tote there. I'll pm you the companys


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

put an add in Clist or the paper and you will find someone to take it for free.


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## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

I haven't looked at the bottles very closely ... does anybody know how the blue fluid differs from motor oil? I don't even know if it is flammable.


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## Rick547 (Oct 9, 2009)

Hydraulic fluid operates at very high pressures. I'm not an expert but I would think it would break down and lose some of it's properties during use in a snow plow. I'll just continue to put new in each season. I would rather spend a $20 bill per unit than hundreds of dollars on repairs. Best insurance money can buy.


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## rrvsnow (Nov 22, 2014)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885043 said:


> I can see screening out metal shavings and other debris,


I'm going to have to agree with popular opinion, never reuse oil in anything, except a good bonfire that is. The cheapest insurance is new oil, you can flash oUT a plow many, many times for the price of a new pump. The better question to ask yourself instead of how to filter and reuse oil is, what's causing there to be metal shavings and debris in my oil?


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## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

rrvsnow;1885949 said:


> The better question to ask yourself instead of how to filter and reuse oil is, what's causing there to be metal shavings and debris in my oil?


LOL :laughing: ... I think you missed the point of my OP by a wide mark.

I know it is cheap and easy to use fresh fluid. I wanted to start a conversation that maybe no one has tackled before. Please don't post if you just want to say don't reuse fluid. I am looking for ideas to see if it possible.


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## Rick547 (Oct 9, 2009)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885951 said:


> LOL :laughing: ... I think you missed the point of my OP by a wide mark.
> 
> I know it is cheap and easy to use fresh fluid. I wanted to start a conversation that maybe no one has tackled before. Please don't post if you just want to say don't reuse fluid. I am looking for ideas to see if it possible.


Well then, run it through a loaf of bread. It worked great for the Moonshiners.


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## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885930 said:


> I haven't looked at the bottles very closely ... does anybody know how the blue fluid differs from motor oil? I don't even know if it is flammable.


I'm no expert but the way it was explained to me is that the blue oil is made to work in extreme cold under high pressure where as motor oil is designed to help protect against higher temps.


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885951 said:


> LOL :laughing: ... I think you missed the point of my OP by a wide mark.
> 
> I know it is cheap and easy to use fresh fluid. I wanted to start a conversation that maybe no one has tackled before. Please don't post if you just want to say don't reuse fluid. I am looking for ideas to see if it possible.


I would think that you would need to distill it to remove all the impurities. This would require knowing what the new oils boiling point is. After distilling you would need to add any additive package back in to the oil. Distilling will also remove any metal or other heavy contamination.

Or you could heat it up to 220 or so to remove any water, then run it though a 2 micron filter and just reuse it. Mix it with 1/3 or 1/2 new oil to replenish some of the additives.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

Or just get a centrifuge or two.
http://www.dieselcraft.com/engine-oil-cleaning.php#.VHtOK8kQ1pM
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/104754.aspx

I'm still not sure why you want to do this , but here you go


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## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

maxwellp;1886251 said:


> I would think that you would need to distill it to remove all the impurities.


Do you think it would need to be distilled to get rid of the moisture? My thought was eventually the water would settle out. Using the centrifuge would obviously do a better and faster job of that. Not sure if the centrifuge runs fluid through it continuously. It would need to work that way to make the process feasible.

Let me add one other bit of information. The condition of the fluid I am would like to save is not that of fluid that has been run for a few seasons and looks like mud. I would just like to save the nice looking fluid that is less than a year old but could be contaminated.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

Some engines us a centrifuge to filter the oil instead of a oil filter. it runs when the engine runs.

some use them just to recycle engine oil and bio fuel.

still the why?
and why is water getting in it.


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

It is possible but have you ever experimented with Premium Snowplow fluids?

Have you mixed dissemblers and run them though some heat/cold cycles, a few pressure cycles, shake them around a bit and let them sit for a while?

Added a little water to some fresh fluid, run it though the cycles above?

Sent a couple new and used samples to the lab just for S&Gs?

We have and if anyone ever told me he had put recycled fluid in my system I would not pay the bill, go drain, flush, refill the unit and never return to that "dis-service" center.

Before you spend a lot of time and money, research fluids a little. 

Purified Lubricants can sell you the equipment for removing contaminates, dehydrating and degassing and has access to additives suppliers to rejuvenate the used fluid.

They prefer vacuum dehydration and promise their units to provide residual dryness levels of 30 ppm w/ micro glass filtration.

Cheaper to buy new fluid and burn the used in a waste oil burner. We have a guy that brings the barrel and trades for an empty whenever we call.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1885043 said:


> I was just thinking that I throw away a lot of blue hydraulic fluid.
> 
> I never reuse on customers equipment because I don't want to put contaminated fluid back into someone else's plow. Has anyone ever tried a cleaning/filtering method on used blue hydraulic fluid. I can see screening out metal shavings and other debris, but I have no ideas on how to remove water/moisture?
> 
> Any thoughts?


No need to clean it up,
The best thing for that blue fluid is to take it to the recyclers, 
It's not even good enough to burn.

I recant my prior post


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## bliz&hinikerDLR (Dec 30, 2011)

Basher just dropped the bomb on this thread. Sounds like he put more time and effort into it than I had dreamed of...
Let's put this thread to rest with: Don't reuse plow fluid.


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## scottr (Oct 10, 2013)

comparing motor oil and hyd oil is like apples and oranges. No carbon is produced and its not being introduced to the same extreme temps that motor oil is. That being said, the water will not get to a vapor state and get pushed out thru the crank case vent system like motor oil. I think the question is weather theres a brake down in lubricity ?? On your cleaning note, I think you could do a great job of pulling the debris and water out. Pump it thru a colessing filter so you get any water that's still in suspention and soloution out and a small micron filter like a 1 or even a .5 micron filter. It will be clean as anything a jet turbin runs thru its engine.


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

bliz&hinikerDLR;1890423 said:


> Basher just dropped the bomb on this thread. Sounds like he put more time and effort into it than I had dreamed of...
> Let's put this thread to rest with: Don't reuse plow fluid.


We've play with fluids A LOT and had already done the recycling research.

Issues not considered , Different additives in different fluids and their interactions and compatibilities. Differing viscosity and separating them.

Didn't mean to kill your thread just sharing our experiments.


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