Reclaimo anyone?

[gungatim]

I guess this qualifies as a tool.

picked up a couple boxes of NOS parts at an auction from a garage that shut down probably 30 years ago.

one was a new full case marked "reclaimo". filled with bags of some sort of filter media. Apparently the literature (from 1957) claims their unit uses this filtration media along with a heated tank to recycle motor oil. apparently running 300k miles on the same oil was not unheard of in large equipment with this setup.

anybody still use one? did it really work or just a gimmick that faded away? Any value to a case of replacement media or is it just fodder for the woodstove?

I'd post a pic but it's just stapled paper bags filled with white filter media, not much to look at except the dusty old paperwork...

 

[DenisG]

You probably have this info in your paperwork, but FWIW here's an ad for the product from the advertisement section of Popular Science (Oct. 1956):

 

[bonneyman]

Another forum member spoke about a pamphlet the gov issued during WW2 on how to recycle your own motor oil for you car as war demand made supplies tight. He didn't have the pamphlet anymore - maybe it was something like this?

 

[gungatim]

the pamphlet in the box is a large 4 page fold out with the same picture and lots of "scientific data" and other sales-language proof, but obviously a bit dated (one study it cited was from late 30's) for today's oil...interesting bit of history if nothing else...I didn't read the whole thing, but the gist of it was the tank heated the oil to boil out the water/moisture, oil never wears out, and the extremely fine filter media took out anything down to a certain micron size...

I know oil can be recycled, and had always heard the additives are what wears out, and the moisture is horrible for bearings, would be interesting if I could make a tank from an old propan tank or something and heat it up and force oil through it...supposedly it comes out clear. then maybe add some STP to replenish the additives...

but even if it worked, I doubt I would have the guts to actually use the oil in a car engine!

 

[gungatim]

so I was thinking more about this, mother earth news has an article on recycling your own oil, similar process, heat to 220 or so boil off water an other light volatiles, then filter through toilet paper...

thinking about making another still only smaller and out of steel instead of stainless to heat and clean out the oil then run through this filter stuff...I think using the cooling leg of a still will be a lot safer than just heating it outright (condensing the volatiles instead of letting the vapor float around the shop!).

supposedly the acidity dropped and the boron and other stuff went up...forget the #'s, but it sounds like it will be a good project...

here's the brochures someone requested.

 

[gungatim]

and the rest of them...

 

[DenisG]

Here's an article on the oil re-refining business:
http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/06/05467.pdf

It discusses some of economic and technical problems of it, small operators going out of business and some of the big names in the industry.

 

[gungatim]

thanks, interesting reading. too bad it's from 1992, would like to see if they are profitable, (likely not as there is even more environmental regulation and compliance costs today) I know I've seen the evergreen recycled oil on the shelves at the store so they must still be around...

looks like what I want to do/what relaimo did is called "Atmospheric Flash Evaporation" processing. I'm already familiar with fractionation, so this may prove interesting.

unfortunately the last page of the article is missing and was replaced with a page on scrap paper when it was scanned...

 

[bonneyman]

Thanks for the pages!