Is changing your oil good for the environment?

08 January 2020 by Mike Retford

In the maintenance section of manuals by hydraulic system suppliers, they typical recommend that the oil should be changed every 12 months. That would mean a lot of oil changed in the UK alone every year. I reckon that a lot of that oil would still have useful life left in it. How could we tell? 

For at least 20 years now oil sampling and lab analysis can tell you the condition of the oil and the condition of the additive package of the oil. Taking an oil sample at the start, with new oil, and then regularly sampling and trending can lead to a prediction of the life of the oil; which could be up to say 5 years. Oil sampling and analysis is low cost when compared to changing high volumes of oil, and the effects on the environment.

What happens to oil when it is changed?

At worst it is burnt for power generation

At best it is refined for reuse

Consider the environmental impact of the supply of new oil and the disposal of old oil!

Our aim is to use less oil, by maintaining hydraulic systems correctly and reducing the amount of oil changes needed.

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