How long can you store engine oil for (buying in bulk/advance)?

marlot

5 years is fine in a container.
The reason for annual changes is that the oil gets contaminated in an engine.

twhitehousescat

marlot said:

5 years is fine in a container.
The reason for annual changes is that the oil gets contaminated in an engine.

total oil say 2 yrs 

gulf say "expiry date"

everyone is guessing , and often guessing wrong 

the correct answer is 
 engine oil has indefinate lifespan providing its stored correctly (heat.cold/shade) and no water or dirt has been allowed to enter container 

shaun_from_Africa

twhitehousescat said:

everyone is guessing , and often guessing wrong 

the correct answer is 
 engine oil has indefinate lifespan providing its stored correctly (heat.cold/shade) and no water or dirt has been allowed to enter container 

You say that everyone is guessing wrong then you go and post something that is also wrong.
The only engine oil that could have an almost indefinite lifespan when stored correctly is one that is pure oil with zero additives and as far as I'm aware, there is no such product on the market.
It is the additives that ultimately determine the life of stored oil as these additives can degrade over time and when this happens, the oil loses some of its properties.

twhitehousescat

store a opened can , give us a shout in 10 yrs 
"12 months?
Even some oil companies state that unopened, lubricating oil should last around 5 years and they have a vested interest in selling the stuff."

elf actually go further and stated stored correctly , with no water or dirt ingress , much longer times can be expected 

but going back to the OP , if he replaces the top after use and stores correctly the oil will still be usable when needed for the cars next service 

cymruchris

How long have some bottles of oil been sat on the shelf at your local motor factors/Halfords etc ? Do you often see the clearance bay selling oil off because it’s near it’s sell by date ? Do staff rotate stock to make sure the oldest is sold first? No! The only time stock gets rotated in most shops is when the packaging changes I worked 17 years in motor retail and in some branches we closed we found oil that was over a decade old. Still sold it, and I’m sure it was just fine. As others have said it’s not brake fluid - it’s oil. And when it’s still in it’s original container it’ll be good for years. 

twhitehousescat

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Litre-1L-Biltema-10W40-Car-Engine-Mineral-Oil-Swedish-Company/254422392947

 (youtube clip) "he Project Farm recently tested some 70 year old motor oil that was still good!

"

fred246

I have got some unopened oil that must be 50 to 60 years old. The empty cans have some value but I always wonder if the oil would be of any use or interest to anyone. If I ebayed the can the oil would spill in the post.

roddydogs

Considering what a faff it is, do people still diy on oil changes. The sheds are quite cheap.

fred246

Very funny.

nick74

roddydogs said:

Considering what a faff it is, do people still diy on oil changes. The sheds are quite cheap.

I find it more of a faff booking the car in somewhere, taking time off work to drive it there, then either sitting waiting, or going to find something to do to waste an hour while they work on it. Even then you often don't know whether they've used a decent quality oil & filter or cheap sh*te. I can change the oil and filter at home in less time than it would take to drive the car somewhere for somebody else to do it.