Recycled Spark Plugs

[T120]

...Anyone remember these?I was given a couple of packages of refurbished spark plugs this past weekend.They appear to be AC44, 8 to a package. Looks like they're from the early sixties judging by the chart on the back

[JIPJOBXX]

You what interesting that you brought those up? Last weekend at the swap meet I was looking at a display case and inside there was a carton for one plug that stated renewed spark plug. I ask the guy who both I was at to show me the plug and he gave me the box but some son of a bitch stole the plug out of the box and put the box back in the display case. Dam crocks anyway!~ A guy just trying to make a few extra bucks and some person rips him oft.

[BobT-47P15]

If some of you "older" fellows recall, back in that time they also used to

sell re-refined motor oil.

[Phil Martin]

Saw a pack of those plugs years ago. They were worn out used plugs that had been sandblasted.

[JIPJOBXX]

Yea I oust to work in a filling station that only dispense gas and oil. Well we had a rack where the tin oil can were positioned at and when a customer would come in and need some oil we would grab one of those tins. Now here is where the recycled oil would come in. After dispensing the oil we would put the can back in a special spot on the rack and turn it over and whatever oil was left in that can would drain into a compartment under the stand. In that compartment we would have a glass oil jar and that would fill up over time and then we would sell that recycled oil for a 25 cents a quart. This little extra would make up for any losses we would occur durring a shift-most of the time.

Good old American know how! But that oil could have anything in it from transmission oil to regular oil.

Edited February 17, 2010 by JIPJOBXX

[Plymouthy Adams]

nothing personal here Bob, but isn't all motor oil refined????

[BobT-47P15]

True, Tim. Oil is refined.

But they were saying, I believe, they were selling used oil that had

been processed a second time. Called it "RE--refined".

It was cheaper.

[BobT-47P15]

As some more "experienced" (didn't want to say older) fellows will

remember, most every filling station that worked on cars had a

spark plug cleaning machine back in the 50s and 60s.

Such an easy task, even a young lady could do it........

Edited February 18, 2010 by BobT-47P15

[LuckyDevil]

As some more "experienced" (didn't want to say older) fellows will

remember, most every filling station that worked on cars had a

spark plug cleaning machine back in the 50s and 60s.

Such an easy task, even a young lady could do it........

We had one of those spark plug machines at the tech school I went to when I got my aviation mechanic certificates. The little blonde teacher I had told me to hold the plug in the machine and check to see if it was a good spark. She pushed the button and ZAP, it shocked the crap out of me. Shoulda saw that one coming! I miss her, she was a hoot.

You know what they say, a sucker is born every minute.

[Plymouthy Adams]

True, Tim. Oil is refined.

But they were saying, I believe, they were selling used oil that had

been processed a second time. Called it "RE--refined".

It was cheaper.

I knew what you were referring to..oil is oil is oil...the defining difference is the additives..oil will lose these additives and get contaminated with particial burned fuels etc etc and when "refined" as you say Bob, it is very usable, as said..oil is oil..it is cheaper due to low cost bulk and probably fewer additives put back into it prior to resale..

[greg g]

We had a company here in town that reprocessed used oil then sold it in gallon/5 gallon cans. they sold 10, 20, 30, and 50 weight. I used a lot of it in my 1960 /6 Dodge.

Oil does not loose its lubricating properties, as Tim noted the contamination and lack of additives that determies its usability. In this day and age it would seem that this industry should be making a come back, but their probably wouldn't be may people who would put used oil in their car.

Used to work with a guy that changed the oil in his toyota truck every 1500 to 2000 miles. One of the other employees who always drove beaters asked him what he did with it, He said he took it back to the store for recycling. The beater guy said hey give it to me. So he ran it in his car/cars, since he and his brother had a landscape business they used it in their equipment also.

[T120]

...We also had a small independent operator that re-refined oil in a plant close to where I lived when I was a young man.Also sold it in bulk,mostly through auto repair garages,auto wreckers and the like.The plant was on the outskirts of town and wasn't much to look at.There were lot of vehicles on the road then that used a little oil and it was cheap to buy in comparison to brand names.The plant is long gone and I suppose now with the present environmental regulations we have,the cost would be prohibitive to build even a small facility.

Another item I saw installed on an engine years ago was a "Reclaimo" oil filter.An elderly fellow I knew had one installed.He used old oil and topped it up when needed.It actually cleaned up the oil.With me being rather skeptical - he pulled the dipstick and showed me.It didn't look dirty at all.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Ralph D25cpe

[Don Coatney]

As some more "experienced" (didn't want to say older) fellows will

remember, most every filling station that worked on cars had a

spark plug cleaning machine back in the 50s and 60s.

I have a spark plug sand blaster. I use it every time I remove the spark plugs from my engine. I have close to 30,000 miles on these plugs.

[Oldguy48]

If some of you "older" fellows recall, back in that time they also used to

sell re-refined motor oil.

I remember that... our local "American Auto Store" sold the re-refined stuff, and my Dad used to buy it for our P15 (our family car). And he had to buy it frequently.

[ptwothree]

Let's see....mid sixties.... reclaimed oil was .10 a qt. vs .60 or so for the 'good stuff'. Gas was .27 or so.

I had a '56 2dr ranch wagon (among others) with a 292 that had a real leaky rear main. Economies at the time dictated a four qt. purchase filled 1 qt. over the full mark. Then drive till the red light came on and repeat. Always could find where i'd been. Just looked for the oil trail.......Ahhhhh the good 'ol days!!

[captden29]

i worked in a service station in 1966. we drained oil out of cars for oil changes and had a screen over the pan it drained into. we then poured the "screened" oil into those glass jars with the spout and called it reclaimed. the weight was whatever the customer wanted. it cost .10 cents a quart. i use my changed oil now in all my lawn equipment. saves money and no problems ever. i do change filters where they apply. dennis

[greg g]

It coming back to market

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-oil-be-recycled

http://www.safety-kleen.com/products/OilProducts/Pages/EcoPower.aspx

[Plymouthy Adams]

most all places like Dollar General, Big Lots and other such stores has the house/off brand of this oil..if you got an engine that likes to spill its guts so to speak..operating with this oil could be greatly benefical to the wallet..