Oil has a shelf life?

[LittleFish]

Quickly coming up on my 1st Oil Change for the Gladiator. I was in WalMart (I rarely go to WalMart) and saw the Quaker State 0W20 full synthetic on the shelf for under $30/jug. WOW, that's cheap! So I grabbed a bottle and started reading... At the bottom of the bottle was a Best Before Date... WHAT?!? Why?!?

Of the 20+ bottles on the shelf, all were past their BBD. Some by more than 2 years.

Since when did oil get a shelf life?

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[brianinca]

That's a marketing technique they stole from Budweiser, implying that it will suck MORE after a certain date.

False expiration dates are enough of a problem they'll probably wind up getting regulated at the Federal level (which is gov't overreach but anyway).

 

[MrZappo]

Rubbish.

It's fine.

 

[mrmo]

Thats some funny shite right there. There is no shelf life on oil...manufaturers are out of control w this

 

[IamAlan]

The concern is that, after five years or so, the packaging may allow moisture to leech in and contaminate the lubricant.

 

[Blue Ridge]

I’m in the pet supply business and see all sorts of things with expirations that defy logic. Calcium supplements for reptiles that are 100% calcium carbonate will be calcium carbonate 1000 years from now, barring contamination. I always assumed it was to urge buyers to toss it out and buy new if they didn’t go through it quickly enough.

 

[MrZappo]

Well, if you internet search, you will see valid reasons for the why's of a shelf life on oil. For years, I have been a ware of the 5 yr. deal with synthetic oil. Do read and it seems there are a few valid reasons for shelf life on synthetic.

Meh,

An internet search? Synthetic? Which synthetic? You know that most synthetic oils marketed in the USA are not actually synthetic right? Corporate lawyers obtained the right to call highly refined regular oil "synthetic" years ago. Unless is says "group 4" I believe, which it typically not found at Walmart.

So if it says synthetic but it's actually not, then what is the expiration date?

As far as moisture, that's a heck of a long shot in a full plastic container with a foil seal stored in walmart at room temperature in a retail environment. Yeah, no.

Maybe 20 years or something.

Honestly, I call total BS on a 5 year life span sitting on a shelf in a retail store. Perhaps if it were stored in the sun in Arizona I'd see some logic.

This is a PFA number. "plucked from air".

 

[DailyMoparGuy]

It’s organic just like us. Unfortunately, we all have a shelf life.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I’m pretty sure Walmart would have to bundle up the “expired” oil and ship it back to the manufacturer who would then pour it all into new containers with new dates and resell it. The circle of life.

 

[Hootbro]

Years ago, Shell had a FAQ website and the question of oil shelf life came up. One time Shell recommended a 10 year shelf life and then went down to 5 years. Most of the reasoning is that while Shell will back their oil if used properly for a given application oil grade and spec is followed, there can be some minute additive settlement and a way lessor remote intrusion of moisture leaching through the plastic container. Direct long term UV light can also degrade oil and is a reason why many went away from clear plastic bottles.

In real use, the 5 year shelf life is them drawing a line to limit liability as they cannot control long term storage conditions for their product and continue to offer warranty.

In reality, if the oil is somewhat climate control stored and out of extreme environmental swings, it will store way beyond 5 or 10 years and still be serviceable with a good shake before use.

 

[LittleFish]

I did some digging online and some points that I found did seem viable. I even ran across a test from Blackstone, they purchased sealed oil containers from the 1930's, 40's, etc. Ran some tests and found that the oil was still viable. Clearly, oil from that far back is not synthetic oil. I also tried emailing QS and it just bounced back (email not in service).

 

[mrmo]

The concern is that, after five years or so, the packaging may allow moisture to leech in and contaminate the lubricant.

nahhh....like a goat sounds...

 

[kd1yt]

All those dinosaurs and cretaceous era giant fern trees that spent millions of years decomposing and getting squooshed into becoming hydrocarbon chains for our motoring pleasures can only hang in there so much longer before going rancid in the jug on the store shelf... More seriously, modern oils do have a remarkably sophisticated package of viscosity modifiers, detergents, anti-wear, anti corrosives, etc., and some of those could degrade in their effectiveness, or break down into undesirable other compounds...

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