Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

Here is a photo of my monthly gallon steam waste run off aka “oily waste” and that is removed from my condensers or exhaust ports on all my steam engines.   Usually produce about 1 gallon a month.   It’s very oily and is not something I will throw down my drain. 

I usually dump it out at the local hardware store oil waste drop off.   

Does anyone else collect their steam waste? And what do you do with it?

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Do you keep it in the jug when you drop it off? Dad burns user oil for heat and hates when people contaminate it with antifreeze or water…

I been just dumping it in the oil waste drum at the auto shop. Maybe I shouldn’t? I don’t know what else to do with it unless I want to be a bad environmentalist and dump it down the toilet.   

Well, as soon as I am through steaming, I Just through it out my shop door, on to the yard .

I’ve had cars that leak much more oil on the ground…   

I never let it accumulate to any real volume. I have a grungy saucepan that I dump it into and let it evaporate the water off. If I get too much at one time, then the stove speeds that evaporation, but that is unusual as typically it just sits on my outside work bench and let the climate dry it out.

Then it is a simple task to use a paper towel to wipe up the gummy residue, sometimes a little alcohol helps with this, and then use the gunky paper towel as fire starter in my wood stove in season.

Bonjour,

In France, several of my steam friends use olive oil.

Please rememeber that this oil was used by all navies as modern oil did not exist yet.
In France, the largest olive grove was even owned by French navy !
Great advantage,it is naturally biodegradable, I know of no disadvantages to its use and what's more it smells good   
 :

No, no, no, no, no! 

Popular Science solved the problem way back in 1963. 

Ashes to ashes , dust to dust ,oil to oil .

Hey, doesn't oil come out of the ground in the first place?!?!   

Unless it's rendered out of whale blubber that is, so then it comes out of the ocean, so we should be able to put it back in either place .... RIGHT???  ;c)