My observation on gelling Opti oil.

[FeFanatic]

IMG_0913[1].JPGIMG_0912.JPGSo, long story short, I have 5 cases of Opti oil that is right at or a little over a year old. I am the tournament director for http://Fishingforfreedom.us and we host a tournament every year for global war on terror wounded warriors. So, part of the program is we have volunteer boaters that take these veterans out and give them a day of fishing in a tournament setting.

Our charter is to give 100% payback to the veterans in products and gear. We don't award any cash and do not take expense money for our efforts.

This is the deal, we do provide a free gallon of outboard oil for the boaters as a thank you for taking their time to volunteer. In the last 15 years we've purchased over 600 cases of Opti and roughly 200 cases of Premium plus oil. We've never had a complaint about the oil and generally give it all away by the end of the tournament. This year we had 5 cases out of 40 left over and they have been stored in my shop. My home shop is not heated so the temps did get around zero last winter.

With all the posts about oil gelling and separating I was concerned about making these cases available this year. So, I took two gallons at random and poured them through a strainer to see if there were any clumps. Both gallons poured out smoothly and there weren't any clumps in the strainer and there didn't appear to be any separation of additives. I did have foam but that was to be expected. So, when pouring them back into their jugs (these won't be going into any engine) I took a microfiber cloth and poured back through it. Again, once the jug was filled I inspected the cloth and didn't find any trace of gelling or sludge.

I have posted pictures of what the oil was and what it looked like when poured into a clear container. As far as the strainer, we won't let the wife know what I did.

So, my analysis wasn't a laboratory clean experiment but it did show me that the oil I have appears to be good to go.

I looked over the oil jugs and didn't find any markings of lot numbers or dates. We purchase directly from Mercury Marine and not through any store or dealer.

Look at the pics and tell me what you think. The micro fiber cloth I used was a little stained from past use.
IMG_0905.JPGIMG_0906.JPGIMG_0907.JPGIMG_0911.JPGIMG_0912.JPG

[lpugh]

Toss all that oil you poured thru a microfiber as it is now contaminated with very small fibers which will plug the screens and filter!

[FeFanatic]

Toss all that oil you poured thru a microfiber as it is now contaminated with very small fibers which will plug the screens and filter!

Already done. There was no plan to keep it.

[EuropeanAM]

Thanks for sharing. I have a hunch that some of it depends on the source the product was obtained through, as I've not seen any problem with product I purchased direct (but have to note that ALL of it was Mercury-branded). If there was a blending error at the vendor, it would stand to reason that a significant number of cases might have been packaged with the same error (especially if it's one of the Quicksilver-labeled, Big-box Seller specific numbers).

[DaveBrabec]

I bought 6 cases of oil 7 years ago. Just used the last jug. Never any issues

[Vern1958]

At 65 + years old you'd think I'd know better but... I had purchased 3 gallons of Mercury Optimax DFI synthetic blend from my local authorized Mercury Marine repair/sales shop at approx $60 per gallon. Each was factory sealed both at the cap and foil seal but when I used the last gallon, I saw what I'll only describe as sludge go into my oil tank but thought little of it at the time; part of me at the time thought I really didn't see what I thought I saw! I'm thinking its factory sealed, genuine Mercury DFI oil, bought at an authorized vendor. The oil was added at the end of last years boating season and it sat after being winterized and I had the engine diagnostics run before winterizing capturing the running times and fault codes (none btw). Much to my dismay at first running of this season after about 1/2 hour I get the long tone from my engine indicating a major problem, so I immediately shut down and nursed my boat back to the ramp. I just spent $588 to have my boat/motor repaired and the cause was "sludge" in the main oil tank causing the reserve/motor mounted tank to not fill completely. I'm going to look to see if I have any of the old containers with a lot or serial number. My question is shouldn't someone besides me be responsible for selling an inferior product that caused my issues?

[Savage]

Did you pose this question to the "local authorized Mercury Marine repair/sales shop" that you purchased the oil from?

If you have proof of purchase some relief can be had.

The issue has been discussed at length......Click on this link >>>>>Gelled DFI oil….again

Post #12 specifically

[EuropeanAM]

At 65 + years old you'd think I'd know better but... I had purchased 3 gallons of Mercury Optimax DFI synthetic blend from my local authorized Mercury Marine repair/sales shop at approx $60 per gallon. Each was factory sealed both at the cap and foil seal but when I used the last gallon, I saw what I'll only describe as sludge go into my oil tank but thought little of it at the time; part of me at the time thought I really didn't see what I thought I saw! I'm thinking its factory sealed, genuine Mercury DFI oil, bought at an authorized vendor. The oil was added at the end of last years boating season and it sat after being winterized and I had the engine diagnostics run before winterizing capturing the running times and fault codes (none btw). Much to my dismay at first running of this season after about 1/2 hour I get the long tone from my engine indicating a major problem, so I immediately shut down and nursed my boat back to the ramp. I just spent $588 to have my boat/motor repaired and the cause was "sludge" in the main oil tank causing the reserve/motor mounted tank to not fill completely. I'm going to look to see if I have any of the old containers with a lot or serial number. My question is shouldn't someone besides me be responsible for selling an inferior product that caused my issues?

If you have your purchase receipt where you bought that oil within the last 365 days, ANY authorized Mercury Dealer can handle the Parts and Accessories claim (and necessary repairs) that are necessary due to a defective product.

[Vern1958]

Just to be clear, the oil had to be purchased within the last year?

[Savage]

Just to be clear, the oil had to be purchased within the last year?

Last 365 days

If you have your purchase receipt where you bought that oil within the last 365 days, ANY authorized Mercury Dealer can handle the Parts and Accessories claim (and necessary repairs) that are necessary due to a defective product.