Used oil questions

[EricN]

Ok, for those of you who are up and running and have a used oil supply, what does it look like? I have been looking at the stuff the restaurants have in the big dumpsters to see if I want to talk to them about collecting it or not but everywhere I go the stuff is THICK!!! It is no where near the consistency of the brand new stuff I used. 1 place had a massive snake of fat that wasnt even able to fit down through the grate of the dumpster. Is this normal? Should I consider using them or keep looking? I was expecting thick and maybe dark (like it looks in the deepfryer but thicker), but still liquid and not so many blobs. Any advice/hints/guidance?

[BCDelica]

Never, ever collect oil from those dumpsters; there plenty of horror stories out about doing so. Seems there's always a chance that other chemicals have been poured in (used motor oil, paint, pesticides, etc) and who knows how much water gets in. You wouldn't even know if it's canola or some random veg oil with a nasty additive. Beside so many different critters can grow in veggie oil over a period of time.

First choice is when it's collected in the empty jugs and is just a darker shade of brown then the new oil. Try to find a busy restaurant that changes oil often, union shops seem better. I have used oil from Chinese restaurant for awhile, it had a little more water and tons more solids in it that filtered easily; yet it was just fine when treated. Good oil is; from a reliable source, doesn't have a lot of entrenched water, and filters out to almost the look and feel (viscosity) of new. The advice on the web always says to get a relationship with a restaurant first, maybe provide then with easy a collection barrel. They have to pay a fee for those dumpsters. The worst you should have to deal with is the fat that settles to the bottom of your collection grease.

[EricN]

Ya I had no intention of just pumping it out of the dumpster. I was just cruising the dumpsters to check out the "quality" of the oil in an attempt to figure out how I was going to do this and where I was going to get it from. All of it looked sickening so I am guessing that is how it will be.
My plan is to have it collected in a 55gal drum or back into the 16l container (by the restaurant) but both ways using a filter setup.
I was just wondering if that horrible looking stuff is normal or if I should find other restaurants.

[EnviroImports.com]

find another restraunt.