Does Winter Affect My Used Cooking Oil?

What Happens to Cooking Oil in the Cold?  

As used cooking oil begins to cool, it will eventually become a gelatinous solid. That’s one of the reasons it's a bad idea to pour it down the drain. It will eventually become a solid and clog up the pipes.   

Every kind of oil has a different freezing or melting point. For example, castor oil freezes at 25º Fahrenheit, but it will become gelatinous long before then.   

When used cooking oil of any kind is exposed to wintery conditions it freezes similarly to water, but frozen oil is a thick paste. If you manage used cooking oil, you’ll know how difficult it is to remove it from an outdoor bin while it’s frozen. Beyond this, outdoor bins can also freeze to the ground, requiring special tools to untuck them.  

What are grease hazards in cold weather?  

Carrying used fryer oil to an outdoor container can be very dangerous, especially during colder weather conditions. Make sure that the path you're using to transport oil to the outdoor container is completely clear of snow and ice. Additionally, it's important to follow all safe handling measures for the type of container you have at your store.  

What happens if I spill used cooking oil in the cold?   

One potential danger of spilling grease on the icy ground is that it can quickly freeze, creating a glassy surface that can lead to slips and falls. If not immediately addressed, frozen grease can spread over a larger area once it thaws, worsening the situation. By taking prompt action to properly clean a grease spill you can minimize the risks of accidents.   

How to keep your grease and employees warm during cold weather?

Additionally, if your restaurant stays busy frying during the winter months, it might be a good idea to install an indoor grease solution. This will help keep employees safe and warm indoors and eliminate the chance of outside grease spills, one hundred percent.

Jim Schmieder, DAR PRO’s Regional Sales Director, who is based out of Detroit, Michigan, said, “In cold winter months, not only does the grease inside the outside bins freeze, turning them into big grease cubes, but the bins themselves often freeze to the ground, requiring tools and wenches to break them free so they can be serviced." 

Once the bin is free, we use specialty trucks with two compartments to remove frozen oil from outdoor bins. After the bin is removed from the snow, the truck hoists the bin into a bath of warm water. This melts the oil around the edges so it can be moved into the second compartment of used cooking oil.  

The second compartment is for used cooking oil storage, and it includes a warmer so it can be easily pumped when it reaches our facility.  

The process is quick and efficient – collecting the full amount of used cooking oil in the bin and avoiding spills or accidents that might occur by trying to force a hose through the top layer of frozen grease to try to pump out any liquid oil below the surface. 

Trust the experts 

Where a smaller service operator may face days out of commission or, in the worst circumstances, find themselves unable to sustain business through a winter storm, our employees have historically demonstrated, time and again, that we are ready to roll as soon as city streets are open, ready to service our customer’s needs.   

Get prepared for the winter and make sure you are ready. Be sure you consider all options to make the weather change as smoothly as possible. 

12/17/2018