Handling used oil; how deep is your love?

Purrybonker · 07-25-2005, 09:53 AM

Are you like me?

Have you mastered the art of draining and replenishing the oil in your Porsche without spilling a single drop on either your garage floor or your clothes? Can you successfully do the "hot oil dance" during which magic event untold quantities of scalding hot carcinigens flush in a single moment (well two separate equally dangerous tranches, actually) from the nether regions of your engine and must be safely directed into an appropriate catch basin?

Can you also perform that amazing slight of hand that leaves audiences gasping in amazement as you deftly swap your oil filter without leaving so much as a single drop of used oil to sully your engine compartment or to later smoke on your exhaust manifold?

Are you like me?

After performing these magical feats do you later consistently embarrass yourself in attempting to deal with the huge quantity of used, filthy stuff that is now sitting in your oil catch basin?

Do you attempt to pour this used stuff back into the original plastic bottles/jugs for later delivery to a recycling depot; and during this exercise do you frequently cause massive spillage by either over filling the jugs, (because you can't see the level in the jug due to the damn funnel being in the way) or because you clumsily kick over the jug before you're able to get the cap screwed back on; all because you're attempting to fill/cap these jugs while simultaneously holding/pouring from a greasy/slippery basin of used oil?

Are you like me?

Or are you not rich and irresistable to women and/or do you know a better way to manage/dispose of used oil?

id10t · 07-25-2005, 10:04 AM

Well, on a 356, there's the one drain plug and teh filter is in a canister... so the actual change and filter swap is easy.

As to disposal, I just keep it in my pan, drive the 2 miles down to the dump that also has the biiig used oil tank, dump it in, and go. Hard part is remembering that the dump is only open monday tuesday and saturday...

id10t · 07-25-2005, 10:51 AM

Heh. I have the same oil drain pan.... Although dealing with 4.5 quarts of oil is certainly easier than the 10 you 911 guys have.

Superman · 07-25-2005, 11:22 AM

Most of our local oil recycling tanks accept up to five gallons per customer. I know for a fact that I have the best strategy for this. I have one of those five-gallon 'construction' buckets, which has a lid that snaps on easily, and even has a rubber seal. Oil goes in it until it is full. The lid goes on and it rides in any vehicle to the recycling tank.

It's also plenty big to receive the oil tank deluge, but I just have to jack the car up a skosh. That takes roughly twenty seconds with the floor jack.

Purrybonker · 07-25-2005, 11:24 AM

Yeah, my write-up was too artistic.

I have those plastic catch basins that you (id10t and socal) are referring to - no problem with those -they are slick as a whistle.

The part I hate is getting the oil out of the black plastic tub and into the oil jugs to haul them to the recycle depot. PIA.

I'm thinking about hanging a small open tub on my garage wall and putting a hose and tap on the bottom of the tub. Then I could just dump the used oil out of the black plastic drain pan into the tub. Then it would be a simple matter of dispensing the used oil back into the oil jugs using the tap/hose.

Purrybonker · 07-25-2005, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Superman
Most of our local oil recycling tanks accept up to five gallons per customer. I know for a fact that I have the best strategy for this. I have one of those five-gallon 'construction' buckets, which has a lid that snaps on easily, and even has a rubber seal. Oil goes in it until it is full. The lid goes on and it rides in any vehicle to the recycling tank.

It's also plenty big to receive the oil tank deluge, but I just have to jack the car up a skosh. That takes roughly twenty seconds with the floor jack.

Good one... probably better than my complex idea.