Your Favorite Waste Oil Catch Container/System (1 Viewer)

[Blackford Oakes]

Welp, I'm going back to changing my own oil. I just cannot trust the dealership for routine maintenance services any longer.

I haven't changed my own oil since my 20s, so I'm out of the loop on any new gear that might be out there. What's your favorite catch container to maintain the cleanest possible garage floor? Also, any other gear or processes that make this job quicker, I would be all ears. I will be picking up a Fumoto oil pan drain valve. I'm on the fence about the Jowett filter housing.

Thanks guys.

 

[KLF]

Queue all the whiners about how "hard" it is to change the oil...

 

[LCH21]

This is what I got at AutoZone:

It is the 16 quart Flo Tool. Around 20 bucks and works okay.

 

[FerrisBueller]

This is what I got at AutoZone:

View attachment 3332811
It is the 16 quart Flo Tool. Around 20 bucks and works okay.

Same

 

[davevm]

This is what I got at AutoZone:

View attachment 3332811
It is the 16 quart Flo Tool. Around 20 bucks and works okay.

I used that exact one and the oil bounced right off and splashed all over the floor. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[LCH21]

I used that exact one and the oil bounced right off and splashed all over the floor. Am I doing something wrong?

It will splatter and the only solution I have found is to keep the pan as close as possible to the oil drain hole. If the oil stream hits the ridges, it will splatter. I have thought about some kind of fabric or foam to put in the bottom but that would create its own set of problems.

Draining hot oil some how seems to defy gravity. Just like when you drop something, it invariably rolls to the geographic center and most difficult place to reach of what ever you are working on.

 

[lx200inAR]

Use a piece of tubing attached to the Fumoto and run the tube strait into the fill hole in the catch pan. There is also a tool you can use that screws on the OEM filter housing that allows you to do the hose thing there as well. If your tubes are long enough, you can run them both at the same time and drain the filter and pan at the same time.


Amazon product ASIN B01JTEOQACAmazon product ASIN B088LX23ZC

 

[MikeVpdx503]

I keep a large piece of cardboard behind my tool chest. Lay it out under the vehicle when changing fluids and it catches anything that splashes. Wipe it off and reuse for many years. I recommend 2 or 4 Rhino ramps to make oil changes easier.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I used that exact one and the oil bounced right off and splashed all over the floor. Am I doing something wrong?

You can use a funnel (as long as it's not too narrow) to help steer the oil down to the pan and avoid splattering. Make sure the funnel can handle the oil flow, or it will back up and overflow the top. To me, using this style catch pan with a funnel is preferable over using one of those wide-open catch pans. But it's still not ideal. I wish there was a better way (excluding the fumoto or ez-drain valve, which are convenient but never gave me peace of mind for durability compared to an old-fashioned bolt).

 

[bloc]

I’ve tried many different solutions over the years. Between myself and friends/family I do between 15 & 20 oil changes in my driveway per year.

By far the best setup I’ve found is the flowtool 5-gal catch pan and two standard 5 gallon buckets and lids from lowes. The home depot lids aren’t as good. The lip being curved inward helps a ton with preventing any splashing getting outside the pan.

The self contained pan/containers are bad about splashing and inevitably the pan plug will crack in a year rendering the whole thing useless as a container.

If you’re OCD like me only glitch with the flow-tool is the downturned drain spout makes a small pool behind the cap after draining. This will eventually drip on the ground. Stand the unit up for 5 minutes after draining but before storing and this won’t be a problem.

I have two buckets because I only put 3-4 gallons in each to avoid any sloshing during transport hitting the lid and increasing cleanup.

 

[Nothinghead]

I used that exact one and the oil bounced right off and splashed all over the floor. Am I doing something wrong?

This happens to me about 10% of the time with that pan. I think if the oil stream hits one of those ribs just right you get chaos. I’ve used mine for about ten years but I’m curious if there’s something better/has lower risk of splashing out.

 

[Underdog]

I change a lot of oil and always have. Wouldn't let anyone else do it. Good time to eyeball everything.

I have an old shipping blanket I lay out. I use one of those plastic tubs you get at Home Depot for mixing cement in. They're rectangular about 2 ish feet by 3 feet and about 6-8 inches deep (don't quote me any of that). When done I pour it unto a 5 gallon bucket and take it to Autozone and dump it.

 

[KLF]

I am pretty sure in over 47 years of driving, I've never paid for an oil change. Always done it myself. I like doing it.

I have the exact pan that @bloc posted above, and the Fumoto valve with the drain hoses posted by @lx200inAR above. I set the drain pan on a large metal Blitz tray I found many years ago. Works really well. I put my truck up on a QuickJack, so lots of room. I let it drain for at least 6 hours, often over night. While it's draining, I lube the driveshafts, rotate all 5 tires, lube the spare tire hoist, lube all the door hinges, sometimes I'll even crack the infamous KDSS bleeders.

I buy Amsoil in gallon jugs, which I pour the old oil into after filling the engine. I drop it off at a friend's shop that burns it for heat.

 

[davevm]

I am pretty sure in over 47 years of driving, I've never paid for an oil change. Always done it myself. I like doing it.

I have the exact pan that @bloc posted above, and the Fumoto valve with the drain hoses posted by @lx200inAR above. I set the drain pan on a large metal Blitz tray I found many years ago. Works really well. I put my truck up on a QuickJack, so lots of room. I let it drain for at least 6 hours, often over night. While it's draining, I lube the driveshafts, rotate all 5 tires, lube the spare tire hoist, lube all the door hinges, sometimes I'll even crack the infamous KDSS bleeders.

I buy Amsoil in gallon jugs, which I pour the old oil into after filling the engine. I drop it off at a friend's shop that burns it for heat.

That’s the most anal retentive oil change I’ve ever heard of. I like you.

What do you use for the door hinges?

 

[KenB]

I have a barbed Fumoto valve on both the oil drain and on the Jowett oil filter housing. Our county recycling center provides free 2-1/2 gallon jugs for recycling used engine oil. You drop off a full jug, grab an empty jug (used but drained) for next time.

I’ll put a 10” piece of clear hose on each Fumoto valve (same piece of hose, one valve at a time) and drain the oil directly into the jug. No oil catch pan is used at all. The drained filter housing is unscrewed, exterior wiped with a rag, change the element and o-rings, and replace. Nothing to spill or splash, nothing of note to clean. I used to use ramps, now I use a Quick-Jack.

I bet a person who was paying attention could throttle a Fumoto valve well enough to drain directly into a couple of 4 or 5 quart oil jugs.

Super easy and no balancing/tipping/pouring a large and heavy pan full of dirty and maybe hot engine oil.

It’s going in the jug anyway, isn’t it? Skip the oil pan step. Drain directly into a jug. Wipe off the hose. Screw on the lid. Done.

 

[Artie]

I use the AutoZone thing posted by @LCH21 in conjunction with the fumoto valve and hose along with the Jowett filter housing thing, both are awesome and make the job easy and clean.

Once the oil is out I dump it in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid I got from Amazon. This allows me to take the maximum amount my local part store will take per trip. I change oil on several cars so having the room to store a 2-4 oil changes before recycling is handy.

Also, one added benefit to having a fancy bumper and suspension lift is no need to jack or ramps for oil change.

 

[KLF]

What do you use for the door hinges?

Amazon product ASIN B000SKY3GO