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Used oil containers?

CTyankee

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Jan 13, 2013
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CT
Now that I know what to store my used oil in...what do you guys do with your used filters?
 
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jt777

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Feb 16, 2016
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215
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Canada
If go talk to a local farmer or heavy duty equipment shop. Get a 5 gallon pail from motor oil or hydraulic oil. They have a spout and a lid that seals well. They are easy enough to bring somewhere to dispose of when they are full unlike 55 gallon drums.
 

cpttuna

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Oct 31, 2014
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13,170
Location
napoleon ohio
I use empty pine sol bottles from church. Also use empty 96oz apple juice bottles from church. I use empty gallon Prestone jugs and empty gallon windshield washer jugs.
 

TheJDMan

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Nov 10, 2013
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Location
Fredericksburg, VA.
I have an old 5 gal military style Jerry can that was starting to rust on the inside. I started using it for my waste oil. The Jerry can works great with the wide mouth it is easy to fill and dump and the handle makes it convenient to transport to the dump station. Normally takes me a couple of months to fill.
 

velillen01

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May 20, 2015
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Location
Wyoming
I picked up one of the oil waste containers from Wal-Mart. Works well and holds like 15 quarts of oil. I added a check valve I can hook 1/4" tubing to and have fumoto valves on my cars. Run a hose form valve to valve and no messy oil!

As for filters...I drain as much out as I can into a spare 5 quart jug (with a funnel so I can just leave the filter). Once its "empty" ill put it in a Ziploc bag and take it with me when get rid of the oil. A lot of auto parts stores take filters now as well
 

exranger06

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Aug 9, 2015
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Location
CT
Now that I know what to store my used oil in...what do you guys do with your used filters?

I punch a hole in them using a hammer and screwdriver and drain as much oil out of them as possible, then toss them in the trash.
 

rayra

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Dec 1, 2014
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Escaped from Los Angeles
5 gal 'race fuel' jug. nice and stable when you set a wide funnel in its neck for pouring your drain pan into it.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g7988/overview/

SUM-G7988_SN.jpg
 

Bunk

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Alexandria, VA

graffix000

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Nov 23, 2007
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872
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Philly
I use the 5 qt oil bottles and can always find what I need at Walmart for oil.

Another container I use is the large laundry detergent ones. I usually save all of my oil from the year and drop it all at the same time to the local hazmat drop off. Easiest thing ever. Load up the oil, drive through the line, they go in the hatch and remove it all while I watch. Been doing that for years. No more dealing with limits of how much you can dispose of.
 

LS6 Tommy

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Dec 27, 2013
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26,162
Location
Northern NJ
I have (2) used 5 gallon containers from commercial cooking oil. One for motor oil and one for antifreeze. The caps are about 2.5"-3" in diameter which makes for easy filling. I got mine from one of the school cafeterias, but I bet local restaurants will happily give them to you instead of taking up space in their recycling bin.




Tommy
 
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JCQuick

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Nov 29, 2008
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Location
Apopka Fla.
I use Metal 5 gallon can's that race fuel comes in. I made a little drain system that seems to work well. I have a neighbor that makes his own diesel fuel from used oil I just give it to him. Around here the chain auto store's take the oil but not the filters. I drain mine real good before throwing them in the trash and still feel guilty.
 

StillTooManyHobbies

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Jul 4, 2014
Messages
528
Location
Port Tobacco, MD
Can't believe you and I are the only ones with cats in this thread...

Scoop cat litter comes in these insanely handy and very durable giant bottles that hold 20 pounds of litter, and something like 3 gallons of oil. Even with just one cat, you pretty much have an endless supply. (You can also get cat litter in useful large plastic pails with handles that hold 35 pounds of litter. However, these aren't usable as liquid containers.)

Where I drop off used oil, they prefer to just grab the containers and send me on my way. Four containers fit nicely into a plastic tub I keep around for that purpose, so they're very secure in the trunk. Also good for antifreeze -- the bottle is translucent so you can see what's in there.


Which reminds me, I gotta make an oil dropoff run ASAP. It's starting to pile up. :eyecrazy:

You guys are not the only ones with cats. I have been using cat litter containers for years because of the same reasons: they hold more and have a wide spout. Our county recycling center takes the oil and the filters too.
 

mjchamp

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Dec 22, 2014
Messages
63
Location
Des Moines, IA
I use 5 gal. containers that I got from the newspaper here in town. They were originally used to hold the ink used in making the paper and the containers are square based with a large opening and an o-ring lid seal. They just throw out these containers, about 3 every night.
 

owenst7

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Oct 19, 2011
Messages
632
Location
Anchorage/Reno
You guys are not the only ones with cats. I have been using cat litter containers for years because of the same reasons: they hold more and have a wide spout. Our county recycling center takes the oil and the filters too.

Cats aren't welcome in my house, but I use clay based kitty litter for absorbing oil spills. It works better than any oil specific product I've ever used.

Waste oil gets stored/transported in the Costco-sized 1.25 gallon laundry detergent bottles made from HDPE. I like the Ecos brand because its cheapest and supposed to be environmentally friendly (I'm on a septic). They have a great anti-drip pour spout that's designed for a fluid of pretty much the same viscosity as oil. HDPE is the same material that gas cans are made of, and these seem pretty UV resistant too. I leave them outside in the sun in Nevada and they last for several years. I actually having had the jug get brittle yet, but the lids eventually do. The lids are made of polypropylene or something.
 

BearsFan315

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Jun 12, 2014
Messages
689
Location
Portsmouth, VA
I use and reuse a few 5 gallon oil jugs. take them to advance empty them in the container, and reuse... and reuse... and reuse...

also have a standard round catch pan that i drain it from the vehicles in.
 
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ripperd

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Jul 2, 2014
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Location
Twin Cities, MN
I have a couple plastic 5 gal buckets with lids. I just pour the used oil in them and take it to Advance Auto's collection tank when they get full. Any construction site should have empty drywall mud or paint buckets that can be cleaned out. Or one of my buckets actually came from a local deli which buys pickles in 5 gal buckets. Just make sure you have the lid on tight when hauling them. (And there is a reason I know this.....)

This is what I do, works great. +1 on the lid!!!
 

CRXPilot

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Aug 16, 2011
Messages
1,121
Location
west TX
I tip a baby Polar Bear on its cute little back, pry his mouth open, then gingerly store my waste oil in his gut.

What?

The other guys here in the cell think that's funny!
 

CJDave

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Apr 10, 2014
Messages
578
Location
Fairfield, Ohio
My local repair shop uses Castrol oils. Castrol set him up with a two tier carousel oil dispenser system. It uses 5 gallon jugs of oil and Castrol doesn't want them back when the jugs are empty. He gives them away. Ask around at your local auto repair shops. These jugs are really handy with a handle molded in and wide mouths. CJDave.
 

JRC3

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Jun 30, 2014
Messages
12,481
Location
Southwestern OH
I use two of these. I got them at either autozone or advance auto. 12qt.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007T9O9FC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

71CxVAGuqjL._SL1428_.jpg
I bought two of those at Oeirlys a few years back...Threw those leaky-lid-having things away.

Switched to these. Picked up 6/$20 from a guy on FBM. Have one for anifreeze, one for oil...Holds 6 gallons, stackable, great handle, tight lid. Smells like cotton candy because they held that solution.

51MIlcFzKbL.jpg

I've posted this before. I have a big funnel and drain the oil right from the car into my mobile tote. Pump for extracting trans fluid and mower oil and the like.

20210330_135419-jpg.1485358


20220123_160817.jpg
 

nadogail

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Jan 23, 2009
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31,911
Location
Coronado, CA
Why are you providing a "Free Lunch" everything has a cost.

If you are allowing others to use your shop and equipment for draining their crankcase oil; having them to take their old oil to a disposal facility is a very low price to pay for the use of your space and equipment. For those who just can't haul away their own old oil; they can leave a donation for those that will carry out the trash.

Donations can be Spendable, Drinkable or Edible.
 

slow

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Feb 26, 2006
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Location
near Orlando
Why are you providing a "Free Lunch" everything has a cost.

If you are allowing others to use your shop and equipment for draining their crankcase oil; having them to take their old oil to a disposal facility is a very low price to pay for the use of your space and equipment. For those who just can't haul away their own old oil; they can leave a donation for those that will carry out the trash.

Donations can be Spendable, Drinkable or Edible.
While I agree, the last time I tried to give the shop down the street some cash for taking my old antifreeze, they said they could not accept any compensation, something about liability if they were paid for the disposal vs doing it as a service to the community. One of the few times, somebody would not take cash money from me.
 

tinmanwpk

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Joined
Oct 21, 2015
Messages
440
Location
Jacksonville
Why are you providing a "Free Lunch" everything has a cost.

If you are allowing others to use your shop and equipment for draining their crankcase oil; having them to take their old oil to a disposal facility is a very low price to pay for the use of your space and equipment. For those who just can't haul away their own old oil; they can leave a donation for those that will carry out the trash.

Donations can be Spendable, Drinkable or Edible.
As we used to say in the wayback machine when picking up hitchhikers, "Gas, grass or ***, nobody rides for free."
 

dchawk81

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Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
14,345
You're missing the point here. I don't want the hassle of trying to dump an oil pan full of used oil back into a little 1 quart bottle......over and over again. Its a pain in the *** and it makes a mess. A 5 gal bucket would be ideal. That would make it super easy to dump the pan of used oil into a bucket.

In an ideal world I would take the used oil in to be recycled that day but that never happens. It may sit in my garage for months at a time. So I'd like some that I can use over and over and something at seals well.
A drill driven pump would work for a few dollars investment. One end of the hose in the drain pan, the other into the quart jug.
 

cmandp

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Dec 22, 2011
Messages
1,272
Location
New Jersey
I was going to suggest a used 5 gal oil bucket. I got mine from the machine shop at work, Way oil comes in them and hydraulic fluid like others here mentioned. They don't leak and have a spout with a threaded cap.
I however have run into the problem where the parts stores around here won't dump the 5 gal bucket. They say it's against company policy but I think they just don't want to deal with dumping 5 gallons. So I've got a partially full 5 gal bucket and have been putting used oil back into the container it comes in.

I use a drain pan like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004X13X/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Big enough to hold the oil from my biggest engine and I take it to pep boys asap.
I've never turned it on its side when full to test the big cap but the small cap seems to hold fine.

81PhPany3kL._SL1500_.jpg

I had one of these^ oil change containers. The spout and top are not leak proof. I had the top slosh a couple of quarts into my truck bed. Took forever to clean it out. Never again, I threw it out.

I have this drain pan now and it is much better. You could use it to transport to dispose of the used oil if needed.
41VBHDOLBdL._AC_.jpg
 
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JRC3

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Jun 30, 2014
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Southwestern OH
Meh, why mess with the parts store at all...Most places the county has a disposal location. Ours has steps going up to a larger pallet tote with a big funnel on top you dump oil or antifreeze. Many local municipalities, like county, township, city transportation depots also take it. They don't want it improperly dumped so they bend over backwards to get people to bring and dispose of it properly.

I have two different counties with dropoffs, this is the one I use the most. Best part is if you have a container to dispose of afterwards, you're at the right place. This one even provides a hopper.

oil.png


A drill driven pump would work for a few dollars investment. One end of the hose in the drain pan, the other into the quart jug.
Try that and report back. LOL
 

dchawk81

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Jul 31, 2014
Messages
14,345
Meh, why mess with the parts store at all...Most places the county has a disposal location. Ours has steps going up to a larger pallet tote with a big funnel on top you dump oil or antifreeze. Many local municipalities, like county, township, city transportation depots also take it. They don't want it dumped so they bend over backwards to get people to bring and dispose of it properly.

I have two different counties with dropoffs, this is the one I use the most. Best part is if you have a container to dispose of afterwards, you're at the right place. This one even provides a hopper.

oil.png



Try that and report back. LOL
I do use it. It's easier than pouring a big drain pan even into 5 gallon jugs, because you're not killing your knees and back.

That's how the semi drain pans on wheels works. It's just integrated. You're not picking up and pouring 13 gallons.
 

dchawk81

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Jul 31, 2014
Messages
14,345
Seems like a great mess potential.
No more than standing over the mouth of a 5 gallon jug holding a 5 gallon drain pan.

The idea is to use the same containers you started with since this is obviously a budget situation.

If you have 5 gallon jugs, use those. If you got it in quarts, use those. Don't buy separate jugs if the recycler requires drop off rather than dumping.
 

PoorUB

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Mar 29, 2021
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Fargo, ND
I used to work for a chemical company. We went through hundreds of five gallon poly jugs each month, they reused them. They didn't miss a couple of them as customers don't always give them back.

As to the member that revived the thread, he has been here longer than me, but I ramble on more!🤣
 
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