Waste Oil Storage

[FordExplorer]

So, I will soon be out of my parents house and I will have a decent sized shop mostly at my disposal. I always change my own oil, and up until now I have always used my dad's 5 gallon fountain drink syrup jugs for storing it until we make a trip to auto value to dump it for recycling. I found some plastic 20 liter (a little over 5gal) jerry cans that are solvent resistant for 14 bucks a piece. Currently, I'm planning on just buying one or two of those, however I was kind of curious what everybody else does with their used oil.

These are the cans I was looking at

 

[Jason280]

I keep mine in 5 gallon metal cans, and simply drop them off at Advance once I get 15 or so gallons.

 

[91bronc300]

Garage sales and craigslist are cheaper ways to get waste oil containers.

 

[jrlp]

I always have used HD or Lowes 5-gallon pails with lids. When I have 2-3 of them full, I go to Autozone, borrow their dolly, and take them to the back of the store. Then I drain them into their holding tanks. The pouring is a bit hairy if I fill them all the way up. I try to have 3 tanks in rotation, so I only fill them to 3-4 gallons each. That goes fast when my work truck uses 3 gallons for engine oil alone. Goodluck!

 

[FordExplorer]

Yeah, I forgot that you can buy lids for 5 gallon buckets with spouts on them. I'll just go that route. My greatest fear is that one would spill all over the back of my vehicle!

 

[jrlp]

Well if you're that worried, you can buy a new sealed lid for a dollar. That way when you load them into your truck and unload them, you can break the seal there, change the lids to the one with the spout. It would be kinda pricey as I think the lids are about 1.50 each (with the seal). But it would be possible. I drive a 1ton diesel pickup, and put the lid on the containers, I've never had one pop open on me before. And my pickup dyno's just shy of 480whp

 

[JWC07]

I use 5 gal Purple Power buckets and dump the oil out at a friend's who heats his shop with it. Those buckets work good because the lids are still sealed and they have pull up spouts.

 

[Outlawmws]

I have an old 10 gallon fuel drum I use, but most places keep it to 5 gallons.

There is a 15 gallon limit here for transporting "hazardous materials" without a license, and if you happened to get in an accident...

 

[fourjeepin]

Like many of the others, I use a 5 gallon bucket. I buy gear oil in that size and use the empty for used oil. Works great.

 

[andywander]

There are some folks near me who regularly give away 3 or 4-gallon cat litter "bottles" on Freecycle. These have screwlids. I have a bunch of those and am using them for the used oil.

 

[davesnothere]

I use mine for sun tan lotion, and also marinating steaks.

 

[gsmornot]

Not sure what size it is but it's close to a 5 gallon bucket with a twist on lid. Used to have chlorine in it. It will hold 3 changes before it goes to Autozone to be emptied. I like most of the process but always feel like I'm getting ready to make a mess at the store getting it in the tank.

 

[ImportTuner]

So, I will soon be out of my parents house and I will have a decent sized shop mostly at my disposal. I always change my own oil, and up until now I have always used my dad's 5 gallon fountain drink syrup jugs for storing it until we make a trip to auto value to dump it for recycling. I found some plastic 20 liter (a little over 5gal) jerry cans that are solvent resistant for 14 bucks a piece. Currently, I'm planning on just buying one or two of those, however I was kind of curious what everybody else does with their used oil.

These are the cans I was looking at

Nice containers .. the $14 is not bad, any idea how much shipping is?

 

[Murphy4570]

Buy a few 55 gallon drums. Worry about it when you fill those up. There are waste recycling companies that come to your shop and pay you to take your waste oil. Just accrue enough of it to make it worth their while. Old heating oil storage tanks work great for waste oil tanks as well, if you want to have a very large storage container on the side of the shop.

 

[Lotek]

Buy a few 55 gallon drums. Worry about it when you fill those up. There are waste recycling companies that come to your shop and pay you to take your waste oil. Just accrue enough of it to make it worth their while. Old heating oil storage tanks work great for waste oil tanks as well, if you want to have a very large storage container on the side of the shop.

Most waste oil haulers aren't interested until you have at least 200 gallons, not especially practical for a kid who just moved out on his own. Keeping waste oil longer than a year in industrial quantities is a Bozo no no as well. Any spill over 5 gallons is supposed to be reported to the EPA as well, best to keep it under that limit just in case.

 

[TwoInch]

if you know anyone that works at a restaurant, ask them to save the fryer oil jugs, they are 5 gallon if i remember right, and translucent white colored. the oil level can easily be seen through the side, and they have a cap that screws on nice and tight. they are made to store oil, just a different type. they work very well, and are just the right size to not be unwieldy when full. they look just like the link you posted in the OP, but also have a stiff cardboard box built around them, which makes them stack-able. i leave the box on them, makes them easier to store empty and full, for me personally.

i have about ten of these fryer/cooking oil jugs here at the house now, and can get more whenever i need, so i can drop the full jugs at AZ or wherever they accept used oil. dont have to worry about keeping the container, as if you had payed money for each one.

 

[TwoInch]

they look like this unboxed

and like this with the box still encasing the jug

they are actually "35lb jugs" and you can find them in most any restaurant with fryers or gas stations with chicken broasters, in the recycle dumpsters. they change it a couple times a week usually, so there should be plenty to find if you look around.

definitely better than spending $15 per jug

 

[lotsoftools]

I use a Blitz brand used oil jug. Got if for $5 at Walmart IIRC. It holds 2 oil changes worth. The small size is perfect to keep me from storing too much waste oil.

It looks like this: http://www.bing.com/shopping/blitz-...8?q=blitz+oil+can&lpq=blitz oil can&FORM=HURE

 

[Jure]

i keep it in 26 gallon barrel and when its full i drop it from a bridge in our local river





































lol jk

 

[rlitman]

What? That's not a US DOT restriction.
Diesel has a flashpoint between 141F and 200F, which makes it a class 9 combustable, and not a class 3 flammable liquid like gasoline.
If used oil has a flashpoint in this range, placarding is not required for combustible liquids in non-bulk packaging, so long as you stay under 5000lbs gross weight (let's just say 700 gallons in total, counting the weight of the containers and some headroom). If your containers are 115 gallons or over, then you need to placard. So, you should be able to transport up to a dozen 55 gallon drums, without any licensing.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

if you know anyone that works at a restaurant, ask them to save the fryer oil jugs, they are 5 gallon if i remember right, and translucent white colored. the oil level can easily be seen through the side, and they have a cap that screws on nice and tight. they are made to store oil, just a different type. they work very well, and are just the right size to not be unwieldy when full. they look just like the link you posted in the OP, but also have a stiff cardboard box built around them, which makes them stack-able. i leave the box on them, makes them easier to store empty and full, for me personally.

i have about ten of these fryer/cooking oil jugs here at the house now, and can get more whenever i need, so i can drop the full jugs at AZ or wherever they accept used oil. dont have to worry about keeping the container, as if you had payed money for each one.

Most of the fryer oil jugs are VERY thin plastic and are in cardboard boxes. The problem I had was that many franchise businesses get ones with their business name (such as Five Guys Burgers) imprinted on the outside, and they refused to give me the boxes, just the jugs. The jugs by themselves, are too thin to safely be transported with oil in them. If it has their business name, shipping label, anything that might connect the container with them, they won't let me have the box.

Other issue is that several posters here have mentioned just "dropping off" the oil at Auto Zone, Advance, etc. Every place I've been in here has you dump it yourself, and TAKE THE CONTAINER WITH YOU, they will not allow you to leave the container. Four or five gallons a day, and you enter your name, address, what you dumped, etc, in a logbook.

I have a used oil fueled heater, and lots of guys at work give me oil in the 4 or 5 qt containers the new oil came in. This works real well for me, except that I have to deal with the containers. I can fully understand why the parts places would not want dozens of empty containers sitting around.

I dump the oil from the containers I'm given, quickly and DO NOT drip out the containers, as that is when the settled sludge comes out. Then I take the containers and turn them up one by one, over a period of days or weeks and drip out the sludge and thick **** into a single container/funnel. I'll burn that in the burn barrel when burn season comes around, and I stomp the empty containers flat and put them in the trash.

I try to be a good steward of the environment and so I drip out all of my containers, new oil or old, before it goes in the trash. so the oil does not end up in the landfill.

Charles

 

[jamesemery728]

I don't like keeping much of it around so I just use one of these from Wally World and empty it at Autozone when it is full. It holds 12 quarts.

 

[bigbarf48]

I just keep the 5qt jugs new oil comes in and use those to fill with all my various waste automotive fluids

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

I don't like keeping much of it around so I just use one of these from Wally World and empty it at Autozone when it is full. It holds 12 quarts.

Advance Auto will occasionally have "oil change specials" with that used oil jug, normally $5 or free sometimes with specific oil. I've got two I use, plus empty washer fluid bottles and the 5+ quart jugs I normally get my oil in.

Wish disposing of old paint was as easy as dumping used oil.

 

[aka Larry]

I have a used oil fueled heater, and lots of guys at work give me oil in the 4 or 5 qt containers the new oil came in. This works real well for me, except that I have to deal with the containers. I can fully understand why the parts places would not want dozens of empty containers sitting around.

I haven't seen a oil fueled heater since I was a kid. Even then I didn't think 'motor' oil was what was neing used.

Can you still buy one like you have? Is it really designed to burn motor oil?

 

[TSirotock]

I use a plastic 5-gallon fuel jug and the plastic tray designed to hold it, both can be found at Walmart for around $20 combined. The tray lets you bungee the jug down and will contain any errant drips. It has gripper feet to hold itself to carpet and if you want you can secure it to rings in the trunk or back of a vehicle. Its biggest draw back is the silly CARB spout that leaks, thus the tray is a perfect compliment.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Lorco pays me 1.50 a gallon for waste oil

 

[dclassical]

I just use some empty oil jugs (5 qts). I drive by Autozone at least once a week, so I just recycle one or two jugs the week after the oil change.

 

[some zilch]

There is a 15 gallon limit here for transporting "hazardous materials" without a license, and if you happened to get in an accident...

that is completley untrue. that would make your fuel tank applicable to hazmat regulations. most service trucks can hold way more than 15 gal of waste oil, and none of them are placarded. my f550 could hold 250gal of waste oil, and i never had any issues while being run through the gauntlet by DOT unplacarded. while i do not know the exact the volume/weight that qualifies you for hazmat licensing, anyone can carry at least a 55gal barrel of just about anything

 

[EOC_Jason]

I get 5 gallon buckets with lids from a local machine shop. They get their coolant in them so they always have crazy amounts of surplus of these.

I then usually take it down to the local Jiffy Lube or auto-parts store and dump it...

If you *really* want to save up your oil, there are companies that will PAY you for used oil if you have at least 100-200 gallons of it...

 

[Outlawmws]

I have an old 10 gallon fuel drum I use, but most places keep it to 5 gallons.

There is a 15 gallon limit here for transporting "hazardous materials" without a license, and if you happened to get in an accident...

What? That's not a US DOT restriction.
Diesel has a flashpoint between 141F and 200F, which makes it a class 9 combustable, and not a class 3 flammable liquid like gasoline.
If used oil has a flashpoint in this range, placarding is not required for combustible liquids in non-bulk packaging, so long as you stay under 5000lbs gross weight (let's just say 700 gallons in total, counting the weight of the containers and some headroom). If your containers are 115 gallons or over, then you need to placard. So, you should be able to transport up to a dozen 55 gallon drums, without any licensing.

that is completley untrue. that would make your fuel tank applicable to hazmat regulations. most service trucks can hold way more than 15 gal of waste oil, and none of them are placarded. my f550 could hold 250gal of waste oil, and i never had any issues while being run through the gauntlet by DOT unplacarded. while i do not know the exact the volume/weight that qualifies you for hazmat licensing, anyone can carry at least a 55gal barrel of just about anything

Sigh, Welcome to the Kommunist state of Kalifornia...

TRANSPORTATION LIMITS: State law limits the amount you can transport to 15 gallons liquid or 125 pounds solid hazardous material per vehicle trip.

And Fuel is not hazardous waste unless you are trying to transport it to a hazmat facility for disposal...

 

[t100]

DON'T spend any money on the containers!!

first, I used to store my waste oil in the 5gal drinking fountain water jugs, until.........I had one cracked causing a big spoil on my concrete garage floor. it was eaten up by some brake fluid I dumped in there.

the solution is: 5 gal paint pails. a contractor friend of mine told me they always get those pails(buckets) from the drywall painters at home building sites. matter of fact, these painters always save their empty paint pails in the garage so other contractors(brick, tile, concrete, landscaping, etc) can pick them up.

 

[Michael Bryce Winnick]

I change my oil by putting in 5 fresh quarts. 3000 miles later I drain 4 dirty quarts. I pour in the 5 clean quarts and pour the 4 dirty quarts into the 5 quart jug. Then to recycling.

 

[wxm]

I have an old 10 gallon fuel drum I use, but most places keep it to 5 gallons.

There is a 15 gallon limit here for transporting "hazardous materials" without a license, and if you happened to get in an accident...

My local hazardous materials recycle facility will take 15 gallon max at a time anyway...

 

[Lotek]

Never store or transport any more oil than you would want to have the hazmat people clean up for you...at your expense. + fines.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Drain directly into the gallon jugs from the last oil change. Take jugs to auto store and dispose of. The store keeps my jugs.

Other option is the 15qt oil drain pan. Drain in there and take that, bring it back and store under shelf.

 

[Mastermind]

your local bodyshops should have 5 gallon thinner cans, metal with a pour spout.

 

[Skin]

they look like this unboxed

and like this with the box still encasing the jug

they are actually "35lb jugs" and you can find them in most any restaurant with fryers or gas stations with chicken broasters, in the recycle dumpsters. they change it a couple times a week usually, so there should be plenty to find if you look around.

definitely better than spending $15 per jug

hmmm

 

[Outlawmws]

Never store or transport any more oil than you would want to have the hazmat people clean up for you...at your expense. + fines.

Certainly true here! Some years back my son was driving our van (still on a permit) towing my little tent trailer, on the way back from the mountains and we came off the freeway on a ramp and he didn't slow down enough for the turn at the street at the end (on a green light).

I thought we were going to roll the van, but while it held, the trailer didn't and flipped, broke lose from the coupler, snapped the chain, and wound up spinning around and smacking the vain in the right side, (left turn). We were damn lucky it didn't contact any other vehicles...

Trailer is an all aluminum box, and to increase carry capacity, I have two car top cargo boxes strapped on top, an ice chest in front of the box (in a tray made for it), a prop tank in front of that, and a spare tire in front of that...

It landed on it's top and we got it onto it's side, and with the help of one other guy, got it back on its wheels, I set the tongue jack down and got it rolling to get it re-hitched. (Coupler was bent but useable)

By now a cop is there, and asked me if I spilled anything. I said no, and he's like "Whats that?" pointing to about three teaspoons of water...

I realize he's ready to call the Hazmat team for this... I tell him it's water from the ice chest, and he's like "Are you sure?" "Yes that's the only liquid on the trailer... (A little while lie, there was a a partial can of white gas too, but I knew that wasn't what was on the ground...).

Then he was all "get this off the road", and crowding me while I get it hitched and is getting impatient while I get the chain jury rigged in case the coupler didn't hold. Complete douch of a "Safety Officer"..

Point is, they are REAL NASTY for anything spilled, AT ALL...

Oh yeah total damage was a couple of the straps were wasted, both cargo boxes made their last trip getting home, one leading corner of the trailer box had road rash, and that was about it. There were five lanterns on board, and I expected all of them to need new glass globes. damned if the mantles weren't intact and the glass as well!

 

[KinzeMech]

Whenever possible, buy your oil in containers bigger than quarts. Gallon, 5-qt, 2-1/2 gallon, whatever. Put old oil back in new oil containers.

I've seen people use laundry detergent bottles. Pours out nice, but pouring in must be a two man job.