Oil change drain pan

[Joe B]

I've had both of those containers for my F-250 diesel truck that holds 15 qts. of oil. I have the 15 qt. round one and the 16 qt. square one. I've had problems with the caps on both. The pour cap that you use to drain the oil from the round one leaked. They sent me several replacement caps. They all leaked too. On the 16 qt. square pan, the vent cap constantly pops open by itself. Poor moldings. I'm going to contact FloTool about that issue too. They need to get their act together.

No problem with overflow though .

[mikesz]

I have the 15qt round from walmart. works fine for me but I undo the drain cap so the air can escape I also usually put a piece of cardboard underneath cause you do get some splash. You gotta open the drain spout so air can escape or the oil wont flow into the drain pan fast enough and it will overflow. I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by mikesz

I have the 15qt round from walmart. works fine for me but I undo the drain cap so the air can escape I also usually put a piece of cardboard underneath cause you do get some splash. You gotta open the drain spout so air can escape or the oil wont flow into the drain pan fast enough and it will overflow. I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

If you need to control oil splash during draining's, buy a short section (6 inches or so) or a 4-6 inch diameter PVC pipe, then drill about a dozen or so 1/4 diameter holes around the circumference of one end. Set the pipe in your drain pan, but not over the actual drain opening, and allow the oil to drop into the pipe and then run out into the pan itself; any splash with be retained inside the pipe.

[Frodo]

After getting the Box I picked up one of the round 15 qt pans described above. It's worked pretty well for me with one huge exception. One of the first times I used it I accidentally dropped the hot oil drain plug from the car into the opening in the center of the catch pan. Needless to say it quickly overflowed---I ended up with a small sea of used motor oil (maybe 5' in diameter?) on the middle of the drive way. First thing I did (after spending at least an hour cleaning up the mess) was to get my electric drill with my 1/2" bit and drilled maybe 8-10 holes in the top surface of the catch pan. Never had that problem again. And yeah, opening the cap of the pour-off spout helps by allowing air out---I do that too.

I don't have problems with leakage because I always just pour it off into containers (the 5-qt oil jugs or, sometimes, gallon milk jugs) for recycling. Don't like keeping the stuff around---I move it out pretty quickly. I have a dedicated dirty-oil funnel and spillage is minimal. I work over newspaper or cardboard to catch the minor drips.

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

If you need to control oil splash during draining's, buy a short section (6 inches or so) or a 4-6 inch diameter PVC pipe, then drill about a dozen or so 1/4 diameter holes around the circumference of one end. Set the pipe in your drain pan, but not over the actual drain opening, and allow the oil to drop into the pipe and then run out into the pan itself; any splash with be retained inside the pipe.

That's a pretty good idea, I may try that. I've accomplished more or less the same thing by cutting a milk gallon jug in half and inserting the neck of the opening into the opening in the oil catch-pan. Works pretty well, but is a bit less elegant than your solution.

Originally Posted by mikesz

I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

Geez, Really?? That really wreaks havoc with ground water...you really should be going to the trouble (and it's not really all that much trouble) of recycling the stuff.