When did plastic oil bottles first come out?

[ctrcbob]

I know someone mentioned all metal cans that came before the cardboard cans with metal tops, however;.......

I remember when a case of oil had 24 cans! (Now you'r lucky if a case has 12 bottles and full synthetic has 6 bottles).

 

[Carmudgeon]

If you weren't around for the cans, be glad.

To get a good pour from the cans, you needed to buy a spout, which used to be a subcategory of tools in itself.

The bad spouts would leak between themselves and the can.

The good spouts didn't leak, but you were still left with a oil-covered thing to be handled and stored somewhere.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Yeah, and half the time, the cardboard sides of the can would crushcollap, requiring a simple triangular "church key" can opener to open it. With a small vent hole on the other side. Then, it was funnel-time, or if you were a good shot, "aim and drain", always good for a cleanup. But then you could take the towel with that oil on it and go over the big round air cleaner, the top of the radiator, the batery, get all the dust off the horizontals. Clean as new, eh?

What Johnny mentioned, regardless of the actual cost of plastic vs. round cardboard, the rectangular shape of the new plastic bottles saved a LOT of space aboard boats, trains and trucks shipping and storing the stuff. Probably made the merchants that put it on the shelf happy, too.

 

[ted s]

I remember quarker state in round plastic bottles

 

[Mr_Incredible]

The Kendal Oil site mentioned their first bottle in 1978, if I remember right from yesterday...

 

[xlt4me]

Ok you want old... I remember glass oil jars. That's right, a 1qt Mason jar with a screw on spout. A lot of gas stations, (which is where you got your oil changed back in the day), had them and they would fill the jar from their drum of bulk oil.

 

[Black Bart]

Quote:

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Ok you want old... I remember glass oil jars. That's right, a 1qt Mason jar with a screw on spout. A lot of gas stations, (which is where you got your oil changed back in the day), had them and they would fill the jar from their drum of bulk oil.

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Those glass jars had a long metal pour spout that screwed onto the jar.
Local garage in my home town had a metal rack with several already filled and when you bought gas and needed oil they would grab one and dump it in.

 

[PT1]

Wow is this scary...I remember the cans and that chrome oil spout that would never pierce the top of the can correctly and the can would collapse and you would be pouring this bent mess dripping oil all over your engine...yeah the good old days. Every car I owned leaked or burned (or both) oil. I am still so brainwashed by that experience I still inspect the garage floor for the telltale oil spot. Haven't had a leaker in 10 years. Boy am I glad those cans are history.

 

[LouDawg]

I remember my dad bringing the cardboard cans with the metal lids into the house when it was cool out. He'd set them on the kitchen stove when mom was baking something so they'd warm up and he could get every last drop out of them. Mom was always real happy about that, but it kind of rubbed off on me. Now I leave the plastic bottles propped up on the oil fill hole until it complete stops dripping. Like those last few drops are going to make a big difference.

 

[dwendt44]

I'm not quit that bad, Lou.
I empty a bottle and set it aside at an angle. After all five are done, I go back and pour out any left overs, in the same order as I emptied them.

 

[Kestas]

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... Like those last few drops are going to make a big difference.

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It will. It's not the pennies that you're saving by capturing that oil. It keeps that oil from going to the landfill and leaching out into the groundwater. You're protecting the environment.

It can also be a time saver. Rather than waiting for the last dregs of oil to drip into the engine while filling, I move onto the next bottle, and take care of the dregs by propping the bottles for overnight drains.