Do you get the last drop?

[blupupher]

I do some. I will empty a bottle, set it aside with the cap on on the side. Once all the oil change is done, I will drain each bottle into one bottle, then pour that in.

I had seen some pics here in the past that someone had made a draining device from their old oil bottles.

edit: Well, seems they sell them:

 

[raytseng]

i do drain my empties but it's more for the environment so the bottles that are thrown out have minimum oil for the landfill.

But the dregs just get dumped in with the used oil to get recycled rather then put into the sump.

In the grand scheme of things for a home mechanic, 100extra ml of oil doesn't matter because you didn't care enough to use the oil in your engine completely to the last drop. Did it really make difference if that 100ml was on the shelf, or in the oil sump if it's all getting dumped at the end of the oci?

If you really wanted to save oil, you could just underfill your oil and run your oil at the minimum oil line and/or run your OCIs to the end. There, I just saved you a quart of oil every OCI.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
If you really wanted to save oil, you could just underfill your oil and run your oil at the minimum oil line and/or run your OCIs to the end. There, I just saved you a quart of oil every OCI.

Bingo! I can see the point of not wanting to throw it out, from a waste or environmental standpoint. As for the contraption shown above, I'm paranoid about dust in the oil, so that would be a bad thing.

 

[Trav]

Its more trouble than its worth for me anyway.

 

[Kira]

I found the ledge in the garage where the bottles set securely decades ago so the effort factor is as close to zero as can be.

After inverting one I walk away. True, that must involve 2 or 3 seconds per bottle. Darn it, Bowling for Dollars is on!

People not doing so disappoints me. Lots of oil is collected. Keeping it out of the waste stream and water supply IS worth it.

"It's not worth my time to be clean" is their battle cry? More likely, "They'll laugh at me".

 

[bullwinkle]

If you lay the bottle on it's side on a warm part of the engine (I usually try to do spout down, diagonally on it's side), you can get another ounce or so once it warms a little & drains down to the corner. I just rotate the first quarts back in while the last ones drain & I'm checking tires, washer, PS & brake fluid-it doesn't take much time to get it all out. Savings doesn't compare to free after rebates or clearance sales, though.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I never have, nor will I ever be concerned about the tiny amount of oil that is left in the container.

 

[Charlie1935]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
let it go until it stops dripping

Remember the add packs can settle out, and you could be loosing out on the good stuff in the bottle.


Store it upside down. Then the add pack gets poured out first.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I've done this for over 30 years. It doesn't produce much oil these days with only 2 vehicles and yearly oci's, but back in the day with 5 cars and 3k oci's, I created an oci every few months.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I usually wait for it to start dripping, although the synthetic doesn't really drip much.
Syn oil doesn't cling like conventional oil ???


Nope - has to due with inherent lower surface tension (real synthetics). Group III oils will cling like regular Dino oils which they are ...

Started keeping a drain-into jug after I worked at service station back in the day. Same as OP. We (all the workers) ran "the drip oil" in our cars. The station would collect gallons in a month in the lube bay. Talk about home brew. But it worked great.

The owner had been doing it since WW-II and used it for the poor folk in his church who needed a bit of help. Some of the widows would come in and he'd have us change the oil and use the drip oil. "No charge for the Oil, we had a bit of extra around..." and send them on their way.

That's when I realized that all good oils are fully mixable. Yeah, you might get Ad-Pak conflict today if really stepping away from each other on brand. But all the stuff at that station was Phillips 66 or Sta-Lube and they got along well enough

 

[supton]

I make sure to get the last drop from the coffee pot, but not from oil containers.

Eons ago I recall dad doing this; I recall the amount was a quart per case. Sounds too high today. Anyhow, money was tight, and the van was chugging oil badly, so we had lots of containers, and a spot to do this.

 

[SirTanon]

I don't actively try to get the very last drop of oil out of every bottle, but I DO leave the bottles inverted in the fill hole for about 10-15 seconds each, so I'd said I get what I can out of them without going to any goofy lengths.

I probably leave about 1-2 oz of oil over the course of a year (3 oil changes) out of the 16.5 quarts that I use. I can live with that.

 

[Coconuteater64]

I used to do this; I had a little trough that emptied into a 5 quart jug. I'd get quite a bit of oil from it because one of the neighbors would contribute bottles every time they did an oil change too. I'd use that oil to top off my pickup with 210K miles because it'd consume a quart every 800 miles or so. The lawn mower would receive some too at the beginning of every season.

But now that the wife and I have downsized in preparation for retirement, I don't have the garage space. (Not all the cars in my signature live at my house- I have 3 kids).

I think it's a great idea. Keeps the oil out of the landfill, and it's good to use in an old worn out engine that drinks a little. Free money!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
If you lay the bottle on it's side on a warm part of the engine (I usually try to do spout down, diagonally on it's side), you can get another ounce or so once it warms a little & drains down to the corner. I just rotate the first quarts back in while the last ones drain & I'm checking tires, washer, PS & brake fluid-it doesn't take much time to get it all out. Savings doesn't compare to free after rebates or clearance sales, though.


That's the exact same way I do it. Or I'll leave them on their sides in the sun for awhile while I do other things,then pour the last bit in. It's surprising how much oil comes out.

 

[kohnen]

I buy oil in 5 quart containers. When I consume the last of one of the containers, I put the new container on the floor, & prop the "empty" container against the wall with its mouth wedged in the open mouth of the full container. This causes the oil that's left to drain into the full bottle.

I leave it like this while I'm drilling a hole in the filter to better drain it, pouring the old oil from the oil change pan into a large jug for recycling, and cleaning things up - takes about 20 minutes.

Then, depending on what I'm doing that day, I just stop there, or leave it for a few hours.

I've no clue how far ahead I am by doing this, but it just makes sense.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
I buy oil in 5 quart containers. When I consume the last of one of the containers, I put the new container on the floor, & prop the "empty" container against the wall with its mouth wedged in the open mouth of the full container. This causes the oil that's left to drain into the full bottle.

I leave it like this while I'm drilling a hole in the filter to better drain it, pouring the old oil from the oil change pan into a large jug for recycling, and cleaning things up - takes about 20 minutes.

Then, depending on what I'm doing that day, I just stop there, or leave it for a few hours.

I've no clue how far ahead I am by doing this, but it just makes sense.



One those large 5 quart containers, there is a lot of oil that gets into that handle hole and you have to "drip dry" the bottle to get the last drop.

I prefer quart bottles because they don't have that stupid cavern running through the handle.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Originally Posted By: kohnen
I buy oil in 5 quart containers. When I consume the last of one of the containers, I put the new container on the floor, & prop the "empty" container against the wall with its mouth wedged in the open mouth of the full container. This causes the oil that's left to drain into the full bottle.

I leave it like this while I'm drilling a hole in the filter to better drain it, pouring the old oil from the oil change pan into a large jug for recycling, and cleaning things up - takes about 20 minutes.

Then, depending on what I'm doing that day, I just stop there, or leave it for a few hours.

I've no clue how far ahead I am by doing this, but it just makes sense.
One those large 5 quart containers, there is a lot of oil that gets into that handle hole and you have to "drip dry" the bottle to get the last drop.

I prefer quart bottles because they don't have that stupid cavern running through the handle.
When I tilt the top bottle, I tilt it so that all of the oil comes out of the handle.

I buy the 5 quart bottle because they're almost always (unless there's some sort of weird sale) cheaper than five 1 quart bottles. I'm frugal, but I ain't stoopid!

 

[HTSS_TR]

I did many things the same way you guys did to get as much oil as possible from quart bottle or 5-qt jug. I thought that I was the only one doing it but now I feel a little better knowing some of you did the same.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I did many things the same way you guys did to get as much oil as possible from quart bottle or 5-qt jug. I thought that I was the only one doing it but now I feel a little better knowing some of you did the same.
You didn't think that the members of a site that is obsessive about oil would be obsessive about oil?!?!?!

 

[HTSS_TR]

We are obsessive about oil, but trying every way to get few drops out of the container(quart bottles and 5-qt jugs) is somewhat unusual for most to understand.