To funnel or not to funnel?

[glennc]

Do you use a funnel when adding oil and other fluids? If so how do you make sure the funnel is clean, and how do you clean it again after you use it? Some funnels have open/close valves or corrugated tubing to make them bendable... even harder to clean, maybe almost impossible.

The last thing I want to do is put dirty craap in the car when I'm trying to do the opposite.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Yes I do, and I cover it up with a towel and leave it inside of a clean measuring cup to make sure no dust gets to it. I also wipe it out with a clean paper towel after using it, every time. I've also heard of some people liking to put them in a plastic baggie, which would work good too I assume.

 

[bustednutz]

I also use a funnel and clean it before and after each oil change. But if you really want to be sanitary, you can get paper funnels at most auto parts stores. I think Wally World also has them.
Brake cleaner is really good at cleaning all the gook out of your funnel. Dries fast too.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

I make sure they are clean before I use them and I wipe them up with paper towels after I'm done. Then I put it in a bag. I used to use grocery bags but they don't keep dust out well so most recently I put the funnel in a zipper bag. I also have a dedicated funnel for putting dirty oil into containers. I just put that into the drain pan when I'm done. The funnel for the coolant goes in a grocery bag and gets tied around the jug of coolant if it's not empty. The funnel for the windshield fluid gets thrown into the closet when I'm done.

I have two of those long black funnels that I don't have anything to cover them with and they get really dusty and I haven't cleaned them yet so I haven't used them. Next time I fill the a/t I'm going to have to clean one up. The fill hole is far down the engine compartment. Wow, long post about funnels.

 

[dwendt44]

I also wipe out my funnels with a shop towel(paper).
I then spray the inside with with brake cleaner to get any film off. Then keep a paper shop towel in the funnel to keep it clean.
Brake cleaner is not that agressive and hasn't harmed the cheap-o funnels at all.

 

[huffmuds9320]

I always use a funnel when adding stuff like oil, helps prevent spills. Since I use the funnel for different fluids I wipe it with a rag before and after use.

As for cleaning hard to reach funnels or tubing, I use Simple Green or something similar. I just spray it on the funnel and rinse it out with water.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Me,I have a funnel I use for motor oil and motor oil only. I always wipe it out really well after I fill my engine up and keep it sealed inside a plastic grocery bag to keep it from getting dusty/dirty.

 

[ProfPS]

I too use a funnel for motor oil. My funnel is a motor oil qt bottle cut in half. When I store it, I cap the funnel half and insert it cap side up into the bottom half. This way it keeps the funnel clean from dust and dirt, and any excess oil in the funnel drains in to the bottom half that I use to lube the oil filter gasket on my next OCI.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ProfPS
I too use a funnel for motor oil. My funnel is a motor oil qt bottle cut in half. When I store it, I cap the funnel half and insert it cap side up into the bottom half. This way any excess oil in the funnel drains in to the bottom half that I use to lube the oil filter gasket on my next OCI.


I do the same thing, and the clean oil that runs out I use in my squirt oiler for things that need a drop or two of oil.

Frank D

 

[lewdwig]

I use a funnel for ATF, but after trying to pour a gallon jug of AMSOIL motor oil in my wife's SUV with out a funnel I reckon I'll buy another funnel before I try it again. I keep the ATF funnel behind the seat of my pick up not in a bag (may be I'll start putting it in one).

 

[Eddie]

Sneak it into the dish-washer and bag it for the next use.

 

[bigbrother8]

i never use a funnel - i plug the bottle hole with my thumb turn it upside down into the fill tube and release.

 

[02zx9r]

i use a funnel to add oil, turn it upside down to let it drain out, might wipe it out if I remember. store it wherever, when I go to use it again if there is [censored] in it i will wipe it out, if not i use it.

i dont worry that much about it. What is a speck of dirt going to do?

 

[levi]

Have a big bunch of funnels. All sizes and kinds. Keep them in a large, open cardboard box under a table in the garage. If one looks dirty, I wipe it out with an old rag. Haven't lost an engine yet.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: ProfPS
I too use a funnel for motor oil. My funnel is a motor oil qt bottle cut in half. When I store it, I cap the funnel half and insert it cap side up into the bottom half. This way it keeps the funnel clean from dust and dirt, and any excess oil in the funnel drains in to the bottom half that I use to lube the oil filter gasket on my next OCI.


Same here, I use a cut-in-half bottle of Quaker State as a dirty oil funnel into the jugs I have in the garage.

Works great.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Me,I have a funnel I use for motor oil and motor oil only. I always wipe it out really well after I fill my engine up and keep it sealed inside a plastic grocery bag to keep it from getting dusty/dirty.


I have only one for putting in new oil. Never wipe it down since its always covered with a terry cloth towel (both top and bottom) and placed upside down so nothing could get in side.

Same funnel for many many years. I wonder how many quarts of oil have gone thru it...

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I repeatedly twist and turn one of the four corners of a paper towel - then insert that long edge into the funnel hole -- then grab that edge as it comes out the open-end side. That cleans the oil remnants in the snout of the funnel.

The rest of the funnel I just wipe with the remaining paper towel clean parts - then put the funnel in a measuring cup I keep in the garage - with a new clean paper towel inserted in the funnel.

The next time I need that funnel, I use that clean paper towel to wipe off any dust before using.

 

[bigjeffie]

i went to inpatient treatment and found out my funnel fixation was latent homo urges, . no wonder i could never seem to get all the dirt specks out.....

 

[TallPaul]

I save some of my old oil quart bottles. Then if I need an oil funnel, just cut the bottom out and it's a clean funnel that you can throw away when finished.

 

[kd5byb]

I rinse mine with brake parts cleaner - leaves them spotless! I don't bother to bag them to keep them clean, as I'll use the same funnel for other chores like putting the used oil into my recycle containers, etc... I always clean before use.

I'll admit that most of my funnels are cut from old water bottles and quart oil containers. Simple, cheap, and effective. I've also cut a large hole in the side of one of the flat Super-Tech coolant jugs to make a mini drain pan for the lawn mowers, etc... This works great for small jobs.

Instead of brake parts cleaner, lately I've been soaking my funnels and oil-change paraphernalia (sample collection jar, splash guard, etc...) in Simple Green. I've been using about a 1:1 ratio of Simple Green to water and this is a very effective cleaner/degreaser.

later,
b