12 quart box oil - where have you been all my life?

[92saturnsl2]

This is my first time buying/using oil in a 12 quart box. The price/qt is decent at Walmart, but hardly a bargain. That said, the math works out because my modern cars that use modern oil both take 6 quarts. I like to change to different brand oils often, so not having orphan leftovers hanging around is a huge bonus.

I bought a 12qt box of Mobil1 0w-40 Syn and Valvoline 5w-30 Advanced Syn. First use was the Valvoline, and pouring this stuff is a dream. Set it up on some kind of stand and you can fill an oil filter fully with ZERO mess. It takes some precision to do the same pouring out of a plastic bottle, and downright challenging with a 5 quart jug.

On to filling the vehicle, I spilled a bit because I went full glory too quickly-- the oil tends to run out of one side of the plastic spout going slow, but the oil coming out will change angle when you open 'er up fully. After this first run, I'm certain I can fill a car without spilling a drop. On this particular car, it's tough filling with bottles or jugs-- very little open space to tuck the bottle into to get the spout closer to the fill port. I dislike cleaning/using funnels, so I've always used the aim, dump and pray approach. Although I've gotten quite good at the method, nothing beats the 12 quart box you just set atop the engine cover and go to town.

The six quart boxes I've used have no spout, just a seal which you rip off. Which again puts you at the mercy of fill port location. I hope the Mobil1 12 quart box has a similar adjustable spout as the Valvoline.

 

[michaelluscher]

I dig it

Now how to I do this to my Total oil stash

 

[I<3oil]

I dig it

Now how to I do this to my Total oil stash

Buy one, use it, refill with Total, ????, profit

 

[atikovi]

Carrying a 25 pound box of oil to the engine and trying to pour it into the hole with your arms stretched out doesn't seem like much fun at all. It would have to be REAL cheap.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Carrying a 25 pound box of oil to the engine and trying to pour it into the hole with your arms stretched out doesn't seem like much fun at all. It would have to be REAL cheap.

No idea why one would hold it with their arms stretched out when you can simply set it up somewhere on the engine bay, or macguyver some sort of platform for it.

 

[atikovi]

Because the oil fill is usually at the middle of the engine, sometime nearer to the firewall. That's at least 2 feet from the side or front of the car, so yes, unless you're a basketball player, you pretty much have to stretch your arms out to hold it.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Because the oil fill is usually at the middle of the engine, sometime nearer to the firewall. That's at least 2 feet from the side or front of the car, so yes, unless you're a basketball player, you pretty much have to stretch your arms out to hold it.

To each their own, just sharing my experience. I didn't have to hold it, just shift it around slightly till the aim was right and open the spout. Gravity did all the work.

 

[tbm5690]

How did you know when to stop the tap at your capacity? That seems like the biggest drawback of doing this to me. FWIW I use disposable funnels, so no clean-up that way either.

 

[BHopkins]

I have used the 12 quart boxes of oil. During the epidemic, when the supply chain was broken, I couldn't always find M1 0w-40 FS in the 5 quart jug, but it was available in the 12 qt. box, so I bought it. At the time, it was actually a good value.

My E350 takes about 6.9 quarts, so I use an empty 5 qt. jug to measure out the oil and fill the engine. I hadn't thought about sitting the oil box on the engine, and directly filling the oil. That would throw my OCD into overdrive, trying to guestimate when the right amount is in the engine.

To me, there is no real convenience to the box, except the large volume, especially now that Mobil has raised the price of the 12 qt. box to where the cost/qt. is only slightly cheaper than the 5 qt. jug.

 

[Ronsant]

The Supertech 12 qt box is a good deal. The box sits on a shelf in my garage, and I refill leftover quart bottles. Then I just pour the quart in, and refill. Count to 7 and the 5.7 Hemi is done.

 

[ls1mike]

I need to find these. I have lots of oil changes. 92saturnls how are you liking the 2.0 LTG?

 

[cptbarkey]

It sorta makes sense, but its also a pain if you do not transfer the quantity needed to another container before actually doing the fill. I bought 1 box of 0w20 supertech into 3 previously used but clean 5qt jugs and tossed the box. The box is too messy and cumbersome.

 

[Braapdaddy]

I prefer bag in box over any other container aside from 55 gal

 

[Egg_Head]

For me, boxes are a PITA. I only buy them if the pricing is ridiculously low. Having said that I have 3 in my stash currently.

 

[JoelB]

Our cars take 3.8 quarts per change so these boxes represent a pretty clean 3 oil changes each. Very appealing. The way I see them making the most sense for me is using one of these covered and capped measuring containers. I wouldn't personally move the box around.

 

[Bighorn2500]

The Durango takes six quarts so the Mobil 1 5w30 box comes in handy for two changes. I bought dispenser with the pour nozzle above as well to aid in ease of measuring and pouring.

 

[thastinger]

We have 5, 6, 7 and 8.5Qt vehicles. I buy these boxes but use a container like above to measure out the amount each needs.

 

[ron17571]

I prefer pouring quarts so I fill an empty a few times from a gallon jug. I keep the funnel in a clean rag and if it looks dirty at all I blast the inside with carb cleaner and it dries fast. I could try and use a pump I bought from Harbor Freight to fill the engine.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Box of oil and a box of wine and you’re all set.

 

[Kira]

If it works for your situation, groovy.

I can't see any advantage to perching a 12 qt. box atop an engine where tapping oil into any quart or gallon containers works so well.

Of all the small wrinkles I've read about concerning "working ease", folks mentioning dirty funnels might top the list.
It's so easy to keep 'em clean in a Zip-Lock bag or, as mentioned above, clean 'em with a shot of 'brake-o-clean'.

PERSONAL NOTE: The dealership where I worked had a central oil tank plumbed to both sides of the garage. Both fill stations had a transfer pail with a flex-spout which exited the pail's bottom. Those pails were always contaminated. It was bad.

Just a little "give a $#!T" is what most operations require.