Do 5 quart jugs work for you?

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Originally Posted By: 4WD
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I prefer quarts, but the price of the 5 qt. jug is tough to beat.


Does Costco still do the in store six packs … let my membership end about 3 years back … those were handy but we were not buying much else so the annual fee was not worth it (and 50 miles away)


Yes, and they are on sale this month both in store and online. Nets $4.50/qt. And, my store doesn’t stock 0W-40 but I can order it online.

https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=Mobil+1+Motor+Oil&refine=753140%2B248108&pageSize=96
 
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Originally Posted By: paulri
Sienna takes 5 quarts--easy, and as others have said, it is cheaper. Civic takes 3.8 quarts, so after reading a poster in this thread, my new strategy is simple--I fill up to the brim, a single quart bottle, then pour the rest of the 5 qt jug into the Civic engine.

Not only are 5 quart jugs insanely cheaper than 5 separate single quart bottles, but having a 5 qt jug makes it easy to pour the old oil into--I'd hate to have to pour my old oil into 5 separate single quart jugs.


Indeed … was hoping this would be an exchange of ideas … and not something to bicker about for a change …
(We have been working Mr Wilson et al a bit hard this week)
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Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I prefer quarts, but the price of the 5 qt. jug is tough to beat.


Does Costco still do the in store six packs … let my membership end about 3 years back … those were handy but we were not buying much else so the annual fee was not worth it (and 50 miles away)


Yes, and they are on sale this month both in store and online. Nets $4.50/qt. And, my store doesn’t stock 0W-40 but I can order it online.

https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=Mobil+1+Motor+Oil&refine=753140%2B248108&pageSize=96



Good tip … it seems to be the only place doing that and one can stack the boxes a bit too … I’ll swing by and sign up …
 
For the home yes - 5-ers work great for light duty trucks and auto stuff where you are dealing with 4-8 quarts or so.

For the shop sort of- The boats and big stuff like motorhomes are usually 12Qt and up so for them fewer but bigger units make more sense. We get barrels for the shop.




UD
 
6 quarts in my Tacoma, I buy a jug and single quart typically for a change. My diesel takes 15 quarts so I buy 4 gallons and only have one quart leftover when done. The rest of my old Ford truck fleet all take 6 quarts, as well. Same with the Mach 1 so it's the same scenario for all them.
 
6 qts in truck.
4 qts in car.
Both are spec'd for 5w-20

Ideally I could use 2 jugs and do both vehicles.

But I also do my brothers truck (7 qts of xw-20), sisters car (5 qts of xw20 or 30)) and mom's car (5 qts 5w-30).
Plus my truck uses 1 qt every 1500 miles.

But it is not that big a deal to pour out 1-2 qts from a 5 qt jug since the jug is usually cheaper.

My bike is 3.3 qts, and most HDEO comes in gallon jugs.
For that I actually have a gallon jug that is marked @ the 3.3 mark, and I pour from a gallon jug into that. Every 5th jug I get another fill out of it.
 
Works well for me. Oil is quite expensive in Canada but somewhat cheaper in larger jugs when they are available.

I use just what I need for each change and keep the rest. I never need a top up. As I use the same oil over and over, eventually I get a free change from the accumulated little bits (about a pint per change).

To ensure I don't end up with contaminated little bits, I use the left overs from the last change as the first oil in the next change. I mark the new container with how much should be left and stop pouring there.

The only disadvantages are a bit of complication and having an extra partially full container on the shelf at all times. But the free oil change every once in a while makes it worthwhile.
 
I buy most of the oil that goes through my shop in 5 qt. jugs and it never bothers me to have a little left over. My OC price is for 5 qts. but if it's a good friend and their car uses any I may stick whatever's left in the trunk for top-off. I maintain several Buick 3800's, Honda J35's, and 1.8-2.4L 4 cylinders (Honda, Chevy, Kia, etc.) that hold between 4 and 5 quarts so picking up that 5 qt. jug insure I'll have plenty to get the engine full and have odds and ends left over to top off any rigs that may come in low enough to qualify for my shop rule: if any fluid on your vehicle is less than 70% its intended capacity it will be topped off and you will be charged for the materials to do so.
 
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Prefer 5 quart or even gallon jugs to individual quarts.

Quicker to pour. It gets tedious putting in lots of individual quarts into Euro engines.

Better for disposing of used oil. Both when emptying the mityvac or draining directly via a Fumoto.

Leftovers get used up for top ups or via mixing.
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
I buy most of the oil that goes through my shop in 5 qt. jugs and it never bothers me to have a little left over. My OC price is for 5 qts. but if it's a good friend and their car uses any I may stick whatever's left in the trunk for top-off. I maintain several Buick 3800's, Honda J35's, and 1.8-2.4L 4 cylinders (Honda, Chevy, Kia, etc.) that hold between 4 and 5 quarts so picking up that 5 qt. jug insure I'll have plenty to get the engine full and have odds and ends left over to top off any rigs that may come in low enough to qualify for my shop rule: if any fluid on your vehicle is less than 70% its intended capacity it will be topped off and you will be charged for the materials to do so.


I like your policy, although down 30%+ sounds like a lot to me, especially for oil, ATF, gear oil, or coolant.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
You slack donkey cheap skate demarpaint
smile.gif

For not wanting to pay for a membership to that place.

Just messing with ya man. I don't blame you really. I don't think I could want to pay that to shop somewhere as well. I hope you've been doing good.

4wd I like quart containers as well. I got 10 individual qt containers from Federated Auto. 10 Federated Auto full synthetic 5w30 for my Altima 3.5. I also did get a 5 qt container of Federated Auto syn blend 5w30 for $10.29 the lady's Camry. I added 3 more individual quarts too it has well. I did that so I'd have 2 runs for her car. Though I have to say I'm glad I have the individual quart sizes. Easy to top off from a quart size than a big whomping five qt container.


I just got a membership there. I keep getting flats on my 40 series tires and the tires came with the car so no road hazard. They had a pretty good sale on Michelin recently with 1 cent installation and a good road hazard warranty. They're running a special now, $28 for 6 quarts after an instant $10 off on Mobil 1. Probably good to pair that with a Mobil rebate that will probably kick off in March. The 5 quart jugs are easier to store, but I still have a Mobil jug with 1.5 quarts in it as mine takes 8.5 quarts. Usually I just prefer the 5 quart jugs but will take whatever they have. It's good to have a mix because I'd like to use the 5 quart jug and use the individual quarts for the final fill so you'd have one quart bottle with a half quart in it instead of a 5 quart jug with 1.5 quarts in it.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
You slack donkey cheap skate demarpaint
smile.gif

For not wanting to pay for a membership to that place.

Just messing with ya man. I don't blame you really. I don't think I could want to pay that to shop somewhere as well. I hope you've been doing good.

4wd I like quart containers as well. I got 10 individual qt containers from Federated Auto. 10 Federated Auto full synthetic 5w30 for my Altima 3.5. I also did get a 5 qt container of Federated Auto syn blend 5w30 for $10.29 the lady's Camry. I added 3 more individual quarts too it has well. I did that so I'd have 2 runs for her car. Though I have to say I'm glad I have the individual quart sizes. Easy to top off from a quart size than a big whomping five qt container.


Bingo, that's me! No need for me to join a wholesale club, I know the right people.
wink.gif
I usually do as good or better shopping online. Besides this is a household of two, and I can't stand the lines at the local wholesale clubs.
 
OP said, "(would have half a gallon left per jug)". Perhaps it should have read, "...left per oil change".
Proofreading is our friend but I'm certain we all caught the drift.

Regarding the meat of the question: Figuring out how to reconcile remaining product in any size container is what we call "a first world problem".
That's sarcasm for there being no problem at all.
Bemoaning whether to screw a cap back on or pouring the remaining product into another vessel is wasteful of time.

I am not an ogre. I did love the fact that the transmission in my sister's Jeep drained exactly one gallon of fluid.
I kept unused gallon jugs in the store.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
OP said, "(would have half a gallon left per jug)". Perhaps it should have read, "...left per oil change".
Proofreading is our friend but I'm certain we all caught the drift.

Regarding the meat of the question: Figuring out how to reconcile remaining product in any size container is what we call "a first world problem".
That's sarcasm for there being no problem at all.
Bemoaning whether to screw a cap back on or pouring the remaining product into another vessel is wasteful of time.

I am not an ogre. I did love the fact that the transmission in my sister's Jeep drained exactly one gallon of fluid.
I kept unused gallon jugs in the store.


Good catch ... point was even with a half dozen vehicles ~ gallons would work very well and what is on the shelf not so much.
I’d rather have a few quarts to offset than shelf space filled with mostly air in jugs
 
My car uses 4 qts so i always pour out the 5th qt
Into a single qt bottle and carry it around in the car
Whatever doesnt get used as top off in the OCI
I use to flush the last of the old oil out with the drain plug open
Once its down to a drip i pour in about half a quart of the leftovers
Then i watch till it drips semi clean oil, then close it up and refill wit
The new stuff

Maybe a tiny bit wasteful but the 5 qts are much cheaper
I always recycle though!
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My Sonata takes 5 quarts so... But burns 1 quart in 5,000 miles so I do need some top off.

But I only use clearance oil, which usually comes in quarts. I do have a couple jugs though and I used one for my Sonata last oil change.
 
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