Draining oil filters before tossing

[MiniTransAm]

Hey guys.

Lucky for me I have a hazardous household waste center right near my house. So I dropped off all my old oil and filters there the other day. The guy working says that they don't do anything special with the filters and I should just throw them away.

I know that there is still a decent amount of oil left in these things. I do let them sit on the filter drain area of my oil catch pan until I need to use the pan again. Is there anyway to drain most of the oil out? I see they make crushers but I'm not buying a hydraulically powered thousand dollar piece of equipment just to crush 5 or 6 filters a year!

 

[demarpaint]

I pop a hole in the top of the filter and sit it in a big funnel draining into a 1 gallon bottle. I let it sit in a corner in the garage for a few days then toss them. I was told the same thing as you about tossing them.

 

[spyghost]

i give all used oil/filters to either to the gas station or the motor pool in our office. they'll deal with the proper disposal procedure

 

[d00df00d]

My drain pan (nothing special, just one from Autozone) has a little spot for draining a filter. It's just two ridges with a gap between them. I let the filter sit there for a day or two while the pan sits in a corner of the garage. Works great.

 

[IndyIan]

I drain as much oil as I can and then put the filter upright into my woodstove when I've got a hot fire going. The oil evaporates and ignites and burns quite cleanly, I'm guessing firebox temps are around 1200F+.
I then throw what's left of the filter into the trash. I'll also burn the paper towels I use the same way but I have to be careful as they want to burn too fast.

I guess there are heavy metals in the oil that aren't so great but I don't think there is a significant amount deposited downwind of me.
Ian

 

[ZZman]

Drill a hole in the top of the filter and set it hole down.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I pop a hole in the top of the filter and sit it in a big funnel draining into a 1 gallon bottle. I let it sit in a corner in the garage for a few days then toss them. I was told the same thing as you about tossing them.


Me too.

 

[refuse2]

our hazardous household waste center will take the oil filters and crush them and make sure that there is no oil left in them. I was really surprised that they were getting any oil of them and I let mine sit for months with a hole in bottom upside down and there still getting oil out.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I drain my old filters on my drainpan too, but I keep them in an old oil drain pan and about once a year when it's full I take them to my local Tires Plus and put them in their filter recycling container. I'm pretty sure U.S. Filter gets them from there.

 

[labman]

yeah, punch a hole in 'em.

 

[eljefino]

Sometimes I poke the ADBV with a drywall screw to get more out, other times puncture the dome with a nail.

Often just leave it alone, as my used oil is burned by my town garage for heat, and the household trash is burnt in a trash-to-energy plant that likely has better smokestack pollution controls!

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: MiniTransAm
Hey guys.

Lucky for me I have a hazardous household waste center right near my house. So I dropped off all my old oil and filters there the other day. The guy working says that they don't do anything special with the filters and I should just throw them away.

I know that there is still a decent amount of oil left in these things. I do let them sit on the filter drain area of my oil catch pan until I need to use the pan again. Is there anyway to drain most of the oil out? I see they make crushers but I'm not buying a hydraulically powered thousand dollar piece of equipment just to crush 5 or 6 filters a year!


Sorry, I couldn't get past the first line!

 

[labman]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
.... and the household trash is burnt in a trash-to-energy plant that likely has better smokestack pollution controls!


+1

Who know how much diesel and natural gas is expended in the curbside recycling program the enviromental wackos demand. Good for the municipal workers' unions too.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I poke a hole just above the base plate on opposite sides, then lay it in a plastic tray to drain into a coffee can.

The plastic tray (the stackable kind you put nuts & bolts in) has a few holes drilled in the low area and fits nicely into the coffee can at an angle. I dump the can when it gets full enough that I wouldn't want to have to clean it up should I knock it over. Most any sized filter will fit in the tray.

I throw away the filter when it's drained. I sometimes will open them up to have a peek before I toss them.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I drain my old filters on my drainpan too, but I keep them in an old oil drain pan and about once a year when it's full I take them to my local Tires Plus and put them in their filter recycling container. I'm pretty sure U.S. Filter gets them from there.

 

[PandaBear]

I jab 2 screws or nails into the ADBV and leave it in a drained oil pan for a few hours. The stuff that comes out is kind of thick.

 

[PT1]

I just toss mine over into my neighbors back yard and he runs them over with the lawnmower....

Or if your neighbor is fussy just bury them in the same hole you pour the used oil in. If that doesn't work then they will always sink to the bottom of the storm sewer. Or if you don't want the neighbors watching you pour oil & filters down the sewer you can wait until dark and scatter them around the kids elementary school playground. Kids love throwing used oil filters around and watching oil sling out all over the kid they throw them at.

Now if you are environmentally inclined like me then just throw them in the diswasher and re-use em.

 

[eljefino]

^ I prefer taking them to the reservoir and shooting them with my .22 until they sink. You should see the slick when I'm done.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
^ I prefer taking them to the reservoir and shooting them with my .22 until they sink. You should see the slick when I'm done.

The topic is "draining oil filter before tossing" not "tossing oil filter before drowning it"

 

[Drew2000]

Our town has a gigantic waste-to-energy plant where all house-hold trash goes. A few oil filters, or even the odd gallon of used oil probably would be welcome in their boilers. (They also mix excess woodchips with the trash at the plant to up the dry-waste ratio)