how to store used oil filters?

[Shagger]

Originally Posted By: Jeff3126
Originally Posted By: defektes
I clean the outside of the filter with a shop towel, then I put it in the box the new filter came in with the opening facing up.


+1

+2

Then after I drain them for a few days, I take them to Advance...

 

[Loobed]

I store mine at the local land fill along with my used newspaper and magazines, and banana peels...etc.

 

[rcy]

Originally Posted By: Burt
So I have been saving them for my next trip to recycling, but oil does something to the plastic bags so they leak and create an environmental no-no on my garage floor. What can I store them in that won't leak?


Anyone know why the oil mysteriously migrates through the plastic bag without actually putting a hole in the bag? I've had the same problem and now do what others mention, hole side up in the box the new filter came in.

 

[chevrofreak]

Many bags are a low-density polyethylene. It doesn't have very good resistance to engine oil.

 

[postjeeprcr]

What I do with mine is, after I take it off the vehicle I cut it open and lay each part out on the oil pan so the oil drains off and I throw the can and base plate in the recycle and throw the filter away. Not only do you get to look at how the filter looks, you throw less away.

 

[Chris142]

I have a metal coffee can with a screen that I welded onto the top. I let em drain a week or so, flip it over and poke a hole in the dome, let it drain another week then toss in the trash.

 

[Jim Allen]

Originally Posted By: postjeeprcr
What I do with mine is, after I take it off the vehicle I cut it open and lay each part out on the oil pan so the oil drains off and I throw the can and base plate in the recycle and throw the filter away. Not only do you get to look at how the filter looks, you throw less away.

This is a bit onerous (less so now that I have a filter cutter) but a good idea. Since I burn a certain amount of trash, I may be able to burn the cellulose media, and recycle the tube and end caps. Probably won't want to burn the synthetic media filters though.

What I normally do is drain the filter for a couple of weeks, then stretch a nitrile glove over the opening and put it in the non-recycle trash. The glove (usually a used one I save from the oil change or another project) keeps the filter from drooling. When I used to wrench on hi-line cars for a living, our shop promoted the use of nitrile surgical gloves, so you could pull them off when you went from under the hood to the interior. I got used to using them and still do that, especially when doing nasty jobs like oil changes.