I'd like a portable battery-powered pump to extract oil from sump

Shel_B

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I don't have a situation that allows me to change the oil and filter, but if I had a way to suction out the oil through the dipstick, my trips to the shop to get the oil changed would be halved.

While the mighty Mityvac is highly recommended, it won't work well for me. What I'd like is some sort of battery-powered pump that'll suck the oil out and pump it into a waiting, empty oil jug, which I could then very easily take to the recycling center.

Does anyone have a recommendation for such a pump? I've seen some online, but I've no idea what to look for. Maybe something for boat engines?
 
I don't have a situation that allows me to change the oil and filter, but if I had a way to suction out the oil through the dipstick, my trips to the shop to get the oil changed would be halved.

While the mighty Mityvac is highly recommended, it won't work well for me. What I'd like is some sort of battery-powered pump that'll suck the oil out and pump it into a waiting, empty oil jug, which I could then very easily take to the recycling center.

Does anyone have a recommendation for such a pump? I've seen some online, but I've no idea what to look for. Maybe something for boat engines?
Not all sumps are suited for this type of extraction, make sure yours does.
 
I use a Liquivac to drain trans. pans without drain plugs before dropping them to minimize the mess.
Has a large capacity, comes with small rigid tube that will pass down a dipstick tube. Should work fine for engine oil.
 
The ones that you hook to the car battery with alligator clips are plentiful.
Yes, I know that ... are they all the same? Has anyone used one, can offer a recommendation or caveat?
 
I use a Liquivac to drain trans. pans without drain plugs before dropping them to minimize the mess.
Has a large capacity, comes with small rigid tube that will pass down a dipstick tube. Should work fine for engine oil.
Hadn't heard of that one. Took a look .... it might be workable for my situation. Thanks!
 
Yes, I know that ... are they all the same? Has anyone used one, can offer a recommendation or caveat?
I’ve used a couple. I assume they all come from the same Chinese factory. Maybe there’s a higher quality one out there but I haven’t used it.
 
I’d be afraid of low quality junk. Harbor freight has a small 12v pump, maybe it might work? They’ve got to be able to pull decent rise … self priming, to get started, and that could be hard for a lot of the offerings.

what’s not good about the might vac? It’s sort of the normal standard here?
 
The MityVac sucks out the oil with a few pumps. Then flip a switch to reverse the flow direction and expel the used oil to your recycle container.
You barely have to warsh your hands.

MityVac Demo goto 3:00 and 6:30 to see how simple and easy this tool is.
 
I’d be afraid of low quality junk. Harbor freight has a small 12v pump, maybe it might work? They’ve got to be able to pull decent rise … self priming, to get started, and that could be hard for a lot of the offerings.

what’s not good about the might vac? It’s sort of the normal standard here?

Why not? And if so, why would another brand work any better?
The container is too big for storage in my apartment, I don't want to store or carry around in my trunk a container with oil residue in it. I don't have a garage or any storage space. I can, however, easily wrap a small electric pump in some plastic bags and put it into the storage compartment in my trunk. It would be out of the way and not take up trunk space that may at times be needed for other large things I frequently carry.

If you think I'm mistaken in some way, let me know, because I do like a lot about the Mityvac.
 
I’ve been using a hand transfer pump a lot lately for small engine oil changes and to pump a couple litres at a time out through transmission dip sticks. It nice to pump directly into a waste oil jug and when I’m done the whole thing coils up and gets stored in a heavy duty ziplock. Pumps faster than I thought it would actually. Maybe that would work for you. It would certainly take up less space than an electric pump.
 

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I don't have a situation that allows me to change the oil and filter, but if I had a way to suction out the oil through the dipstick, my trips to the shop to get the oil changed would be halved.

While the mighty Mityvac is highly recommended, it won't work well for me. What I'd like is some sort of battery-powered pump that'll suck the oil out and pump it into a waiting, empty oil jug, which I could then very easily take to the recycling center.

Does anyone have a recommendation for such a pump? I've seen some online, but I've no idea what to look for. Maybe something for boat engines?
I been having and using a hand operated liquid pump (originally used for bleeding my brakes) that I purchased from Griot's Garage years ago. Actually gave my first one to my nephew and got a newer one for my self last year. Griots is kind of expensive but if you can't find something they usually got it. Harbor Freight has pumps also. https://www.griotsgarage.com/multi-fluid-extractor/
 

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I bought one of those cheap ones from Amazon that hook directly to the battery and used it for sucking out the oil from transmission pans. Worked great. Think I paid 17 dollars for it. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work for engine oil as long as the suction tube will fit down the dipstick tube.
 
I bought one of those cheap ones from Amazon that hook directly to the battery and used it for sucking out the oil from transmission pans. Worked great. Think I paid 17 dollars for it. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work for engine oil as long as the suction tube will fit down the dipstick tube.
Yeah I have a couple of those also from when we first started using pumps. It should work. Only thing may trip you up is the hose itself. Sometimes the soft ply able hoses are hard to get in place. The pumps we use come with a couple different size hard plastic tubes that work great.
 
The container is too big for storage in my apartment, I don't want to store or carry around in my trunk a container with oil residue in it. I don't have a garage or any storage space. I can, however, easily wrap a small electric pump in some plastic bags and put it into the storage compartment in my trunk. It would be out of the way and not take up trunk space that may at times be needed for other large things I frequently carry.

If you think I'm mistaken in some way, let me know, because I do like a lot about the Mityvac.
Excellent explanation Shel, you make good sense, loud and clear. Are you on a ground floor where you could put a lockable box out on a back patio or such?
 
I been having and using a hand operated liquid pump (originally used for bleeding my brakes) that I purchased from Griot's Garage years ago. Actually gave my first one to my nephew and got a newer one for my self last year. Griots is kind of expensive but if you can't find something they usually got it. Harbor Freight has pumps also. https://www.griotsgarage.com/multi-fluid-extractor/
The one I have I am sure now would be way too big for you if storage space is limited. I am lucky and have two garages at my home. Only thing wrong with that is it encourages you to keep everything you can get your hands on or think you could need or use later. Hoarder? YES.I am trying to downsize these days.
 
I’ve used a couple [low-priced 12-volt extraction pumps]. I assume they all come from the same Chinese factory. Maybe there’s a higher quality one out there but I haven’t used it.
Amazon, for example, offers those under many brand names at varied prices, although most of them appear to be of only two or three different designs. You're probably correct that ones of each design may all come from the same factory, regardless of brand name on the box.

I bought one of the least expensive, and tried it. It got the job done in about 9 minutes, although slowed by an internal air leak. It might've performed a bit better if I hadn't forgotten to warm up the oil first per instructions.

Earlier, I tested Harbor Fright's manual transfer piston pump with used oil. That experiment was a flop.
 
I bought one of the least expensive, and tried it. It got the job done in about 9 minutes, although slowed by an internal air leak. It might've performed a bit better if I hadn't forgotten to warm up the oil first per instructions.
That's probably what I'll do when ready for my nesx oil change.

Thanks to all who jumped in ...
 
Shel,
I bought one of these over a year ago and have used it about 3 times to change the engine oil my cars.

It worked but requires the oil to be warm to extract (follow the instructions), especially 30 and 40 weights; I have no idea how it will do on a 20 or lower weight oil at ambient temps. This last time around, I attempted to extract at ambient temp but it was not extracting well, very slow. I then ran the engine and waited until oil temps were about 120. At those temps, it did well. Previous temps were 120-140 degF.

Problems I experienced with this pump:
1. the battery clips are not very great but work. The crimp on both clips that crimps the wire conductor (copper wire) to the clip was not done well (compressed enough) and caused the clip-end with the wire to heat up when in use. This was remedied by using vice grips to crimp the conductor clip-to-conductor with more force.
2. after 3 uses, mine appears to be leaking from the discharge side of the pump housing. I will know more the next time I use it. I don't know if it is the hose that is leaking or the pump assembly, since I haven't felt the need to install the included hose clamps.

hope that helps.
 
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