Where to get Oil Sampling Kits while on the road?

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I'm a Truck Driver, and I'll need to have a PM Service done on my Semi before I can get home. I have the oil and filters I'll need on board, but where can I find an oil sampling kit?

I checked with my local Napa, but they were out. As a matter of fact, the salesman told me the other Napa stores in the valley didn't have any either.

I know Tired Trucker or Dustyroads will probably have good suggestions.

I don't want to have Petro, TA, or Speedco do my sampling, I want to use a very reputable lab that will give me a detailed analysis.

BTW, if I can find the kits out here, I'm also going to send in a VOA of the CK4 Delo 400 SDE 15W40.

Thanks in advance.
 
I tend to send my samples in a 20 oz soda bottle. I rinse it, crack the plug and let some oil drain into it, shake and pour empty and repeat a few time and than remove the drain plug fully and fill with the sample. I tape the cap securely with electric tape after the bottle balloons up and contracts under the heat. I never get an off reading using a soda bottle. Send or pour in a kit of your choice when you get home.
 
Originally Posted By: Farmer
John Deere or CAT. Give them both a try.


Excellent suggestion, Farmer! Much appreciated. I'm being dispatched on some short hops for the next couple of days, running in Nebraska to Iowa, back and forth, back and forth. Plenty of John Deere dealerships in that region and they seem to be, by and large very big truck-friendly.

Thanks again, and best regards!
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I tend to send my samples in a 20 oz soda bottle. I rinse it, crack the plug and let some oil drain into it, shake and pour empty and repeat a few time and than remove the drain plug fully and fill with the sample. I tape the cap securely with electric tape after the bottle balloons up and contracts under the heat. I never get an off reading using a soda bottle. Send or pour in a kit of your choice when you get home.


Thanks, Skyactiv! I know I might sound stupid, but I wasn't sure how long the sample would "Stay Good". Thanks for the info! Best regards!
 
you can also stop by any camping store and they will have collections of small bottles for camp kitchen. These are food grade so should be completely clean of anything that would throw off your analysis. Downside is it maybe relative expensive (like a couple bucks).
 
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Ask a drugstore if you can have a sterile bottle they use to dispense drugs. You can then get the sampling kit when you can and pour the oil into the proper sample container.
 
As Farmer said...JD or CAT are places that you can get into with a truck. Cat dealers do in house testing and would get you the fastest results. I'm drawing a blank at the moment...hmmmm...there's a large CAT dealer in Lincoln, right? Or is it Omaha? Just sayin' they'll be easy and quick. Some Cat labs skip the TBN test unless you ask for it, so if you use them, you can ask.

The most detailed testing I've seen (within an average person's means) is Wearcheck. I have not used them and don't know of their prices but I don't think that they're too expensive.

I know you said that you don't want to use TA/Petro but they do sell Delvac Accutrack kits. Some of them just have the old bottles but some have the new mailing bags. Those are not only prepaid but have tracking numbers on them and cost about $18 (cost of kit and mailing). They go to ALS in Kansas City but they don't test TBN. I don't get it because NAPA/Wix kits go to ALS labs and they do test TBN. I don't worry about TBN so much anymore as I don't push the oil to the limit, but maybe you would prefer it.

Also, no need to worry about holding a sample for a few weeks. I'm carrying a Pilot truck stop mug with my sample right now as I forgot to bring a kit. I may look for a TA/Petro with the new prepaid mailing kits, or maybe take it home and use a NAPA kit. I'm just trying to stick with ALS. Delvac kits go to KC, the NAPA kits to Atlanta.

If you grab a sample in a large container, you'll have extra on hand in case of a mishap...like the USPS losing a sample somewhere.
 
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Dak,

You can put it into any clean plastic container, and it won't molest your sample. I didn't have a kit on hand before, and used a bottle with no issue.
 
T/A or Petro truck stops sell kits in their truck service shops. You can always have a sample and test done at Speedco truck lube shops. Pretty sure the T/A kits are ALS kits, at least the ones I have seen at the Walcott T/A are.
 
Another vote for clean plastic bottle (water bottle etc), I’ve done it more than once and the lab has always said it wasn’t a problem.

(though I suppose you’ve handled it since this was a month ago, sorry)
 
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