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Waste Oil Equipment for Workshops: Drainers, Extractors
and Filter Crushers
Putting new oil in is the easy half of a service. Getting the old oil out, without it reaching the floor, is where the equipment earns its keep.
- Drainers
- Extractors
- Filter Crushers
- Storage
Waste oil equipment is chosen by how the oil leaves the vehicle and where it goes next. A low-level floor drainer sits under a vehicle on the ground or a low hoist and catches oil by gravity from the sump, gearbox or diff. A suction extractor draws oil out through the dipstick tube or a fill hole, which suits small engines, marine engines and components with no easy drain plug. An oil filter crusher squeezes the used oil out of spin-on filters before they are thrown away. A bunded waste oil tank then holds the collected oil until a licensed collector takes it away. Keeping waste oil free of fuel, coolant and solvents makes it easier to recycle, and the storage and disposal rules are set by each state's environmental regulator.
Most workshops still drain oil into whatever is nearest, then decant it into drums by hand. It works, but it is slow, it spills, and every transfer is a chance for used oil to end up on the floor, on a technician or in the stormwater.
This guide follows the oil from the vehicle to the collector: draining, extracting, dealing with the filter, and holding it safely until it is picked up.
68 and 95 L Capacities of the ULTRAFLO low-level floor drainers
500 cc to 6.5 L The range of the ULTRAFLO manual suction gun and extractor
Up to 95% Of the used oil in a filter, as listed for the GRAY air operated filter crushers
750 to 1,500 L Sizes of the self-bunded Uni-Tank and Multi-Tank range
Draining
Gravity drainers for the floor and low hoists
The simplest way to get oil out of an engine is to let it fall. A low-level drainer is a wide, shallow tank on castors that rolls under the vehicle and catches oil from the sump plug, gearbox or diff. Because it sits low, it suits vehicles on the floor, on ramps or on a low lift where a standing drainer would not fit underneath.
The ULTRAFLO 68 litre and 95 litre low-level drainers are wheel mounted, with an anti-splash screen across the top. The screen also works as a rest for draining oil filters, so the filter drips into the same tank as the sump oil instead of onto the bench.
Size the drainer to the biggest sump you see
A drainer has to take the whole drain without being emptied halfway. A workshop that services light vehicles only can work with a smaller unit. One that sees trucks, tractors or plant needs the larger capacity, and should empty the drainer before every big job rather than after it overflows.
Extracting
Suction from the top
Not every engine has a drain plug you can reach. Outboards, small engines, some marine and stationary engines, and many diffs and gearboxes are easier to empty from above. A suction extractor uses a probe pushed down the dipstick tube or into the fill hole, and a hand pump to create the vacuum that draws the oil up.
| Tool |
Capacity |
Suits |
| ULTRAFLO manual waste oil extractor |
6.5 L |
Engine oil changes from the top, with three suction probes of 5.9, 6.9 and 9.9 mm outside diameter to suit different dipstick tubes |
| ULTRAFLO manual oil suction gun |
500 cc |
Diffs, gearboxes and small reservoirs, and it can refill them as well as drain them |
Warm oil flows more easily than cold, so extraction is quicker after the engine has run, as long as the oil is not hot enough to be a burn risk. Push the probe to the lowest point it will reach, because whatever sits below the probe tip stays in the sump.
Filters
Getting the oil out of the filter
A used spin-on filter is a steel can full of oil. Thrown in a bin as it is, it leaks into everything around it. Draining it on a screen removes some of the oil. Crushing it removes most of the rest and reduces the filter to a flat disc that takes up a fraction of the space.
Light vehicles
Automotive crusher
The GRAY automotive oil filter crusher takes up to four automotive spin-on filters at a time.
Heavy vehicles
Truck crusher
The GRAY truck oil filter crusher is the larger model for the filters off trucks, buses and plant.
How they work
Air operated
Both run on workshop air, with an interlock that keeps the door shut until the ram has fully retracted, and a removable catch basin for cleaning.
The GRAY crushers are listed as extracting up to 95 percent of the used oil from a filter, and they come with a mounting stand, so there is no installation beyond an air line. The squeezed oil goes into the waste oil, and the crushed filters go to the scrap metal or filter recycling stream that your collector accepts.
Storage
Holding it until collection
Drained oil has to sit somewhere between services and pick-ups. Open drums are the most common answer and the weakest one: they are easy to knock over, easy to overfill and easy to contaminate. A bunded tank keeps the oil contained, covered and in one place for the collector's hose.
The Uni-Tank and Multi-Tank are self-bunded, slimline tanks for diesel and oil in 750, 1,000 and 1,500 litre sizes. Each has a polypropylene inner tank inside a zinc coated outer, with a level indicator and leak detector, breathers, a filler and decals, and each is forkliftable. The slim footprint lets one stand against a workshop wall without taking a bay.
Know when it is full
An overfilled waste oil tank is a spill that has already happened. For steel tanks, the high level tank alarm uses a float switch on a 5 m cable to sound a 97 dB alarm and flash a light before the tank reaches capacity. It is battery powered, so it needs no wiring.
Drums that are still in use belong on a bund. Spill containment and bunding covers drum spill pallets, IBC pallets and racking bunds, and a supply of oil absorbents deals with the drips that every drain produces.
Disposal
Keep it clean enough to recycle
Used oil is collected by licensed waste oil collectors and recycled, and the storage, record keeping and collection requirements are set by each state's environmental regulator. Check what applies in your state and with your collector. The equipment side of the job is simpler: keep the waste oil as close to plain used oil as possible.
- Keep fuel out. Diesel or petrol drained from a tank does not belong in the waste oil.
- Keep coolant and brake fluid separate. Mixed fluids can make the whole batch harder to recycle, and some collectors will not take them together.
- No solvents or parts washer fluid. Ask your collector how they want those handled.
- Cover the drainer between jobs. Rainwater and grit in the waste oil are someone else's problem only until the collector rejects the load.
Choosing
Matching the equipment to the workshop
| Workshop |
Setup that suits it |
| Small workshop, mostly cars and light commercials |
A 68 litre low-level drainer, a suction gun for diffs and gearboxes, and drums on a spill pallet |
| Busy general workshop |
A drainer per bay, an automotive filter crusher, and a self-bunded tank for collection |
| Truck, bus or plant workshop |
95 litre drainers, a truck filter crusher, and a larger self-bunded tank with a high level alarm |
| Marine, small engine or mobile service |
A manual extractor for top-side oil changes, plus a suction gun |
Mistakes
What goes wrong
- A drainer too small for the sump. It overflows halfway through the drain.
- Decanting by hand. Every pour from a drainer to a drum is a chance to spill.
- Filters in the general bin. They leak oil into everything else and into the waste stream.
- Open drums with no bund. One knock and the oil is on the floor and heading for the drain.
- Mixing fuel, coolant or solvents into the waste oil. It makes the oil harder to recycle.
- Nobody watching the level. The tank is full on the day the collector is two weeks away.
Summary
From the sump to the collector
Drain by gravity where you can reach the plug, extract from the top where you cannot, crush the filters rather than binning them full, and hold the oil in a bunded tank until it is collected. Keep it free of fuel, coolant and solvents, and the whole chain from vehicle to recycler stays clean and simple. For the new oil going back in, the drum pumps guide covers dispensing from 205 litre drums.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a low-level oil drainer?
A wide, shallow tank on castors that rolls under a vehicle on the floor, on ramps or on a low lift, and catches oil by gravity from the sump, gearbox or diff. The ULTRAFLO models hold 68 or 95 litres and have an anti-splash screen that also supports filters while they drain.
Is it better to drain or extract engine oil?
Draining through the sump plug is the usual method when the plug is easy to reach. Extracting through the dipstick tube suits engines where the plug is hard to reach or absent, such as many marine and small engines. Either way, push the probe or drain to the lowest point so as little old oil as possible stays behind.
What does an oil filter crusher do?
It squeezes the used oil out of a spin-on filter and flattens the filter, so the oil goes into the waste oil and the filter takes up far less space. The GRAY air operated crushers are listed as extracting up to 95 percent of the used oil from a filter.
How should a workshop store waste oil?
In a covered, bunded container that keeps it contained until collection, such as a self-bunded waste oil tank, or in drums kept on a spill pallet. Watch the level so it is never overfilled, and check the storage requirements set by your state's environmental regulator.
Can I mix coolant or fuel with waste oil?
It is best not to. Fuel, coolant, brake fluid and solvents can make the waste oil harder to recycle, and some collectors will not take mixed loads. Keep each one separate and ask your collector how they want them handled.
What size waste oil drainer do I need?
One that holds the largest drain you do without being emptied halfway. A workshop servicing light vehicles can work with a smaller drainer. Workshops that see trucks, tractors or plant need the larger capacity, and should empty it before each big job.
Drain it, hold it, keep it off the floor
FuelGear stocks waste oil equipment from drainers and extractors to filter crushers and bunded tanks, alongside the full oil equipment, spill containment and oil absorbent ranges. Tell us what you service, and we will match the setup.