Simple Small Engine

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #3, Page #37

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Simple Small Engine "Oil Vac"

Leland Saele, Ft. Worth, Texas, used a shop vac, a 5-gal. bucket, and a 1-quart oil bottle to make a dandy "oil vacuum" for sucking oil out of his Honda lawn mower engine.
    "It was cheap to put together and makes changing oil in the mower a much cleaner and easier job," says Saele.
    Saele came up with the idea after he bought the mower used and tried to change the oil for the first time. "I assumed the drain plug would be underneath the mower, but when I looked underneath it wasn't there. Instead, it was located at the base of the filler tube, on top of the engine crankcase. To drain the oil, I would've had to tip the mower over which I thought was ridiculous. So I came up with my own solution. I think the same idea could be used with any small engine."
    Saele places an empty oil bottle in the bucket, then covers the bucket with a piece of 1/4-in. thick plexiglass with two holes cut in it. One hole is the same size as the shop vac hose and the other is just big enough for a length of 3/8-in. dia. clear plastic tubing. One end of the tubing is inserted into the filler tube on the mower and the other end is inserted through the hole in the plexiglass lid and into the oil bottle. The vacuum hose is inserted through the other hole in the lid.
    Saele simply starts the vacuum and watches the oil go through the tubing and into the oil bottle, which has a transparent neck so he can watch it fill. When the oil level is close to the top he shuts off the shop vac and puts in a new container. He repeats the process until all the oil has been removed from the crankcase.
    "It's a simple idea but it works good," says Saele. "The plexiglass came from a broken pad that had been used to protect carpet under an office chair. The plexiglass should be slightly larger than the top of the bucket, and it should be thick enough so it doesn't collapse from the vacuum pressure. The tubing has to be pushed all the way down to the bottom of the crankcase in order to remove all the oil.
    "Cleanup is simple. I put a plastic cap on each end of the tubing and hang the bucket, with the tubing in it, in my garage until the next time I need to use it. Storage of the bucket isn't a problem since it stays clean and can be used for other purposes," he notes.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leland Saele, 7853 Colwick Court, Ft. Worth, Texas 76133 (ph 817 346-9819).

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Simple Small Engine "Oil Vac" ENGINES Engines 27-3-37 Leland Saele, Ft. Worth, Texas, used a shop vac, a 5-gal. bucket, and a 1-quart oil bottle to make a dandy "oil vacuum" for sucking oil out of his Honda lawn mower engine. "It was cheap to put together and makes changing oil in the mower a much cleaner and easier job," says Saele. Saele came up with the idea after he bought the mower used and tried to change the oil for the first time. "I assumed the drain plug would be underneath the mower, but when I looked underneath it wasn't there. Instead, it was located at the base of the filler tube, on top of the engine crankcase. To drain the oil, I would've had to tip the mower over which I thought was ridiculous. So I came up with my own solution. I think the same idea could be used with any small engine." Saele places an empty oil bottle in the bucket, then covers the bucket with a piece of 1/4-in. thick plexiglass with two holes cut in it. One hole is the same size as the shop vac hose and the other is just big enough for a length of 3/8-in. dia. clear plastic tubing. One end of the tubing is inserted into the filler tube on the mower and the other end is inserted through the hole in the plexiglass lid and into the oil bottle. The vacuum hose is inserted through the other hole in the lid. Saele simply starts the vacuum and watches the oil go through the tubing and into the oil bottle, which has a transparent neck so he can watch it fill. When the oil level is close to the top he shuts off the shop vac and puts in a new container. He repeats the process until all the oil has been removed from the crankcase. "It's a simple idea but it works good," says Saele. "The plexiglass came from a broken pad that had been used to protect carpet under an office chair. The plexiglass should be slightly larger than the top of the bucket, and it should be thick enough so it doesn't collapse from the vacuum pressure. The tubing has to be pushed all the way down to the bottom of the crankcase in order to remove all the oil. "Cleanup is simple. I put a plastic cap on each end of the tubing and hang the bucket, with the tubing in it, in my garage until the next time I need to use it. Storage of the bucket isn't a problem since it stays clean and can be used for other purposes," he notes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leland Saele, 7853 Colwick Court, Ft. Worth, Texas 76133 (ph 817 346-9819).