Oil Vac Sucks Up Used Engine Oil

Oil Vac Sucks Up Used Engine Oil ENERGY Waste Oil 18-2-11 "It saves a lot of time and labor and eliminates oil spills," says Gary Sage, Dalhart, Texas, about the portable "oil vac" he built to remove used oil from irrigation engines. He also uses it on tractors. Sage mounted a 5 hp air compressor on a 2-wheeled trailer and hooked the compressor hoses up to an old 150-gal. pro-pane tank. The compressor creates vacuum inside the tank. A 15-ft. long hydraulic hose, connected to the tank, sucks used oil out of engine oil pans and into the tank. By reversing pressure within the tank, the compressor can be used to blow used oil out into a larger tank where it can be picked up and later recycled. "It lets me contain used oil and recycle it with a minimum of spillage," says Sage. "I had been using a 5-gal. bucket and pouring the used oil into a 55-gal. barrel. It was a lot of work and messy. My `oil vac' is drip-proof and hooks up with quick couplers. I installed male couplers on all my engine oil pans to hook up to a female coupler on the end of the hydraulic hose. As soon as I hear asucking sound indicating thattheoilpan is empty, I close the valve to lock in the vacuum. Once there's vacuum in the tank, I can change the oil in 4 or 5 different engines without having to create a new vacuum. "I use it on tractors, too, but not cars and trucks because the male coupler on the engine oil pan might get broken off in rough terrain." Sage mounted two large batteries on the side of the trailer so he can easily restart irrigation engines after he's done changing oil. "It eliminates the need to use my pickup to jump start," notes Sage. He paid $50 for the tank and $575 for the air compressor. Total cost was $1,200 to $2,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Sage, HCR 5, Box 524, Dalhart, Texas 79022 (ph 806 377-6231).

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