How to empty an oil change tank cleanly and mess free?

So I have one of those oil tanks on wheels, with the extendable catch pan for oil changes.  Works great for that and I love it.

However, I hate it when it comes time to empty it out so I can recycle the oil.  It has an air hook up, with regulator and a lever that controls a ball valve.  You need to open the valve to turn off the flow of oil out of the tank.

The problem I have is that this thing makes a HUGE mess everytime I empty it.  Last time it left a small pond of oil on my driveway as it was the first time I'd done it and I was unprepared.  This time I thought I was prepared.  Had all my catch vessels in place with their lids off, etc.

Nope, still made a mess.  What's worse is that when it gets towards empty, it just starts spitting oil out of the hose.  My driveway looked like it had the measles!  Ugh, huge clean up with kitty litter, Purple Power and my pressure washer.

There has to be a better way to do this.  Suggestions please!

Mine is the pretty small harbor freight one with a capped spout on the top.  Unscrew the filler tube and the cap, then pick it up and pour it out.  Easy peasy.  

If yours is too big to do that, weld a fitting and install a spigot on the bottom so you can just turn the valve and drain away. 

Yeah, not picking mine up, way too big for that.  Don't know how to weld either unfortunately.

Can you lower your air flow rate? Change the valve to something more friendly to throttling the flow, or at least easier to on/off ? Lastly, try not to get the last bit out of it.

Something like one of these?

Pretty sure I have the same or equivalent unit, and I don't have much of a problem.

The things I know I need not to do to avoid making a mess though are:

• Don't attempt to completely empty it-- if it starts burping air and oil out the drain line, it gets messy
• You are better off pulling the air hose off at the quick disconnect than opening the ball valve (at least I'm pretty sure it's a ball valve) on the drain pain to stop the oil coming out the drain line-- either that or slowly open the ball valve.  I've blasted more oil mist than I've enjoyed cleaning up out the drain pan opening that valve in a hurry.  Raising the drain pan to let the standpipe drain as long as possible before closing the ball valve may also help
• Do whatever it takes to secure the drain line while it drains itself back into the tank.  It's really annoying to have it stretched out somewhere to drain, then have it flop down flipping oil all over.

In reply to Karacticus :

Yes, that's what I have.  I pulled the air line and it still kept pumping oil up out of the drain hose.  I needed to open the valve to release the pressure so it would stop pumping out. 

How do you tell when you're starting to get it empty?  That created a huge mess when it started to burp air out.

What are you using to collect the oil in?  I'm thinking that may be part of my issue, as I have one 12 qt pan, one 15qt jug, then a bunch of 5 qt jugs.  I probably just need to buy some 5 gallon buckets with secure type screw lids to put the oil in...

This seems like it would be a whole lot easier with another person helping.  One person filling the containers and dealing with the drain hose, the other handling the air line/ball valve

Ugh... I have a small, plastic 8 gal H-F model I stopped using after I lost my easy recycling location. Not sure the local Advance would understand me bringing one of these in once a year is the same as the half dozen 5 qt jugs I take to them. 

Can you modify the drain hose so it goes an inch or two into a 5 qt jug next to the container and just stay there without monitoring?

In reply to docwyte :

I'm using a 5 gallon pail with a screw on lid to drain into, and I don't generally drain until I have more than 5 gallons of oil, so that is a pretty effective way to never fully empty the tank!

You do have to anticipate that the oil will come out a bit longer when you pull the air hose though.

So in the end, I think the trick is-- bigger container, fewer on/off cycles, less mess.

My local air field (2 minute away) has a oil recycling tank I take the bucket over to that's set up for easy dumping of a container that size.

In reply to Karacticus :

Where'd you get the 5 gallon bucket?  Home Depot?

Ian, I brought 15 gallons of oil to O'Reillys yesterday to recycle and they didn't hesitate to take it.

In reply to docwyte :

15 gallons in gallon or so jugs doesn't seem to get much of a reaction - I've brought similar amounts.  One 8 gallon service tank - different story.  I was asked about it at the recycling center a couple of time when I dumped it years ago - "we have 8 cars and I have a lift"  was accepted as the response.

In reply to Ian F :

I wonder if the service tank makes them think you're a professional shop vs a hobbyist?

In reply to docwyte :

Yes.

In reply to docwyte :

Yep, I got mine at Home Depot.  I assume there are other sources.  

One think I did find out though is that the gasket/o-ring that comes with the screw-on tops does not appear to stand up well to used motor oil.  Swells up and gets too long to function.

My local trustworthy mechanic uses used motor oil to heat his shop, so I take my oil to him. He's grateful for the free heat.

At the risk of sending this off into the weeds, waste oil heater can be very efficient, so much so that no smoke is generated. If you live somewhere it gets cold, look into building your own and heat your garage for '"free."

In reply to Karacticus :

How long do the gaskets last and can you buy more seperately? 

Garage is already heated,so need to dispose of the oil another way...