Have you ever walked into your favorite Lawn & Garden dealer and made a comment about how hard it was to change the oil in you tractor, zero-turn, snow blower or mower and then had the dealer just smile at you? Do you know why they just gave you that little smirk?
The reason why is they don’t drain the oil when they change it in the shop. They extract it – suck it out with a pump. Extraction is less messy. You won’t have oil on the chassis of your tractor. You don’t have to worry about ruining the threads on the oil drain. You don’t have to remember where you put that little plastic hose. You can put the oil directly into a storage container to haul to the recycling center.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time reviewing these items. If not making a mess appeals to you they are an inexpensive way to change your oil.
Item One: Oil Extractor.
This is very simple to use.
1. Stick the suction hose down the oil fill tube of your engine.
2. Place the other hose in the storage container.
3. Hook the pump up to your 12 volt battery. The cables are 5 feet long.
4. Turn it on and run the pump until the oil stops flowing. Turn off the pump and put the system away.
5. If your engine has a filter, change it now. Don’t forget to rub some used oil on the rubber gasket to make it easier to remove the next time.
6. Put in the new oil.
These pictures are from Northern Tool. This pump is designed for oil-based fluids. Do not use it on gasoline.
Buy From Northern Tool: Ironton Oil Extractor Pump – 12V DC, 60 Watt, 3L/Min. Flow Rate
Amazon also carries this pump.
Buy From Amazon: 12v Fluid Oil Diesel Extractor With Tubes
Item Two: Fuel Transfer Pump
Many of you like to run your small engine dry before you put it in storage. But if you are like me there is and hours worth of fuel left in the tank. These pumps are designed for gasoline transfer. They will not work on oil.
Remember, if you are going to drain the tank put fuel stabilizer in the fuel and run your engine for a few minutes first. This will get the stabilizer into the carb. Then drain the fuel and restart the engine and let it run until it stops. (Usually about 60 seconds or so)
I am going to show you two styles. The first is the most popular on Amazon.
Buy From Northern Tool: Sierra Tools Battery-Operated Liquid Transfer Pump, Model# JB5684
Buy From Amazon: Sierra Tools Battery-Operated Liquid Transfer Pump, Model# JB5684
The second is an American made pump and has an auto stop feature. If the container you are filling is full the pump buzzes and stops.
Buy From Amazon. This is the most popular: TERAPUMP TRHD03 2D Battery Operated Liquid, Gas, Water Transfer Pump w/Auto-Stop System (Leak protection)and Buzzer
Take a look at this one also. It’s more money but gets great reviews” TERAPUMP 4AA Battery Powered Utility Pump with Flexible Hose and No-Spill Auto-Stop Nozzle Attachable to Gas Cans and More
John
Paul…it appears the oil pump gets decent reviews on Amazon. However, the two fuel pumps listed don’t fare as well. Most users complain about them them not working after a few uses. I would think the oil pump would have the most benefit for tractor owners..the fuel pumps less so.
Paul Sikkema
@John, Yes, I read the mixed reviews myself. The first one has 19% one star and 70% 4 & 5 star. The second one has 10% one star and 80% 4 and 5 stars. I’m still going to get one because I had a situation this morning where I needed one and didn’t have it. I had fuel all over my garage floor. It would have been worth the $15 even if it only worked once.