Carpokes Porsche Forum

What used oil drain pan are you most happiest with?

I have one with a spout, like the one below, which makes it easier to pour the old oil into containers for disposal. Low tech but works for me.

I've used the toss out aluminum pans from the grocery store, but they do tend to get messy when trying to pour the used oil into anything. I need to up my game!

I have a pair of these :


I like the ability to keep oil contained in a closed volume and this makes the handling of used oil "safer" than with an open can particularly when emptying it but a downside is that extra care is required to not accidentally drop a drain plug off an engine block or transmission casing as it can make its way into it (ask me how I know) or in worst case clog the inlet of the tank with "interesting" results when hot oil is pouring out of an engine sump (don't ask me I know).

Tom wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 7:07 am I have one with a spout, like the one below, which makes it easier to pour the old oil into containers for disposal. Low tech but works for me.


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I have one similar to this . The only drawback on mine is with 8 quarts of hot oil in it the middle becomes quite flexible when picking it up by the handles . I don't use it much anymore as I have a 2 post lift and a rolling catch can .

I use a ~~10" large-throat funnel, sitting in the top of an empty 5-quart oil bottle when I'm working on 'normal' cars. The 928 holds about 9 quarts, so I use a handy plastic dishpan and deal with the cleaning. I put that same dishpan under the bottle for the 'normal' cars service.

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I bought a few grey plastic dishpans, and they get regular service when working on the car. Parts come out and go immediately into a dishpan. Magnetic parts tray sits in the dishpan. The dishpans get lined up on a project table in the order parts are removed. Bigger removed parts sit between the pans on the project table. A dishpan is dedicated to tools, so no tools or parts are ever set down on the car or the floor or a lift arm without a dishpan. Parts and pieces get cleaned pan by pan, with new parts replacing the old in the dishpan the old was in. Then parts from the pans are put back on the car, pan by pan, in reverse order from the pans on the project table.

I started doing this after watching the turbine mechanics religiously tagging every piece that is removed. They use bigger storage bins since the parts are larger/heavier and there are more of them. Pieces like nozzles and guide vanes are carefully placed in order in purpose-fitted trays, since they are tracked individually by serial number and exact location in every engine to which they are ever fitted. This level of detail is more than most car projects deserve. Unless you are a race shop, where similar tracking is pretty important on engine bits and the like. The plastic dishpans come in a few sizes from Home Depot, and more sizes for less $$ from a local restaurant supply store. I think there are a couple that are TSA-size, the rest here are the deeper ones you might see in a rolling bus cart. Consider how you will clean them too when size selecting. They need to be washable in my utility sink. For projects with dead time, they slide into rolling wire rack shelf units so pieces have less chance of disappearing or wandering to another project.