Dipstick oil extraction pump

[ron ll]

Anyone use one for changing oil? My boat’s PO installed a brass galley style hand pump in the pilot house with a hose down to a fitting into the engine sump. It sort of works but is a PITA and a mechanic recently told me the fitting doesn’t reach deep enough into the oil pan to extract all the oil. Plus my aging arms and rotator cuffs don’t really like it. So I’m thinking a little portable 12v pump with a tube down the dipstick tube might be a better option. (This is a big old Detroit 3-71 that carries over 3-1/2 gallons of oil.)

I see there are many pump kits made for this purpose at all price ranges. Or seems I could just buy a decent pump and attach my own “kit” of tubes and hose. Anyone have a favorite kit or system?

[Ian McColgin]

I found that a soft hose down the dip stick tube has two disadvantages:

It tends to curl in the pan putting the open end above the bottom; and

The wall thickness leaves very little inside diameter.

To cure these defects I found some aluminum tubing that would go down the dip stick tube. Slant cutting the bottom end allowed for feeling the unit bottomed out and still a way to draw the oil up, leaving but maybe 1/8" of oil. With rubber tubing that fit over the aluminum tube and lead to the pump, all was easy.

Meg's engines have hard plumbed pipes from dedicated pumps, so that's no longer any issue.

[ron ll]

Ian, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Some of the kits have hoses that go into the dipstick tube and the curling would seem to be a problem. Snoose’s dipstick tube is a comfortable diameter and there is plenty of room above it to insert a rigid tube if I can find the right diameter. Then it seems a connector hose and an outlet hose on a 12v pump should do the trick. Today’s pandemic project.

[Gordon Bartlett]

I have used a through-the-dipstick-tube pump on my son's boat. My biggest complaint was the time it took to pump the oil. It was barely a trickle; seemed like it took all day. We were doing it cold, though. He had just bought the boat, which had been in storage. We thought it would be a good idea to change the oil before starting it. Perhaps those little pumps work better if the engine is run a bit to heat the oil some.

[Canoeyawl]

Why not replace the existing pump with an electric version?

[ron ll]

I’ve always had that dilemma with changing the oil warm or cold. Yes it pumps easier when warm, but that also leaves some old oil that has not thoroughly run down to the sump yet.

[Breakaway]

I have a vacuum oil changer. Its a several gallon container with rigid tubing of several diameters and a boot that seal the dipstick tube. Insert tube, pump up, open valve, go get coffee. Come back later--30-mins-- and oil ( 9 qts) is drained. Though, as has been said, not completely--some in bottom is left. I use it for in-season oil changes but do an annual change from the oil pan.

Do run the engine for a bit to warm the oil.

Screen Shot 2021-02-20 at 12.49.58 PM.jpg

The Reverso, etc, built-in systems work great and drain from bottom of oil pan. Will do the tranny, too. I have been responsible for boats with these systems.

Kevin

[ron ll]

I have a 12v fuel transfer pump. Do you think it will work for pumping crankcase oil? I note it is rated for 6 gal/minute. I can’t imagine pumping oil that fast.

[ron ll]

Why not replace the existing pump with an electric version?

Higher than necessary lift to pilothouse location, plus sump pickup not deep enough.

[Hwyl]

Through the dipstick hole is the industry standard, and yes, it's a pain.

[Garret]

I use a 12V pump directly on the dipstick tube of my Yanmar - as the dipstick tube is designed to have a hose slipped over then end*. When I pulled the engine out 2 years ago, I drained the oil with the pump before pulling & then removed the drain plug once the engine was out. I got about a cup of oil - which wasn't enough to make me worry about adding anything.

I warm the engine up (15 min. minimum) & use a fuel transfer pump. I do dump a fresh quart in after pumping & pump that out each time though. Might waste a quart, but I notice that it's discolored - as I'd expect.

* DAMHIKT, but it works better if you pull the dipstick before trying to attach the hose.

ETA: I believe that the Yanmar, as a dedicated marine engine, has a dipstick tube specifically designed for extraction - other engines may not.

[ron ll]

After spending most of the day running around gathering parts, hardware store, boat, shop, boat again, hardware again, parts not quite the right diameter, etc., trying to adapt a $300 fuel transfer pump that I had lying around, and still not having it together, I find that I can buy the whole shebang made for this purpose for $20. The YouTube videos show people using these things on their cars with happy success. Of course a car has only a few quarts of oil, not three gallons, but I figure for $20 it’s worth a try. If nothing else I can probably use some of the parts.

880B8294-43AA-4473-91EE-932588A22416.jpeg

[Don Z.]

Of course a car has only a few quarts of oil, not three gallons,

Say hello to my little friend:

Carerra.jpg

[ron ll]

Yeah, my Boxster holds nine quarts, but most extraction systems are shown on normal cars. We’ll see how well this gadget works on the boat.

[lukes]

I use one of the hand pump vacuum ones through the dip stick tube. I've found warming up first is critical, and it does take some time, but it's about like Breakaway said; draw the vacuum, walk away. There are always 20 other small tasks I should be doing. I think I hold 4.5 gallons, so it takes a while. But the one time I tried to do it cold, it took A LOT longer...

61T8Kr3q40L._AC_SL1200_.jpg

Let us know how it goes. I could get talked into a 12V pump if it got a glowing review...

[Garret]

I use one of the hand pump vacuum ones through the dip stick tube. I've found warming up first is critical, and it does take some time, but it's about like Breakaway said; draw the vacuum, walk away. There are always 20 other small tasks I should be doing. I think I hold 4.5 gallons, so it takes a while. But the one time I tried to do it cold, it took A LOT longer...



Let us know how it goes. I could get talked into a 12V pump if it got a glowing review...

My 12V pump has been doing the job for years. Takes about 3 minutes for 6 quarts. Handy for emptying fuels tanks & such as well.

[rregge]

I have a vacuum oil changer. Its a several gallon container with rigid tubing of several diameters and a boot that seal the dipstick tube. Insert tube, pump up, open valve, go get coffee. Come back later--30-mins-- and oil ( 9 qts) is drained. Though, as has been said, not completely--some in bottom is left. I use it for in-season oil changes but do an annual change from the oil pan.

Do run the engine for a bit to warm the oil.

Screen Shot 2021-02-20 at 12.49.58 PM.jpg

The Reverso, etc, built-in systems work great and drain from bottom of oil pan. Will do the tranny, too. I have been responsible for boats with these systems.

Kevin

I have the same thing. Boat for boat engines, lawnmower, leaf blowers, snow blowers. i always warm it up first and then no problem.

[Jamie Orr]

After spending most of the day running around gathering parts, hardware store, boat, shop, boat again, hardware again, parts not quite the right diameter, etc., trying to adapt a $300 fuel transfer pump that I had lying around, and still not having it together, I find that I can buy the whole shebang made for this purpose for $20. The YouTube videos show people using these things on their cars with happy success. Of course a car has only a few quarts of oil, not three gallons, but I figure for $20 it’s worth a try. If nothing else I can probably use some of the parts.

880B8294-43AA-4473-91EE-932588A22416.jpeg

I've used one of these, I found it easier than a vacuum system and it got more oil out. It was also easier to clean up afterwards (I wanted both to be clean because both were borrowed and hope to borrow the pump again). I had to add a thinner piece of tubing for my skinny dipstick hole.

Jamie

[Dave Hadfield]

I have the same thing. Boat for boat engines, lawnmower, leaf blowers, snow blowers. i always warm it up first and then no problem.

I use one of these on Drake. Works great! After draining the oil reachable through the dipstick hole, I remove the pan plug (which on a Farymann is on the front of the pan), then poke the hose in there to get the remainder.

THE KEY to these units is to not store the hose in a coil! Find a scrap length of PVC pipe or something similar, and store the hose in there so it'll be held straight. And pre-warm the oil of course by running the engine.

Dave

[lupussonic]

I'm a fan of these.. I try to avoid extra motors / gadgets where possible.

About 40 bucks.

https://www.asap-supplies.com/pumps/sump-and-oil-change-pumps

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[ron ll]

I'm a fan of these.. I try to avoid extra motors / gadgets where possible.

About 40 bucks.

https://www.asap-supplies.com/pumps/sump-and-oil-change-pumps

203800.jpg

This is what I have and I hate it. Never primes without taking it apart and pouring oil into the pump, and after three and a half gallons my rotator cuff is ready for the shop.

[ron ll]

Follow up, I changed the oil today using the little $25 12v pump in post #12 above. Very clean and easy, took about nine minutes of pump run time to extract three gallons of warm oil through the dipstick. Very easy to tell when the hose is at the bottom as the dipstick tube on the Detroit extends very near to the bottom of the pan. A huge improvement over my old hand pump system.