leescape

... unless you want to spend an hour or so cleaning your driveway.

Decided to do my own oil change today. It was my first time and I was excited. I had read about it on these (as well as other) forums and I was set and ready. The only thing I had left to buy was an oil drain pan. Easy enough. I drove over to my local Advance Auto Parts and looked around for a few minutes. Then I saw it - a 10 quart oil drain pan made by Blitz USA. Hey wait a minute, where have I hard that company before? Oh right, they also made the Rhino Ramps I bought a few weeks ago for this purpose. Awesome. I gave the guy my hard earned 10 dollars and went home to get ready. Lifted the car onto the ramps, great, the hard part is done. Removed the lid from the Blitz oil pan and placed it appropriately under the drain plug. Removed it, and the oil begins pouring out. So far so good. I decided to get the other tools ready in order to remove the filter cap. By the time I crawled back underneath the car, I saw a small puddle growing next to the drain pan. WTF - the drain valve on the side of the pan is leaking. Okay, don't panic. It's not a huge leak and I can just tighten the cap on there. My fault, I had assumed they come tightened and hadn't really checked. I twist it and suddenly I hear a click. That's not good. I feel the pressure of the oil trying to push itself out of hole where my hand is. Luckily the draining from my car had stopped and it had been reduced to a few drips now. Fine. I pulled the drain pan out so that I could tighten the cap. Before I did anything, I put the larger cap back on top of the pan so that I could tilt it before tightening the smaller one. I had made sure it was tight before doing anything. Click. Oh crap, not this one too. Apparently you just need to know when to stop twisting the caps on this thing. Alright, I twist it tight enough without it over-twisting and so that I don't hear a click. I tilt the pan ever so slightly so I could deal with the original leakage problem. Then it happened. The top cap pops open and oil gushes everywhere on my driveway. Oh my god. I quickly grab a broom and a pan to stop it from leaving my driveway. I scoop as much as I can into a bucket that I hastily found in my garage, but at this point its almost futile. Still, I managed to salvage about a gallon of oil into the bucket - while the rest of it soaked into my driveway. Wow I am amazed. What a piece of garbage. I'm staring at this oil drain pan with a broom in my hand wondering how anybody can get away with selling such a piece of trash. Even after I had cleaned up the mess and finished the oil change, I went back to the oil drain pan to see what the problem could have been. I still could not believe something like this could be sold in a reputable auto parts store. Surely I must be missing something. I again attempted to tighten both caps and time and time again, they popped open with a click. Alrighty then. I proceed to kick it as hard as I can into my yard. The sound was somewhat satisfying. Then I came here. Not to vent or b*tch, although I do feel a little better after having typed all this. But instead to warn you guys about this product so that you won't fall victim to the situation that I encountered. Please PLEASE avoid Blitz Oil Drain Pans. They are absolute garbage and you will regret ever buying one. There is a reason I wrote all this, and it's not only because I wanted you all to know precisely what happened to me. But because often times I see somebody bashing a product on forums and telling everyone else not to use it, only to be vague and non-descriptive about why we shouldn't be using a particular product. And I also know that yes, it is very possible to buy a defective product and have it fail on you. But I can tell you that there is no way that this particular situation occurred because of a defect. If that is the case, then the entire product line is defective, and should be avoided nonetheless. I will even provide a link to the actual model from the manufacturer's website:

http://www.blitzusa.com/products/oil...s/podp10od.htm

In the end, it's up to you to make your own decisions on what to buy and what to use on your own vehicles (or anything else). You can take my advice and heed my warning, or you can learn from your own mistakes. But damn, what a mess this mistake turned out to be.

AlexusAnja

wait, so in the picture you had, the big green top that you open to start catching the drain...and the little green pour spot all popped open? Ugh... that's some big time spillage for sure.

leescape

Yes. The thing is like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.

daveyB14

I use this drain pan from the same company. It has served me well over the years.

http://www.blitzusa.com/products/oil...s/podp15od.htm

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

i have the one davey has and the cap has also not locked in correctly and had a slow leak....

raytseng

I have this similar drain pan, except the caps are yellow. They seem to screw on tight, and don't click once it is all the way on, just tightens more.

Maybe the quality of the green batch is worse.

TougeSC3

iTrader: (2)

Yeah I have that. Garbage. The drain lid cracked when I tightened it one time.

shadow191

iTrader: (1)

I've used those in the past, and every one of the three I bought leaked.

daveyB14

I should mention that my drain cap also doesn't seal tightly. I use it for oil capture purposes only, never for storage or transportation.

beez43

iTrader: (6)

yeah it is a wack *** company.. i have had the same problem and tossed like 3 of these things in the trash..

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I have the exact same one. I threw out the first one cuz I thought it was defective but the second one is exactly the same. The reason I liked it is because I needed something that could also work as storage and be large enough for multiple oil changes. The thing leaks like a MF, I used to leave it on a piece of cardboard so that it could absorb all the oil leaking out, but recently I decied to put a rubber glove over it and tie it with a rubber band...worked pretty well so far. I think the thing needs a rubber gasket or something.

The only better option I've seen is to buy a regular pan and pour the oil into a big jar for storage.

AlexusAnja

Guys, for $20 or less, you're going to get cheap plastic material that's good for catching and pouring right back to the original oil containers. These are not made for long term storage as they don't have seals, they're not teethed for any sort of tightening, and they all hold like close to 10-15 quarts, so that's a whole lotta pressure exerted on the caps.

I buy motor oil in 5 gallon jugs... I drain, fill, and then pour the used motor oil back into the original jugs and bring to conservatory for recycling. My oil container nevers sits around to develop any leaking. The container I have, the side spout doesn't even thread properly for form a tight seal...

habeeb89

iTrader: (3)

Couldn't have said it better myself

leescape

That's the whole point. It might be cheap plastic, but it's not even sufficient for catching and pouring. I had other containers ready for transport purposes and I was never going to store anything. I barely finished draining before the pan began to leak.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

That's a good idea, I might try that since I always throw the containers away.