Grey Beard Pumps

Steve Dion · May 6, 2013

Brian:

I have never heard about these pumps.

We have tried several different ones throughout the years and the vaccum pump like the ones that are sold in the SBO store work well and are very simple. They are sold under the name of Pela, Moeller and West Marine. We have one at our marina that we all share.

http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?16504

onecoolair · May 6, 2013

Steve Dion said:
Brian:

I have never heard about these pumps.

We have tried several different ones throughout the years and the vacuum pump like the ones that are sold in the SBO store work well and are very simple. They are sold under the name of Pela, Moeller and West Marine. We have one at our marina that we all share.

http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?16504

I second the vacuum hand pump.... Done that with large top heavy black plastic paint can with reversible pump mounted to lid

....Never ever again!!!

Chris Patterson · May 7, 2013

I use the Moeller. Simplicity itself. No finding power sources, just pump the handle a few times, sit in the cockpit and watch vacuum work. Easy to clean. Wonderful apparatus.

ScottS · May 7, 2013

Brian,
I purchased a Hydro-turf oil extractor from Amazon last season. I've used it on the boat as well as some of my lawn equipment and it works very well. Just warm up the engine, slide the suction tube into the dipstick hole, and pump the handle a few times. I can't speak to how long it will last, but it seems to be made of decent quality plastic.

Scott

4arch · May 7, 2013

I have a Moeller and like it a lot but did see the same writeup on the Grey Beard pump and thought it would be a great solution for a long distance cruiser. Just mount the small pump in the engine room and use old water bottles, milk jugs, etc. to capture the oil. Ends up being a much smaller storage footprint than a hand vacuum pump since you're not always carrying the container around. For most of us who aren't long distance cruisers though, the vacuum pump can be stored at home so it's fine and no need to worry about wiring it.

onecoolair · May 8, 2013

bcollis said:
Thanks for the input. It look slide I will be getting the hand pump variety. One last question, how long does it take to get the oil out? One review on Amazon mentioned 30 minutes to an hour for one quart of oil. Is that correct?

I believe the last time did it with hand vacuum pump it was only just few minutes... Say about 4qts.

koolfrog · May 10, 2013

bcollis said:
This will be my first oil change on this boat, and I noticed that Sail magazine had a small, positive writeup on Grey Beard oil pumps. I'm not seeing much as far as reviews out on the web though. A simple search of just oil change pumps isn't bring up much that is recent.

Has anyone tried one of the Grey Beard Baron oil change pump? is the 300ml/m speed too slow? Is there something else I should be looking at in the $60. range?

Thanks!

Brian

I have owned and used a GREY BEARD for the past 2 years and would not do without it !!!
I use it , not only to change oil in my Yanmar and its transmission , but also to service my car's ( 1971 MGB) crankcase , transmission and rear axle .
This little pump is a wonder of efficiency ( a little slow by design) , silent , can run dry without damage , uses very small flexible tubing that can literally fit anywhere ( if you ever had to refill the gear box of a Little British Car , you know what I mean !)
The BEST 60 bucks I ever spent !!!

Steve Dion · May 10, 2013

You need to warm up the engine before using the vacuum pump. The good think about these type of units is they have semi-rigid tubing. If you have soft tubing and are running warm/hot oil the tubing will sometime get soft and restricts the flow of the oil.

I think it probably takes me about 10-15 min to remove the oil from our 3JH. It depends how much attention I am giving the project.

sailaway78 · May 10, 2013

Less money

What I was using before I put I added a drain plug was pretty good, and cheap. I took a one gallon bug sprayer. and cut the nozzle off it. Then just tape up the end of the hose on a shop vac to fit tight in the top, and stick the nozzle in the dip stick tube. The biggest problem I see with all the extractor methods, is you can't get all the old oil out. My engine is angled back pretty good, and I was always leaving a quart or more of the old oil in it. With a drain plug at the rear of the pan, I now get it all out, with no muss and no fuss.

Chris Wilson · May 14, 2013

Re: Less money

We have a Grey Beard Pump. We have used it to change oil in the boat and lawn mover. I also you it to dry out the bilge and there is always a little water and gunk just under the engine. That is the most greasy oily mess to clean up and Grey Beard does great. I like the fact that you pump it into an old milk jug and just recycle. Nothing to cleanup after you suck the oil out of the engine. I wiggle the tube around a little to make sure I have all the oil. Seems to be no problem.