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Oil Extraction Tools

Oil is one of the world's most precious natural resources, and if it's not located in a combustion engine, it's almost always located deep underground. In the early 20th century, oil extraction technology was limited but, today, we have several tools to get at oil located in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world--and your truck.

  1. Oil Rig

    • The Oil Rig is used to extract crude oil from the ground. After an oil source has been located, an oil rig called an oil derrick is built to drill a hole in the ground and release the oil. The oil is then pushed through a series of pipes and into barrels where it can be taken to the refinery. This style of oil extraction is the most common throughout the world and has provided tens of millions of barrels of crude oil to be refined into products ranging from gasoline for cars to plastic cups to prescription medication.

    Rotary Oil Drum Pump

    • While oil rigs pull oil out of the Earth, smaller tools are necessary to pull the oil out of cars and engines, such as the rotary oil drum pump. This pump is small enough to be inserted into the oil input hole. Once there, a crank is turned that alternately lifts and drops a piston. This piston slowly creates resistance that pulls the oil up and out of the top spout, sending the oil into the nearby receptacle. This tool can pull oil from most types of small engines, such as the type found in cars, lawn mowers and motor boats.

    Vacuum Oil Extractor

    • For larger amounts of oil, a vacuum oil extractor is the tool of choice. This device usually has an input and an output hose and a central vacuum unit with a hand pump. Depressing the pump generates suction that sucks the oil from one source and transplants it to another. This device works well with industrial machinery and large trucks. This type of extractor comes in different capacities to accommodate different sized engines.

    Drainers

    • Sometimes with large machinery it is easier to get at the oil from the bottom than it is from the top. For these machines, extract the oil by using a drainer. This is a large funnel that collects oil as it spills out of a bottom mounted hole.

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