About The Invention

HandiVise™ is a new invention, an adjustable oil filter tool with a drain accessory used to remove screw-on oil filters without the mess.

HandiVise™ is a hand tool set for draining and removing screw-on oil filters commonly used in the automotive industry. The introduction of disposable enclosed oil filters in the 1950s largely replaced the filter cartridge and promised a faster and cleaner method to replace engine filters. It has been common practice to simply discard used filters, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now requires used oil filters be drained of all free-flowing oil before they are discarded or recycled. Individual states have further requirements for handling used engine oil and products contaminated by cleaning up oil spills. Some vehicles have now gone back to an improved cartridge design but even if this becomes the norm, there are over a billion vehicles with screw-on filters that will be in service for many years.

Crowded space in the engine compartment around many filters limits the usefulness of tools that extend radially around the filter. An improperly tightened filter may require a considerable amount of leverage to loosen. Applying a lot of torque to an ill-fitting socket can distort the thin metal body making the filter even harder to remove. HandiVise™ securely clamps the filter at multiple points making it possible to apply more torque without deformation.

Spillage occurring during removal of an oil filter from the engine compartment is another problem. Maneuvering a filter out of the engine compartment without tipping it slightly and spilling oil is very difficult. HandiVise™ solves this issue by quickly and cleanly draining most of the filter’s oil before removing it from the engine compartment.

Product Images