There are plenty of flashy products in agriculture. Bigger screens, autonomous systems, AI-driven features, and increasingly complex technology dominate the conversation. But sometimes the best ideas are the simple ones. The kind that make you stop and wonder why nobody built it sooner.

That is the story behind the FreeHand Funnel.

Created by farmer Andrew Bohlen and engineer Tyson Quinn, the FreeHand Funnel was born out of a problem nearly every farmer, mechanic, and equipment owner has dealt with: changing oil on modern equipment without making a mess.

A Frustration Every Operator Knows

Anyone who has worked around tractors, skid loaders, combines, semis, or heavy equipment knows the routine. You climb onto a machine with a jug of oil in one hand and a funnel in the other, trying to balance yourself while pouring into an awkwardly positioned fill port. The funnel slips. Oil spills onto the machine. You stop mid-pour to reposition everything and try again.

It is messy, frustrating, and surprisingly common.

For Andrew Bohlen, this was not an occasional annoyance. It was something he dealt with repeatedly while running equipment and maintaining machinery on the farm. Tyson Quinn immediately recognized the issue from an engineering perspective. The problem was not operator error. The problem was the tool itself.

So they designed a better one.

A Funnel Built for Real Equipment

The concept behind the FreeHand Funnel is straightforward, which is exactly what makes it effective.

Instead of balancing a loose funnel while pouring, the FreeHand Funnel threads directly into the machine’s oil fill port and holds itself securely in place, allowing operators to pour with both hands free. No juggling. No trying to brace the funnel against the machine. No unnecessary spills running down expensive paint and components.

What makes it especially practical is the shape itself. The funnel was designed to reach awkward and difficult-to-access fill locations commonly found on modern farm equipment, making oil changes cleaner and easier in tight engine compartments.

It is also compatible with many popular John Deere and Case IH models, with additional caps and compatibility options already in development for an even wider range of equipment.

It is one of those products that feels obvious the moment you see it, but it took someone living the problem to create it.

Built by People Who Actually Use It

Andrew is not a Silicon Valley entrepreneur trying to disrupt agriculture from a boardroom. He is a farmer who spends long days running equipment and understands firsthand how small frustrations compound over time. Tyson brought the engineering mindset needed to turn the idea into a reliable product without overcomplicating it.

Together, they focused on solving a real-world issue with a simple and dependable design.

That philosophy extends beyond the shop as well. Between the two families, Andrew and Tyson are raising nine children, with another on the way. Time matters. Efficiency matters. Reducing frustration matters.

The goal was never to create a flashy gadget. It was to make a maintenance task easier for people who already have enough on their plate.

Why Products Like This Catch On

Agriculture tends to reward practicality over hype.

Farmers are skeptical by nature, especially when it comes to products claiming to “revolutionize” the industry. But when something genuinely saves time, reduces frustration, and works exactly as advertised, word spreads quickly.

The FreeHand Funnel falls squarely into that category.

It solves a universal problem with a simple mechanical solution. No batteries. No subscriptions. No learning curve. Just a better way to do a common job.

That is often how the best farm inventions happen. Not through billion-dollar R&D departments, but through farmers and mechanics identifying problems in the real world and building solutions that actually make sense.

Watch the Videos

Zach recently got a chance to check out the FreeHand Funnel himself, and the response from operators online has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ll embed both the Tractor Tuesday video with Zach and the review from @ZKMastertech below so you can see the product in action.

If you have ever fought with a funnel while changing oil on equipment, you will probably understand the appeal immediately.