i need an easy way to get oil out of a basement tank

[The patriot]

I have one of those harbor freight 330 GPH (IIRC) pumps. It's not rated for fuel oil, but they say to put a teaspoon of oil in it after youre done with it.

If you google "appleseed biodiesel generator" it'll come up. Theyre 110 volt and about $25.

 

[jwgary]

Oh no!

seal the tank up, shop vac on it to create a negative pressure in the tank, drill and tap a new fitting into the bottom somewhere then put a valve on it.

or just sawzall the tank in half and bail the tank empty [just filter the oil real well before using it. don't want all the metal shavings eh. . ]

I don't think you want fuel vapors going through a shop vac. That is probably worse than the sawzall approach. You would have good mixture of fuel and air going by an electric motor as an ignition source. Bad idea.

 

[The patriot]

Youre safe with diesel (or home heating oil) near spark.

 

[DZink24]

well i think i found something. i was at auto zone last night looking for R-P 75W90 for my diffs, and lo and behold i come across a hand pump used to, of all things, transfer gas/fuel/oil from one static source to another. 11 bucks, we shall see...

 

[nickleinonen]

I don't think you want fuel vapors going through a shop vac. That is probably worse than the sawzall approach. You would have good mixture of fuel and air going by an electric motor as an ignition source. Bad idea.

it has been done at my work to hold back 2000 gallons of fuel in a locomotive. . funny though, another department was going to do some work in some of the deep pits and had a HC gas meter with them and it went nuts when they turned it on... diesel fuel fumes don't ignite too easily. . there won't be enough sparks from the sawzall to ignite anything either. . if you were real scared about that, you could purge the tank with co2 or n2 before cutting. . you would have a barrier blanket of inert gas above the fuel so no o2 to burn with

 

[PToombs]

Somebody told me once that they sucked gas fumes thru a shop vac. POP! No more shop vac! :-laf I want to try it, but my shop vac is too good yet.



FYI,

On the better quality vacuums the exhaust air is not routed thru the motor.

 

[GHarman]

FYI, You can estimate the quantity of fuel oil in the tank by getting a good measurement on your dip stick and calculating the volume using the stick measurement as one of the sides. With a round bottom tank calculate a cylinder and divide by 2 and add the volume of the parallel sides. One gallon is 231 Cubic inches. Greg

 

[nickleinonen]

Somebody told me once that they sucked gas fumes thru a shop vac. POP! No more shop vac! :-laf

gasoline fumes/vapors are much different than fuel oil fumes/vapors.

 

[PToombs]

Gee, ya think?

:-laf :-laf

 

[DZink24]

well, i was able to muster about 18 gallons out this weekend. it was kinda slow using the emergency roadside hand pump from auto zone, not all too messy, just a few drips down the side of the tank. when i brought the cans outside, i transferred them into another 5 gallon tank, so i could see what the fuel looked like. the very first tank looked very dirty, brown really. so the other 3 canisters that i pulled, i made sure i kept the siphon hose away from the bottom of the tank, and those gallons appeared to be a bit better, still dark, but definitely more of a deep reddish hue. i will eventually mix this in with the other off road i keep for the tractor, thats what filters are for! (one on the pump, one on the tractor)

 

[GHarman]

well, i was able to muster about 18 gallons out this weekend. it was kinda slow using the emergency roadside hand pump from auto zone, not all too messy, just a few drips down the side of the tank. when i brought the cans outside, i transferred them into another 5 gallon tank, so i could see what the fuel looked like. the very first tank looked very dirty, brown really. so the other 3 canisters that i pulled, i made sure i kept the siphon hose away from the bottom of the tank, and those gallons appeared to be a bit better, still dark, but definitely more of a deep reddish hue. i will eventually mix this in with the other off road i keep for the tractor, thats what filters are for! (one on the pump, one on the tractor)

Hey Bud! Make sure you seperate the water also! I'm sure there is alot near the bottom from condensation over the years, hence the rust! I'm sure you got it under control, just a reminder. GregH

 

[R C Cola]

Salvaged Fuel

The sure flow pumps I believe are 1/2 inch ports and flow a good volume. I have seen them at swap meets for 20 bucks used. I use a $30 generic fuel pump bought at checker to transfer fuel from bed tank to main truck tank, a little slow but steady, just don't go off and leave it to overflow. If you use a good fuel filter when doing the transfer it will take out all the crap. Water you can see if you are pouring manually. If doing it into a fifty gallon drum I would put an in line water seperator that you can see the bowl and know when to drain it off. Well worth the effort. You are saving about 250 gallons times $4. 50/per close to $1,000 Well worth a good filter water seperator in problems saved later on.

 

[DZink24]

all good ideas, with help from my trusty broomhandle and siphon, i am going to pump from as close to the surface as i can, so as to not suck up too much debris from the bottom. water didnt appear to be too bad in the cans i got last weekend. but for best results, i will mix and dilute with the pump- purchased off road that i already have in the 75 gal tank.

 

[DJW]

jwgary, beware of any fuel, coal dust is explosive, highly explosive