I got a good deal on a empty and almost sludge free 275 gallon fuel oil tank, with stand. There is a very small amount of sludge right under the fill hole, but the rest of the tank looks pretty clean. Probably under a square foot of sludge, maybe an inch deep. Call it a quart of sludge to be generous. What do you say to the idea of dissolving the sludge with diesel fuel, say a few gallons at a time, cycled down the fill hole and out the supply fitting on the bottom, strained through all purpose paper towel, until the sludge is gone, and clean diesel cycled through tank comes out clean. Then a good three day soak with water and cascade, followed by a rinse with a pressure washer. I think that will clean the tank down to bare metal... Or I could just removed the sludge, and run the fuel through a filter built into the filler hose... Howard
Is there an inspection cover on the tank anywhere that you can use to get into it..?
Just a 2" pipe fitting on top and a 1/2" fitting on the bottom...I was thinking on tilting the tank so it drains to the bottom fitting and spaying in kero or clean diesel and see what washes out! I would rather not cut a hole in it. Howard
I use the bucket settling method for everything like this. Add two gallons to your tank, slosh back and forth and drain. Repeat with another two gallons. Let settle and siphon off three gallons to repeat. If you drain into a rinsed clean bucket you'll know when you're clean by how much sediment you rinse out each time. I don't think I'd pressure wash or use water unless there was more reason to. Otherwise your method will do the same thing.
I like your methodology...I will give that a try, just got back from town with the correct threaded pipe blockoff plugs. Howard
The proper way to set those tanks is to have the discharge end slightly higher that way water and other nasties can settle to the other end of the tank. I see so many set up level or even the discharge being the low point.
Roger that...this tank came with a stand I don't like, so I am going to build a new ground level cradle out of 4x4 timbers, and set the sump to be drainable in the fashion you just described. I put a couple of gallons of out of date gasoline in last night and adjusted the angle so it will pool above the sludge. Once we removed the sludge, more solvent will go in and we will roll the tank around the yard until all surfaces are clean. Now the wife and I are discussing which type of hand pump to order, she like the Fill Rite 152 lever action pump, while I like the 112 rotary style! And all the waste solvent and sludge will be recycled via a county provided waste oil tank. Howard
As long as your pump has a filter on it, looks like you will be good to go! Regards, Bob
check out the electric pumps, 12volt, sometimes you can find a good deal on ebay for new ones. I got mine years back(under $100.00) and it runs great, way better then hand pumping. Plus it came with a built in filter system, when needed I just go to NAPA and buy another filter.
I ran a lube truck for a construction company for several years. I found quite soon a high quality lever pump is way less tiring and just as fast as a rotary pump. If you are pumping small quantity's of fluid it won't matter which one you use.
The lever action pump will be here on Friday, then I will go to the local TSC and see what filters they stock. I want a locally stocked replacement cartridge. Howard
Tank cleaning is going well, ran a gallon of gas through it, and that dissolved most of the sludge, and will repeat until it comes out clean. Then put more in and roll the tank around to get the sides and ends. I am feeling good about this. The goldenrod brand filters seem to be readily available locally, either the 925 or the 926-3/4 will work, I just need to see what is most commonly stocked locally...they tend to plug at the worst possible times. I like the easily changed cartridges with the cheap, replaceable bowls, with the water drain. Howard
If you run any modern equipment, common rail fuel systems, especially Tier4, I would put a 3 micron hydraulic spinon with water absorbing media in line after the goldenrod with the water trap. These newer engines are I think running 2 micron media now, so they tend to plug up fast with the slightest contamination. The fuel truck probably isn't delivery 2 micron clear diesel, so...
The Goldenrod 496-3/4 housing with the 496-5 cartridge is rated at 3 microns from the manufacturer. Plus it is carried by TSC, Northern Tool and Walmart locally, plus the Killer 103-5019, Baldwin BF966 and Donaldson P550126 are compatible filters. Started working on the heads or ends of the tank...got so much grit off the ends that the slosh is different and the drain valve is plugged! Picked up the Goldernrod 496-3/4 housing with filter at Northern Tool last night, pump is due in today, and will get a bucket of Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel, probably in a deep brown color for external paint, with a mildicide! So far my clean out cost is a five gallon bucket of winter mix gasoline I was holding in reserve for the snow blower and four wheeler. That stuff caused a terrible vapor lock in the 68 Dodge Utiline last Memorial day and we had to retrieve it from town with a chain. Howard
I dont know about painting a tank any color other than white or silver maybe its ok.
I took a look, under 660 gallons around here, no mandatory paint color. We are painting it a deep green to help keep it under the radar. Got the external pressure washing done, inside is clean, hit the bad spots with a cup wire wheel on a 7" angle head grinder, put the first coat of paint on and built a cradle out of pressure treated 4x4 timbers and lag bolts. A good afternoon. Howard
If possible I would put a small ball valve (1/4") with a plug screwed into it on the low end to give you an opportunity to occasionally drain any condensation out of the tank. You can keep the handle off the valve except when you use it.
It already has such a valve, and it is an ideal low point drain. I hope to have this tank in service in the next few weeks. Thanks for the suggestion, however. We actually left a access point in the cradle just for this valve. Howard
Tank is cleaned, cradle is made, and paint is curing outside, with the help of a propane heater. I ended up with about 10 gallons of very dirty gasoline from internal tank cleaning, including a bunch of sharp, bright steel chips, most likely from thread cutting. Not rust, but most likely supplied at some point with the fuel oil used in the tank previously. For a filter, I went with the fillrite 152 Piston, lever pump, golden rod 496-3/4 filter housing, with the 496-5 water filter. Here are the alternate filter numbers I came up with for the GoldenRod housing: Killer 103-5019 Kaesar AK10F Donaldson P550126 Wix 24042/NAPA 4042 I ordered two spare filters, Wix 24042 from Amazon, $26.64 with tax and Amazon Prime. Now to put the injection pump back in the JD 450B and do my site prep. I need to remove a large, dead hemlock, about 3' across at the base, and a little fill and grade. Hopefully, by this time next week I will be waiting for an oil delivery. Howard