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Heating oil tank draining

M

Mike (WA)

Well-known Member
I have a heating oil tank with about 150 gallons of heating oil left in it. Tank was abandoned about 20 years ago, and the copper tube that went to the furnace was just pinched off. I need to drain the tank, and was wondering if anyone knows of something that could be put on the copper tubing with a valve, so tank could be drained. If I "unpinch" the copper line, there'll be oil all over the place.

Tractor relevance- I'll use the heating oil in my diesel tractors, if I can get it into barrels.
 
Cut it with a tubing cutter, and bend it over, when the first barrel is full, etc, etc, etc. Or buy a "Jiggler" syphon, like harbor freight sells and just syphon it into barrels.
 
I don't think you'll loose more than a thimble full if you have a hose the right size and a clamp handy will you? Cut the line,slide the hose on and have a shutoff on the hose. Sit a can or something under it to catch the leak while you're sliding it on if you want to.
 
Mike, not sure I'd use it in the tractors. I drained the heating oil from the barrel in my folk's basement this last summer it hadn't sat near as long as yours. The color and consistency made me leary, I'm going to use it for accelerant, already have, burned the house, of course I've only got 50 gallon so for me it's not much of a monetary gain.
 
Why not put an electric or hand pump with a long enough suction tube and pump out what will come out? Put the suction tube in the opposite end of the outlet for the furnace and as you pump tank tilt the tank toward the suction tube and away form the furnace supply end. This should take 99% of the fuel out of the tank. Be sure to have a filter on the pump. Also pump the tank on a frozen day to freeze the water and crud to the bottom of the tank. Let us know how this works out. Armand
 
Pinch it off upstream of where it is pinched off now, with this.
http://www.yellowjacket.com/node/837

Cut off the end cleanly, flare and add a valve.
Then re-round it with the tool shown above.


Or, pump it from the top like they said.
 
Oh my gosh what a sh!t job your about to start. I did that 3 weeks ago. I had a valve on the bottom. I could only get an icecream bucket under it though. So I would fill the bucket then dump it into a 5 gallon bucket. 23 5 gallon buckets later I was done. Then carry the buckets up stairs and out side. Then carry the tank up the steps and out side. What a pain in the a$$! Took me about 6 hours to drain the tank that way.
 
When my folks moved to town there were 2 fuel tanks in the basement and hadn"t been used in years. We emptied them with a hand pump and long hose that reached the window. I did burn some in my combine that fall with no problems.
 
Put your shop vac hose in the fill hole and make a tight fit and plug any vent that the tank has. Turn the vac on and then do what you have to do to change the copper. The vac will pull enough air into the tank that your fingers won't get wet. Just don't do this with gas!!! chris
 
IPut your shop vac hose in the fill hole and make a tight fit and plug any vent that the tank has. Turn the vac on and then do what you have to do to change the copper. The vac will pull enough air into the tank that your fingers won't get wet. Just don't do this with gas!!!


wouldn't do it with diesel either. if there ever was gas in that tank ? too big of a risk of a big boom.
just get a section of 3/8 fuel line cut the copper and slip the hose over the most you will lose is a cup.
better yet just pump the clean oil off the top, out of the top of the tank. the dirtiest oil will be on the bottom so just keep dropping your suction hose into the tank as the oil is pumped out.
 
I think I'd siphon or pump out as much as possible, then worry about the fuel line connection.

If the line is big enough, you could tap it with a valve like they use to connect icemakers. It would be slow to drain through an 1/8" line, though.
 

Justin understands your situation. I would get about four feet of vinyl tubing with ID same as the crimped-off tube. I would then arrange a hook of wire a little higher than the level of the oil in the tank, Then cut off the crimp and slide the vinyl tube on, and tuck it into the hook. Then I could fill my buckets in a leisurely manner and easily stop the flow without spilling another drop.
 
Did the same thing with 600 gallons (1000 gallon tank). Tank was outside, underground. Only a piece of copper tubing coming through the basement wall.

Took a tubing cutter and cut the copper. I had rubber fuel line with a hose clamp ready. Cut the copper, slid the line over quickly and clamped it down. Held the line in the air then put a ball valve in it. Good to go. Had a little tub, rags and cat litter just in case. Maybe spilled a cup or two at most.

Got two big batteries and a charger. Then hooked a Holley Blue pump (100gph) fuel pump. Opened the basement window and pumped it into 55 gallon drums in my truck. Didnt pump quite at 100gph with 15 foot of head pressure, but it beat doing it by hand.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 23:28:04 01/13/14) IPut your shop vac hose in the fill hole and make a tight fit and plug any vent that the tank has. Turn the vac on and then do what you have to do to change the copper. The vac will pull enough air into the tank that your fingers won't get wet. Just don't do this with gas!!!


wouldn't do it with diesel either. if there ever was gas in that tank ? too big of a risk of a big boom.
just get a section of 3/8 fuel line cut the copper and slip the hose over the most you will lose is a cup.
better yet just pump the clean oil off the top, out of the top of the tank. the dirtiest oil will be on the bottom so just keep dropping your suction hose into the tank as the oil is pumped out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, good way to make a jet engine out of your shop vac.
 
I have not tried this MYSELF....but....my heating and air guy SWEARS that a shopvac will produce enough suction that you can hold the oil in the tank, without spilling any if you can seal the vent off.....
 
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