Using home heating fuel

[Mikek101]

I recently switched my furnace over to propane and have 150 gallons of home heating fuel. I would like to use this in my tractor. Does anyone know of an inexpensive way to remove the heating fuel a small bit at a time?

Thanks

 

[RalphVa]

Did you save the pump from your furnace when it was on oil heat? Think it is a relatively low flow pump, probably about 1-2 gph.

Is your oil tank in the ground or at ground level? If it's at ground level, you could probably get a "kerosene siphon" at TSC and siphon it out (attaching a longer tygon hose to the suction to get to the bottom of the tank). This is what I use to transfer diesel fuel from my 5 gallon containers on the hood of the tractor to its tank.

Ralph

 

[Nasty135]

Mike, You can try this Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices or perhaps the 19.99 model hand crank job... Oh BTW I have the hand crank pump and with an extension I couldn't get the fuel out of my 300 gal in ground tank Kinda ticked me off. I think it was to far away from the pump without priming. My total length was an additional 16" to the bottom of the barrel pump inlet. I will have to try something else soon so I can fill my tractors...

I know not very economical for a one time use...???

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

1. Cap the tank air outlet.
2. Fabricate a fitting with an air compressor quick connect for the "fuel in" inlet
3. Attach a suitable line, probably with shutoff valve, to the "Fuel Out" in the bottom of the tank and insert in suitable container or whereever you want to put the fuel.
4. Pressurize the the tank and the fuel flows out.
5. If possible raise one end of tank to maximize drainage.

 

[RonMar]

1. Cap the tank air outlet.
2. Fabricate a fitting with an air compressor quick connect for the "fuel in" inlet
3. Attach a suitable line, probably with shutoff valve, to the "Fuel Out" in the bottom of the tank and insert in suitable container or whereever you want to put the fuel.
4. Pressurize the the tank and the fuel flows out.
5. If possible raise one end of tank to maximize drainage.

WHOAAAA, I would NOT reccomend doing this without a lot of carefull planning and study. Storage tanks are not pressure rated. They are thin walled sheet metal and as such can't handle much pressure. It would be quite easy to add too much air pressure. Best case you could irrepairably deform the tank. Worst case is that the air pressure could exceed the structural strength of the tank skin and rupture. Pressurized tank explosions can be very violent, like the popping of a balloon only on a much larger scale. People have been killed doing this!

If the tank is above ground or you have access to a point lower than the bottom of the tank(tank at ground level, but feeds into lower basement area), use gravity to let it drain into smaller containers for transfer to your tractor as needed. If below ground(Rare these days), locate a suitable pump and remove the fuel that way. For a one time thing, You might also be able to get the fuel company you used to purchase from to come and pump it out into barrels for a small fee or reclaim it and give you a cash credit. They should have the appropriate equipment available.

Be safe.

 

[George2615]

If your tank is above ground, you should have a shutoff next to the filter on the tank bottom. (That's where the filter usually is) If not you can pick up a reasonably priced hand crank pump that fits in the 2" threaded fill pipe. Another way is to buy a small pump that chucks into an electric or cordless drill, throw a suction hose into the tank and a discharge hose to the smaller tanks you want to fill.

 

[DieselPower]

I would NOT compress the fuel tank unless you are looking to make a huge bomb. Get yourself a cheap pump and pump it out.

 

[KICK]

how about a garden hose, siphon what you need off into a 5 gallon can.

tank might even have a water drain on the bottom, get it that way.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

WHOAAAA, I would NOT reccomend doing this without a lot of carefull planning and study. .

Notwithstanding your warning, the suggestion is a viable option that works very efficiently, requires very little pressure and will empty almost all the fuel. Many compressors have a pressure setting so there is no need to apply high pressure. As stated, if the situation is such that the fuel can "run down hill" then pumps / pressure would not be required.

Having the oil company pump out the tank can be expensive and there is a good chance they will not give any credit for the old fuel since it cannot be resold.

 

[RonMar]

Notwithstanding your warning, the suggestion is a viable option that works very efficiently, requires very little pressure and will empty almost all the fuel.

True, but you are making the assumption that the person asking the question knows what the potential for disaster is. I mean it sounds simple enough, what could go wrong? That coupled wth the way you described how to do it

Fabricate a fitting with an air compressor quick connect for the "fuel in" inlet.

without a warning about excessive pressure, in the hands of someone who might not understand how to do this safely is a good way to get someone DEAD. I would make the assumption that if they need to know how to get fuel out of a tank, they might not understand some basic principles of physics, or are not familliar with working with fuel tanks. I don't mean any offence to you by this MikeK101, there is plenty I do not know and will be the first to admit it. One thing I do know CinderSchnauzer is that it is dangerous to assume that a person knows something when in reality they may not.

Compressed air is like a spring and stores energy. Expanding air releases that tremendous energy(look at the air cannons they have made on Mythbusters for a practical example). That is why they don't pressure test boilers, hoses or other pressure vessels with air. They fill them completely with water and apply pressurized water to test the maximum safe pressure. If a rupture occurs, the water is under pressure, but can't be compressed and stores no energy. Something goes pop or cracks, but nobody dies as ALL the pressure is gone with a little bit of water removed.