Oil & Fuel What to do with 500 Gal of heating oil

[amirm]

Hi everyone. Long time reader, infrequent poster .

I have a BX-24 which I keep at our vacation house/farmland. We are remodeling the house and decided to pull out the oil burner and replace it with a heat pump. Heating costs here using oil has become quite expensive relative to our cheap electricity.

Anyway, right before the remodel started, the oil company filled the darn thank and sent us the $1,200+ bill! The general contractor is suggesting that we empty the tank and fill it with sand. I hate to have to pay someone to dispose of that oil. This was end of last year by the way, when fuel prices were cheaper than they are today.

Question is, what is the best way to use that fuel to power my BX-24. The tank is 20+ years old so I assume that it has a lot of sediments, etc. Would I need to set up filter system plus the pump to pull out the fuel? If so, I worry about how much cost and effort it would take to 杜ine that fuel.

In addition, the tank is right in front of the driveway and entrance to the house. So I can稚 really put in a permanent pump and such and make the place look like a gas station (the farmland is on the other side of the property). Can there be a portable system of sorts to make this work, where I would pull the fuel out of the pipe where they fill it and then I can put it away after being done? How messy would that be?

Anyway, looking for some wisdom on what you all would do. Appreciate any advice.

 

[ampsucker]

i definitely wouldn't waste it or pay someone to "dispose" of it.

any chance you can salvage the tank for a couple of years and move it onto stilts on the farmland? you might want to heat a barn or shop building or something with it.

another idea is to put it up on ebay and let the highest bidder pump it out. shouldn't be too hard to at least get your money back. once it's empty, fill it up with cheapest fill you can find and let it stay there. you'll need to receipt from your supplier showing it was just filled to put people's mind at ease that it isn't some old, skanky oil that isn't fit for burning.

or, get a new tank set up and pump it over or carry it 55 gallons at a time with the tractor in an old, clean, drum?

just some ideas. i'm sure you'll get plenty of others....

amp

 

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Do you have a next door neighbor that still uses oil? Perhaps some creative piping into their supply line could even save the hassle of pumping it out.

Is there a way to padlock the top to prevent future surprise fill-ups?

 

[Gator6x4]

Hi everyone. Long time reader, infrequent poster .

I have a BX-24 which I keep at our vacation house/farmland. We are remodeling the house and decided to pull out the oil burner and replace it with a heat pump. Heating costs here using oil has become quite expensive relative to our cheap electricity.

Anyway, right before the remodel started, the oil company filled the darn thank and sent us the $1,200+ bill! The general contractor is suggesting that we empty the tank and fill it with sand. I hate to have to pay someone to dispose of that oil. This was end of last year by the way, when fuel prices were cheaper than they are today.

Question is, what is the best way to use that fuel to power my BX-24. The tank is 20+ years old so I assume that it has a lot of sediments, etc. Would I need to set up filter system plus the pump to pull out the fuel? If so, I worry about how much cost and effort it would take to 杜ine that fuel.

In addition, the tank is right in front of the driveway and entrance to the house. So I can稚 really put in a permanent pump and such and make the place look like a gas station (the farmland is on the other side of the property). Can there be a portable system of sorts to make this work, where I would pull the fuel out of the pipe where they fill it and then I can put it away after being done? How messy would that be?

Anyway, looking for some wisdom on what you all would do. Appreciate any advice.

Most heating oil suppliers will pump the oil back out of the tank and pay you for the gallons pumped out. Start by calling them on the phone and see what kind of response you get.

 

[Ductape]

Are you close enough for me to come get it ????? I sure as heck won't charge you to pump it out !!!

 

[amirm]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Definitely good ideas to think about.

Most heating oil suppliers will pump the oil back out of the tank and pay you for the gallons pumped out. Start by calling them on the phone and see what kind of response you get.

I had no idea they would do that. We will give them a call!

 

[amirm]

Are you close enough for me to come get it ????? I sure as heck won't charge you to pump it out !!!

Sure. I am close enough. I think it is..... 2500 miles to Pacific Northwest .

 

[zionview]

You could look for a 500 gal tank with a dyke and transfer it to use for your 'Bota. It's not gonna get any cheaper. Or, if you don't pay the bill, I'm sure the oil company will come up with some suggestions. Were you on automatic fill? If not, I certanly wouldn't pay for it. There's a couple companies in our area filling tanks at the "summer price " without asking. I think I may lock my fill cap and make them quote me a price before they deliver.

 

[HappyCPE]

My fuel supplier is advertising HHO at $4.60 a gallon [gasp].
I'd say if you paid $1200 for a fill you made yourself a bunch of money no matter how you have to get it out of the tank!

 

[EddieWalker]

Isn't heating oil just another name for diesel fuel, but without the road tax added? I've heard that some people run it in there tractors, even though it's illegal to do so because it's sold as oil and not fuel. Not sure on the laws or rules since we don't have heatng issues here in Texas.

I'd buy a cheap electric fuel pump and some containers. You can put an inline filter on the pump without any trouble, and store it for your tractor. That much fuel should last a very long time, so you might want to add a stablizer or fuel additive to keep it fresh.

Eddie