How can you remove oil from an oil drum?

Question

First off I am not stealing anybody's home oil. A friend of mine has converted to gas and still has 50 gallons left in their tank that we could use (especially with the high prices). The company that will remove the tank will not siphon it for us or refund us for the oil inside. Where we are located this is a $250+ loss. The tank valves on the bottom are broken (as in we would not be able to turn it off once it is on), we tried a hand siphon and a drill siphon and neither were strong enough (or they were c**p) to get the oil out. We've considered puncturing holes gradually lower (like removing maple syrup from a tree style -ish) but it seems dangerous and we may not remove it all in one sitting. We also thought maybe a bicycle pump would work but we aren't sure. The tank removal will be within the next few weeks so this needs to be done soon. Any safe ideas that can help are appreciated!

Answer 1

If you could send a picture of the valves on the tank and any other plugs or caps, I can give you the best and easiest and cheapest way to empty the tank.

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If you could use a rubber hose and clamp it over the bottom valve, (hopefully below the liquid level) put an in-line gate valve in the hose, that would be long enough to go into the top of a drum in the back of a truck or on a low trailer, and through another inlet connect an air hose from an air compressor and when you pump the compressed air into the tank the oil will go out through the hose when the gate valve is opened.

This would only require enough pressure to overcome 14.7psi atmospheric pressure. The more pressure applied into the tank, the faster the oil will transfer.

Answer 2

The best approach would be to get someone who has a pump suitable for tranferring flammable liquids and pump the oil into a 50 gallon drum in the back of a pickup truck.  

If you cannot hookup with someone who has a pump and a 50 gallon drum, then I guess you're next best choice would be something like pumping or siphoning it into 5 gallon jerrycans that are suitable for transporting fuel.  

Starting a siphon may be difficult if the oil is in the bottom of a large tank and you have to pull it up several feet to the filler hole.    Therefore, you might want to check with your oil dealer to see if they will either do it for you at a reasonable cost, or loan a hand pump (be careful using electric pumps or drill-driven pumps around flammables) to you so you can do it yourself.

Answer 3

Get rubber gloves and open the valve.  You can stop the oil by putting your finger over the outlet if you wish.  Drain into a pan, pour pan in larger container, take larger container home or to even larger container ouside in truck.  Repeat....

Diesel is not flammable, it is combustable.  So it is very unlikely to ignite unless you try really hard.  It can make a smelly mess in your friends home though, so try not to spill much.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Put a 55 gallon drum in the back of a pickup with a large funnel, using clean five gallon buckets, open the valve or s***w out the valve with a pipe wrench and one person fills the buckets and the other pours into the drum. You don't care if the valve works or if it will close, the goal is to get the oil out and into something you can transport home. When you get home repeat this process to transfer into your home tank. KISS it... Keeping It Short & Simple

Answer 5

The only thing i can suggest is to put a hose on the end of the pipe after the spigot. Turn on the spigot and fill your containers and then kink the hose, OR if it is the right size, you might consider a piece of garden hose with the shut off on the end of it,  Otherwise,