Transfer pumps...

[freebird01]

now please dont let this discussion get into the legalites of various fuels...

but i have an opportunity to get 80-100 gallons of home heating oil and the tank just for removing it and "getting rid of it" hahaha

anyway...im looking for an inexpensive pump that will handle the fuel..

anyone got any suggestions?

 

[Ironman03R]

Harborfreight and Northern tool both have portable fuel transfer pumps for around $100 with hoses and a nozel. I'm thinking of getting one myself. Look on Ebay and you'll find some a little cheaper.

 

[69dieselfreak]

Harborfreight and Northern tool both have portable fuel transfer pumps for around $100 with hoses and a nozel. I'm thinking of getting one myself. Look on Ebay and you'll find some a little cheaper.

this is what id do and did but it didnt work the way i wanted it
my transfer pump is a 1/3 hp ac motor hooked to a small block ferd oil pump works great

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

I bought one of the Harbor Freight 12 utility pumps for $30. It says it isn't for FLAMMABLE liquids, but since diesel is a COMBUSTABLE liquid (there is a difference) it works just fine. It isn't real fast, especially if you're lifting it more than 5-6 feet (from the bottom of the heating oil tank to where it is emptying into your portable tank), but it gets the job done - a couple of gallons per minute.

A tip for you, if you filter WMO to 1 micron (absolute) and mix it into the home heating oil (3%-5% is enough) it will cover up the red in the fuel - makes it look gray instead

 

[RLDSL]

If your arms are up to it, one of those hand crank barrell pumps with a length of clear hose attached will do the job and can be had for between $13-26

 

[69dieselfreak]

If your arms are up to it, one of those hand crank barrell pumps with a length of clear hose attached will do the job and can be had for between $13-26

thats way to much work im lazy

 

[punkmechanic]

I have a barrel pump that is from china or japan (crazy "writing" on the side) it was thirty bucks at a speed shop and it works great. pump it a few times and then it will siphon. I use it to get oil and diesel mix from this to that without having to lift a lot.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

If it is in fact a heating-oil tank, it should have a gravity-outlet at tank-bottom.

Why not just let it run into five-gallon buckets ??

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

If it is in fact a heating-oil tank, it should have a gravity-outlet at tank-bottom.

Why not just let it run into five-gallon buckets ??

That'll work IF it is an above ground tank. It'll be messy, and 80-100 gallons will take 20-25 bucket fulls, since you'd only be able to fill and carry 4 gallons in each bucket without spilling it, but it is do-able.

The setup I'm using is mainly intended for use getting oil out of UNDERGROUND tanks. BTW, the rest of my setup is a 10' PVC garden hose on the outlet side of the pump, and a 25' PVC garden hose attached to the inlet side. I got a 3/4" hose-thread to 3/4" pipe-thread adapter to attach a 5' section of pipe to the end of the 25' hose to stick down into the tank.

 

[82F100SWB]

Not all heating oil tanks have a bottom outlet... If it does though, it will be slow and probably messy, plus you'll get all the junk out of the bottom of the tank.

My setup is a 110V gas boy transfer pump rigged with a 10 foot 1" curb pump hose for the inlet and a 15' 3/4" outlet hose on camlocks, with a 3' section of pipe on the inlet hose, it runs around 20 gpm... I have a 12V rigged up the same way too.
Totally overkill for your average joe, but, I am an oil heating tech...

Pretty much any half decent pump without plastic or rubber guts will do the trick.
If you have the spare bucks to get a proper transfer pump tho, I highly suggest getting one, it's alot handier than you might think.

 

[freebird01]

i want to get a better pump mainly for filtering WMO eventually but im thinkin an elcheapo harbor freight pump will get me through this one time (need to get it done rather soon) and my hours at work got cut in half so money is a bit tight...but id be gettin the oil and tank for free so i cant hardly let it go when heating oil is still almost $2/gal here

 

[Andrew M. Frankli]

I agree with RLDSL - Unless you have a need for keeping the electric transfer pump, your 80-100 gallons of "Free" fuel will begin getting pretty expensive once you consider all the running around finding the electric pump, fitting it to the project, filtering the fuel, etc... Now you gotta get rid of an old tank! Scrap Steel in Chi-town here is $75/ton - plus time and trouble.... I don't know.

 

[freebird01]

well...in all honesty im not one to just think about now....while this particular amount will be a wash it will allow me to do this again in the future...

and its partially a favor for a friend as well. so the economics isnt as important as if it was strictly for personal gain. if fuel oil goes up again like it was earlier this year i will be able to purchase heating oil for my home and garage at a lesser price and be able to move it.

but i see what your saying

 

[Andrew M. Frankli]

...And you know, sometimes the "whole" can't be understood by examining the parts...
I traded a modern gasoline portable 5000 generator last month for a 1972 Lister Diesel 3500 watt generator -- even up-- When I did the math on it by comparing what I could get for the Coleman Gasoline unit vs. what it would cost to buy an old Lister, it would look like I did a bad deal. But I am happy as a clam, and so is the other fella. Can't distill everything down to dollars and cents... It sounds certain this will work out for you. --Andy

 

[gonecrazyi]

I wish scrap was 75 a ton here in Florida. They wont pay ya for it but theyll take it off your hands if you haul it in to them!

I use a cheap harbor freight hand pump that moves about 1.5 gallons a minute. I will move the thickest of oil and when it gums up I just take it apart and sand it out and its good to go again.