# Getting Rid Of An Old Oil Tank?



## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

there are companies that do this cleaning. look in the yellow pages under "tank cleaning". The dump my require you to present a "certificate of cleaning" by a professional service. check with your town, they might require your fill pipe to be blind flanged so fuel oil cant be accidently pumped into your basement


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## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

your local oil company might (for a fee) come to your house and pump out the old oil and dispose of it for you. would keep you from having to deal with draining , transporting, and cleaning your car afterward


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,....

List it on craigslist or something,.....

Fuel oil doesn't go Bad,... It gets Crappy.....
It can be Filtered,+ still be used.....
At the price of oil at over $3.00 a Gallon,.....
Somebody will Pay You to come take it away........


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## Tommy Plumb (Oct 7, 2006)

terri_and_jj said:


> there are companies that do this cleaning. look in the yellow pages under "tank cleaning". The dump my require you to present a "certificate of cleaning" by a professional service. check with your town, they might require your fill pipe to be blind flanged so fuel oil cant be accidently pumped into your basement


I'd rather not pay the oil company a few hundred dollars to do it. The scrap yard I go to couldn't care less about certificates and what not. So long as they can visually see the tank is clean they'll take it. 
As for the fill pipe I may completely remove it, if not I'll just cut is short and put a no hub cap on it. That will prevent any oil from being pumped. That actually happened around here recently. The oil company got the wrong house and pumped 250 gallons of oil into someones basement.
As for my car I have a pickup and plenty of containers I normally use for waste oil so it isn't a problem. 




Bondo said:


> Ayuh,....
> 
> List it on craigslist or something,.....
> 
> ...


I have no problem draining the oil, and would rather do it myself for two reasons. 
1. The guy off Craigslist probably won't care if he breaks the valve and spills 60 gallons of oil. He would most likely just get in his car and leave me with a very smelly, expensive, and dangerous mess. I know I'm not going to do anything so foolish.
2. I have a lot of valuable tools in my basement and the less people who know they're there the better.

Perhaps once it's out I'll list it on Craigslist and see if I can get twenty bucks out of it instead of hauling it to the waste management facility. It's weird to think that the oil in that tank was probably about $0.75 a gallon.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

At least give it away to someone you know who still heats with oil.
Then you could use some kitty litter or oil absorb like the garages use to soak up the rest and take it to you local disposal center.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> It's weird to think that the oil in that tank was probably about $0.75 a gallon.


Ayuh,.....

Just like Money in the Bank,........


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## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

Bondo said:


> Ayuh,....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Since you want to do it yourself, all you need to do is follow the requests of the ones who will take the tank once it's emptied. Remove all the oil and cut the tank lengthwise around the perimeter. This will leave you with essentially and oil bathtub. The sawzall blade will not ignite the oil. You can drop a match into it and it won't ignite.
Now the fun part, scooping out all the sludge that's been there since the house was built. After thats done, wipe it done with mineral spirits to get the residue. The scrap yard should take it in this condition.
These tanks lose their structural integrity over time, so be carefull when you transport it out of the house. They can suddenly collapse. that's why it's important to get all the oil out of it before moving.
Ron


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## justdon (Nov 16, 2005)

*I would*

I would get enough 30 or 50 galon barrels,,,put them in your pickup so you dont have to lift them,,,get a drill pump,or cheapie something pump and PUMP it back out the same hole it came in thru tubing or hose. THEN advertise on Craigs list,,,OR find a person who takes used oil. They will unload it or have a way to do that,,,give them the barrels,if you want. They WILL buy it from you in the barrel!!

Is there a door or way to get that tank out of there anyway?? If you can carry it out whole,put that on craigs list also!!Somebody will come and take it away,problem all gone. They do make a good shop stove with a door made in the end. This is FUEL OIL,,,NOT gas so it isnt all that flamable!! Take a coffee can with half inch in bottom,,, of it outside where safe and TRY to light it with a match!!


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