I just tried it and it works............You should build your mixing tank first, the height to the top of it will dictate how high the heating-cleaning tank should be.

If you look in my gallery you'll see my first 30 gallon mix tank. I've since replaced it with a 75 gallon mix tank with a bottom outlet feeding to a 1 1/2 hp pump.

In the first 30 gallon mix tank [barrel] I had a drop in mixer, and had to pump the mix out the top. Now I pour 50 gallons of hot, cleaned oil into the 75 gallon mixer, Mechanical mix for 30 min, then pump the "hot-mix" into the primary settling tank.

For the small setup that you want a 30 gallon mix tank will work just fine. By putting a pump at the bottom of the tank it allows you to put a larger tank OUTSIDE the shop, and make several batches at a time.

A great place to get pumps............FREE hot tubs! I've hauled off 8 free hot tubs this year. I keep the pumps, filters, valves, and electrics, and junk the rest.

I hope to spend more time in the shop this week and will try and post at least some of the plans. Earl is stable for now and doesn't need much help yet. Part of the problem is not only is he a partner in my consulting business, I also manage his 1,000 acre ranch. With him not "healthy", more of the day to day falls on me, which means less time for bio research.