Pumping oil at collection site?
 

What can I get that'll empty out a 55 gallon drum at a resturant fairly easily?

It needs to be able to pump thick oil in the winter without heating. (Can't wait all day for the oil to warm up.) as well as be able to handle whatever trash is in the oil.

The Fill-Rite fuel transfer pump is a bit expensive and doesn't deal with chunks too well...

My little oil pump with hose barb fittings doesn't look like it'll deal with chunks either... Plus it's rated for water. I don't think it'll handle thick grease well either.

I have available a 12 HP Honda Gasoline engine with a V-Belt pulley. I could hook it up to something.

What do you guys use?

I was thinking about getting one of the Harbor Freight 1" clear water pumps and using a small (400 watts or so) 12VDC-110VAC inverter to run it.

These pumps are the same ones that so many folks use for circulation and transfer pumps for their bio processors. I'd think they'd be up to the task.

Another option I'm considering is the 500 pound winch-operated lift Harbor Freight sells. It fits in your reciever hitch and has a 2'x2' lift platform that will lift 500 pounds up to the height of your tailgate. They cost a couple of hundred bucks, but you could easily load the whole barrel full of oil into your truck and leave an empty in its place. No need to pump the oil out of the barrel until you get it home.

I picked up one of these lifts at a garage sale with a busted winch for $35. I think I could pretty easily replace the broken winch with one of the 2000 pound utility winches that Harbor Freight sells for $49 (the ones that are power-in / power-out - NOT the phony one with the mounting plate that hooks over your hitch ball) and get the lift operational pretty easily. Then I'd just get a few "spare" oil collection barrels to swap for the full ones and be in business....

The pump form Harbor Freight are not self priming. You need a self priming pump. I use a Fill-Rite 12/24 Volt Oil Transfer Pump.

The lift and swapping out the drums sounds like the best way. In the winter pumping cold oil is a lot harder.

Make a sucker out of some sort of pressure tank. Put a vacuum on it before you leave home. Pull up to the oil open a valve and let it do it's think.

Works darn good even at temps in the 30F range.


Erick

I use an old hydraulic pump hooked to a 5hp briggs with a screen over the intake. Sucks out a drum in about 3 minutes......

To remove the oil I use a 2" gas pump (189.00 at tractor supply) bushed down for a 1" hose with a 90* elbo and enough 1" steel pipe to reach just above the bottom of the drum.The pipe holds keep it from falling out of the drum. It will even pump the thick cold oil in the winter. No fuss no mess just throw the suction hose in and start the pump no primeing. I pump into a another drum or tank in the back of the Powerstroke. I also carry a 4500 watt water heater element wired up to plug into an extension cord. When it gets into the low teens/single digits like it is now, I just drop the heater in the drum and after a beer in the resturant I stir it with a cordless drill and a paint/plaster mixing paddle and pump away. Then it pumps with no problems junk and all. I've been thinking of going to 1 1/2" to make it even quicker but that hose makes it harder to handle by yourself.

Yea if the oil doesn't fully flow all the way through the pump first, it will not suck it.

How about a boat macerator pump? The one on my boat sucks poop like its cool, and I'm pretty sure it would chew up the crunchies too- no filter, less restriction. What say ya'll??

I like this idea. It's 12 volts and rated for soft solids and thick liquids. They alo are self priming and have lift capabilities.

They have twist lock types for RV's as well.

My idea:

Get plastic drums, cut the bottom out, leave the top with the bungs in. Create a cover for the open end that has a hinge.

Flip this assembly over on top of a milk crate and thread 2 inch curve and pipe on the bung.

Have a lock on a ball valve or just remove the handle. And on the other end of the ball valve, put the RV sewer line connection.

Just drive up, hook up pump, flip the valve, and go to town.

This is mine. Free propane tank, but brass valves$$$$. 1/12" pipe in the side(or top laid down) to the bottom with an angle cut at the bottom of the pipe. I know have an old water cooler compressor that will vacume down to 27" of vacume. Cheap, Walmart swimming pool hose and 3' of thin pvc on the end with another ball valve. 30 GALLONS IN 3 MINS! It is too good. It will suck up water as well if you do not watch it.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...ill/sucker.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1.../sucker003.jpg

I love over kill!!!!!!!!

I use a Super Sucker.. I pull a 25" vacuum on a 60 gallon tank.. Stick in 1.5 inch hose and I can empty a 55 gallon drum in about 50 seconds at 60 degF.

Great idea. I like it. Simple, cheap, effective.

A couple of questions for you though.

How are you powering the compressor? With an inverter? Or do you vacuum down the tank at home and then go make your collections?

How much vacuum do you have to create in the tank to be able to suck up 30 gallons, and how long does it take to get that much of a vacuum?

Last question is for you and anyone else who may have tried this. Why not use a 55 gallon drum to do the same thing? They're pretty heavy-duty, would they handle the necessary level of vacuum? Or would they just collapse? I'd think having nearly double the capacity of hotwheelbill's 30 gallon tank would be a big advantage - assuming the drum can handle it.

How well does it work below freezing?

I don't expect it to be 60 degrees for another three months... I do expect to run out my tanks of fuel before then.

Depends on type of oil and how far down below freezing.

With Canola oil, it will empty the drum in about 3 minutes at 10 deg F

With crap oils that thicken up like soft butter, it will take about 10 minutes and you have to keep moving the sucker hose around or it will suck air because the stuff doesnt flow fast enough.

When you get to peanut butter consitency, it wont suck it.. Nothing will..