cleaning/purging a 275 gal fuel oil tank

[Andy in NY]

i am going to be replacing my home's fuel oil tank with a new one soon... and when i remove the old one i want to use it in the garage as a woodstove. i am going to make sure it is completly empty first, but what is the best way to go about the process of cutting into it for chimney and door?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: cleaning/purging a 275 gal fuel oil tank

I have cut doors into them with an air chiesel and used 8" well casing as a chimney...... lined the burn area with fire bricks.....

 

[Bondo]

Re: cleaning/purging a 275 gal fuel oil tank

Ayuh,.......

It's a Fuel Oil tank,..... Not a Gasoline tank,.......
The Explosion risk is almost Non-existent.........

I've cut up Many of them with O2/Ac torches,.........
With some Fuel still in them.......

If you put enough heat into it,.... It might possibly catch fire,....
But it's easily put out.......
As an example,.... I cut 2 of them in 1/2 a couple years ago,.....
I had No fire til I was on the 3rd side of the 4 sided cut,....
And, All I did was fan it alittle with a stream of water to draw the heat down,+ the Flames just went Out.......

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: cleaning/purging a 275 gal fuel oil tank

Disposal, I've used fire wrench or partner saw. Modification, I'd use the fire wrench or sawzall.

I went through the decision making process at the last home I had. I wanted garage heat and wood seemed like the easy choice. The big concern I had was that you can't easily stop a wood fire. Painting was my biggest issue due to flammable vapors. So I wanted a heat source you could shut off and then fire right back up with a lot of BTU power. I also wanted to be able to start working in a short time without waiting for the heat to come on-line.

I found that you can get free (or nearly free) home furnaces that people are tossing out. I bought an 80,000 BTU furnace for $25. It was slim and short, perfect for my garage. I rigged up the pump to be self priming and used an old outboard gas tank that I rigged with two quick disconnects. It worked so well I always wanted to find an old storage tank to put behind the garage.

The detatched garage had NO insulation and was 80 degrees F in less than 15 minutes in the dead of WI winters. And it was a dry heat.

Before you chop up that tank, consider this alternative. A little bit of piping and a thimble to exit the gable end and you're golden. It even has a thermostat! I think all told I spent about $100. That's cheaper than a torpedo heater and much more effective.