ideas for warm extra oil, long winter trips?

[davidschaffer]

I will be doing alot of driving this winter, most trips around 2 to 3k. During the warm months, I fill up 4 55 gallon plastic drums and use a transfer pump to get the oil into my veg tank. Now that the cold is here, I want to find a way to keep the extra oil drums warm enough to pump into my veg tank. I am thinking about using a dc powered band heater ( if I can find one ), but am not sure if that will work with the plastic drums. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

[ridiculously_necessary]

ive pondered this as well.

as usual for me, cost is a limiting factor. ive thught about a water heater elemnt and power inverter. one small enough that it wont overwork my stock alternator. or upgrade to a more powerful alternator.

if you have a bed cover or shell you could use a heater back there with an inverter.

ive also thought about stacks and such. or you could use the last leg of coolant before it goes back to the motor with some hydraulic quick disconects...

[tubular031]

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

or you could use the last leg of coolant before it goes back to the motor with some hydraulic quick disconects...

that might work but it is not the easiest way. Maybe try blending it with kero or diesel to thin it enough to get it to pump? I guess it all depends on the oil and the pump.

If I were building for long trips I would get a second tank and mount a hot fox in it and tie it into the coolant loop. This would be semi permanent but sure beats 4 55 gal drums with coolant taps in them.

[muns53]

Originally Posted by tubular031

that might work but it is not the easiest way. Maybe try blending it with kero or diesel to thin it enough to get it to pump? I guess it all depends on the oil and the pump.

If I were building for long trips I would get a second tank and mount a hot fox in it and tie it into the coolant loop. This would be semi permanent but sure beats 4 55 gal drums with coolant taps in them.

Yeah, I was gonna suggest a 10% Kero mix, too. It really does thin out the oil a lot. Re: hot fox, creative idea!

Maybe since you're in a pickup, you could put the barrels right up against your heated WVO tank and somehow enclose the tank and the barrels in an insulated blanket that would keep them warm by scavenging the heat thrown off the WVO tank?

I was contemplating this situation, too, because I was thinking of putting a tote in an enclosed trailer for a long trip this winter and worried about pumping the cold oil. I was thinking I'd either need to use my monster gear pump (which runs on 110V) and a very long extension cord - or maybe a 12V drop-in heater which I could stick in the tote (I've seen 12V 600W elements) - or maybe some type of small, flameless space heater that could keep the whole inside of the trailer warm...

[davidschaffer]

If I could find a two hundred gallon aluminum tank ( for cheap ), that would be sweet. Would a hotfox work with a poly tank? I also thought about putting a thin piece of metal on each barrel and then using a magnetic 400watt heater, but I am not sure it would get the oil warm enough.

[Aaron Berk]

Simple cost effective solution for you. AIR

Specifically an AIR PUMP.
I use air pumps to move my oil and as long as the oil isn't solid like a rock, it'll pump like a champ. No heating necessary.

You could pull into a gas station and pressurize your drums and air pump em out. Or you could do like me and carry a pancake compressor with an inverter.

I've had ZERO issues with flow problems.

[davidschaffer]

Whats the coldest oil you have pumped, and could you explain how it works? Do you put ball valves on both ports on the barrel, then pressure up through one and let it exit through the other?

[86lxnotch]

Originally Posted by Aaron Berk

Simple cost effective solution for you. AIR

Specifically an AIR PUMP.
I use air pumps to move my oil and as long as the oil isn't solid like a rock, it'll pump like a champ. No heating necessary.

You could pull into a gas station and pressurize your drums and air pump em out. Or you could do like me and carry a pancake compressor with an inverter.

I've had ZERO issues with flow problems.

this is how alot of waste oil drains in garages work now. it works great. pump 25-30 psi in the tank and the oil will flow even when cold.

[ridiculously_necessary]

air is a great idea! id go that route or the mix that was suggested

[tubular031]

Air is cool. I use it often. I have 2 viair compressors on my truck and I use the air for all kinds of things! Never thought I needed it till I got it and will never be without it!

I have many times used air to push oil around. do the air pumps actually pump or do they just push the oil? can I dip the end of the tube into an open barrel and put air on it and it will pump?