Portable "Oil Vac" Built From Old Propane Tank

Portable "Oil Vac" Built From Old Propane Tank ENGINES Engines 28-3-38 By cutting down an old 1,000-gal. propane tank, Lonnie Nichols, Copeland, Kansas, was able to build a portable "oil vac" that he uses to remove used oil from irrigation engines. A second tank on the trailer carries fresh oil to pump into the engines. "It lets me recycle used oil with a minimum of spillage. I spent about $300 to build it. A comparable commercial unit would sell for up to $8,000," says Nichols. The trailer-mounted rig has twin 200-gal. tanks. A 5 1/2 hp gas engine and portable air compressor mount in the bed of his pickup, with compressor hoses hooked up to one of the tanks. The compressor creates vacuum inside the tank. A hydraulic hose sucks used oil out of the engine oil pan and into the tank. After the old oil is removed, Nichols hooks up another set of hoses to the second tank and blows new oil into the engine. To make the tanks, he cut a section out of the middle of the 1,000-gal. tank and sealed off the open end of each of the two remaining sections. "It turned out pretty neat. Whenever we pull it around people want to know what's going on," says Nichols. "I don't recommend anyone use a cutting torch on a propane tank because it can be extremely dangerous. However, we knew it would be safe because we had kept the tank valve open for two years. Also, before we did any cutting, we filled the tank with carbon monoxide from our pickup exhaust. That way no oxygen could get inside the tank." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lonnie Nichols, 2189 40th Road, Copeland, Kansas 67837 (ph 620 668-5276; cell 620 272-4915).

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