Orderly Oil Change Setup

Orderly Oil Change Setup FARM SHOP Miscellaneous Overhead oil tanks drip collectors and organized filters keep Howard Ewen’s shop clean and neat making oil changes a lot easier With 4 IH 4586 diesels around 30 Olivers 5 or 6 farm trucks 3 pickups and several pieces of homemade equipment he goes through a lot of oil and filters     “I have five 75-gal oil tanks mounted on a rack above my head with a fill cabinet for pitchers and 2 1/2-gal jugs mounted at one end of the rack ” says Ewen “Rack space at the other end holds a case of transmission fluid ether windshield washer fluid and other liquids ”     Like most farmers Ewen used to keep his oil in barrels with a hand pump on each When he had a chance to pick up an old service truck bed with the tanks on it he grabbed it     “I have 4 tanks filled with different types of oil and one filled with solvent ” explains Ewen     A 2-in outlet on the bottom front corner of each tank has an elbow with a 1 1/2-in reducer on it and pipes that lead to ball valves above a fill shelf The shelf is expanded metal with a catch tray beneath to collect drips and spills     “Any drips from ball valves or containers drain into a 5-gal bucket and are used for oiling parts ” says Ewen “Even a few drops at a time count up and it keeps the shop clean ”     The fill cabinet doors are sealed with rubber foam to keep dust from collecting on the pitchers and jugs     A large steel cabinet nearly 7 ft tall and the width of the rack does double duty as filter storage and as a walkway for filling the oil tanks A ladder on one end gives Ewen easy access When one of the tanks runs out he retrieves a barrel from nearby storage and lifts it into position above the tanks with his shop hoist     “I made a harness for the barrel so it tips it forward ” says Ewen “Each tank has a 2-in inlet on it at the rear I lower the barrel’s faucet end into the inlet pipe and open it up Once I loosen the bung it empties out quickly ”     Ewen’s wife Pat maintains inventory on the filters When a filter is used a slip of paper is filled out with the filter number and the date and dropped in a box When filters go on sale locally Pat pulls the slips and determines how many filters of various types are needed     “We usually keep around 100 on hand ” notes Ewen “Having a place for them and always having them on hand makes maintenance of equipment easier to do ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Howard Ewen Jr 6997 W State Rd 8 Lacrosse Ind 46348 ph 219 754-2365

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