My mess is bigger than your mess

[Jim]

I change the oil in our cars using a suction tank and , a device that I made from an old propane tank. When it’s full I use the air compressor to empty the propane tank into plastic pails that I take to shop that uses it for heating.

Yesterday while applying 150 PSI air pressure to empty the tank, the top hose came off of the tank. I forgot to put the clamp on after installing a new longer hose.

If anyone wants to know what a garage looks like after spraying 5 gallons of diesel drain oil on the ceiling I can tell you it is not pretty. It was raining black oil for at least 5 minutes.

Since necessity is the mother of invention, I did find out something good from this. If you have really black oil covering your clothes you can get it out using biodiesel. I soaked my pants and shirt in bio for an hour then sprayed them with the pressure washer. Washing them in Tide after that remove all traces of the oil. I have tried just using soap and it doesn’t work.

 

[Pablo]

I think we have a winner.

 

[Kestas]

Jim, not to be mean, but my imagination found this funny. Like they say, nothing is funnier than someone else's misery.

We've had threads in the past where people post their most embarrasing misfortune in the garage. This incident is tops.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I have to agree...having 5 quarts of new or used oil running across the floor is one thing..but airborne is quite another. Congrats on taking that cake!

 

[benjamming]

and it wasn't just 5 qts from one oil change, but 5 gallons from many oil changes.

Were the cars in the garage getting rained upon?

 

[oilyriser]

I've spilled used oil on the floor before, but never on the ceiling!

 

[Jim]

The cars were outside so I had some good luck while being stupid. I have a heated pressure washer that pumps water at close to boiling and that removed most of the oil. There is still a bit of a light back oil film on things that will just need cleaning with rag and spray cleaner. I dug up some dirt with the front loader on the tractor to cover the floor with dirt. The worst part was the oil fog that sprayed out of the tank when it emptied. That floated around on got on everything.

 

[GeaugaFletcher]

Jim, I can't stop laughing!

Sorry...

Somebody else's misery and whatnot.

All those times I've had something go wrong and seen somebody pass by, looking at me. "Dang...wish I were that person passing by right now. If only I'd chocked the tire, the truck wouldn't have fallen on my leg and I'd be them."

Oh gawd..."oil fog"

 

[Shannow]

Jim,
there was an old trick down here that soaked the clothing in soluble oil before washing...bio is WAY cheaper.

I remember as a teenager getting a phone call from my Dad, who had just done an oil change and headed to the shops..."I ran over the drain pan, clean it up before I get home."

Hard enough 5 litres on the floor, let alone 5 gals on the roof.

Good work !!

 

[Papa Bear]

Now for the real question....

What did your wife say ??!!

 

[Bob Woods]

Reminds me of the time I saw 60 gallons of aircraft 40w oil on the ramp, we had to change a firewall shutoff valve and had drained an oil tank but then we got in a hurry or something and went to change the wrong valve and when the valve was pulled out we couldn't get it back in place to stop the oil flow. 40w is like cleaning up snot, it took us all night to clean up the mess.