What pump for engine oil barrel?

[LucasDK]

Hi, I do not know where I should post this question, nevertheless ... I bought myself a barrel of engine oil (208 l, 55 gallons). Its a Mobil Delvac XHP 10W-40 with a MB228.3 specification and ACEA E3/B2. I will need oil from that barrel 2 times a year and in between I don't want any oxidation to occur or humidity entering the barrel. What type of pump system would you recommend for my needs? A rotary pump? A siphon pump? Anything else? Should I always remove the pump and close all lids again? Of course I'm looking for the least messy solution - and it should be as simple as possible :-). Are rotary pumps fully airtight? Lucas

 

[Pablo]

Here are some available in the USA (just a sample from one place): Northern Tool Drum Pumps No pump is 100% hermetically sealed. And condensation may happen in rapidly cooling and heating moist environments, unless you have a C02 or N2 blanket.

 

[Ken2]

One of these H2OUT brand vent dryers will keep moisture out of the air in the drum. http://www.h2out.com/products

 

[dnewton3]

Unless you have a collapsable liner, you're going to get air and moisture in the drum, no matter what pump you use ... If you seal it air=tight and don't replace the fluid volume with air, you'll end up not being able to pump it out, as the vacuum will eventually overcome the pump draw. How many litres are you going to pull out each cycle? How long is the barrel going to last? If more than six months, you're going to get moisture no matter how hard you try to keep it out.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Ken2

One of these H2OUT brand vent dryers will keep moisture out of the air in the drum. http://www.h2out.com/products

That's a good idea. Maybe just replace it each time you pump. It should help a bit. Unconventional advice: Start selling oil to your friends and neighbors and relatives.....find the Danish Craigslist.

 

[LucasDK]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3

How many litres are you going to pull out each cycle? How long is the barrel going to last? If more than six months, you're going to get moisture no matter how hard you try to keep it out.

At each cycle I will pump out approx 10 litres. In a year my consumption will be 2-4 cycles = 20-40 litres. The barrel should last 5-10 years then. What about this solution: Water pump Using this simple pump, some attached garden hoses and an electric drill. Once done, I will remove the pump with its hoses, let it drip off a little, put it in a plastic bag (and store it somewhere), fully seal the barrel again with the screw lids and done. Whats your opinion on that one - remember I'm not in a hurry when pumping the oil. As for family/friends: I already asked around a little bit, by my impression is that people prefer to pay the equivalent of 100 dollars (4 liter container) for a Mobil 1 0W-40 even though their car ist 15 years old! Lucas

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: LucasDKAt

... each cycle I will pump out approx 10 litres. In a year my consumption will be 2-4 cycles = 20-40 litres. The barrel should last 5-10 years then.

OK - there's your first problem. As a generalization, oil in a sealed container is good for perhaps up to 5 years in storage. I would personally not trust oil stored longer than that. There is no hard-and-fast assurance of how old is too old, but 5 years it pushing the limits if you ask me. The older the oil gets, the more risk of condensation intrusion, and additive package separation. But you won't have a "sealed" container; you're going to breach the seal upon each use. That in mind, I would not trust the oil for more than perhaps 3 years, and I'd be very concerned about moisture at that point. Further, we don't know where you're going to store this lube. Are you in an area that is really heavily laden with saturated air (near the ocean, lake, large river, etc?). How much temperature change will the drum see? The more the temps change, the more the propensity for air exchange, etc. To be blunt, you way overbought your supply. Start selling off as much as you can to family and friends or even total strangers. Try to use up the barrel in two years, if not sooner. It might be a good idea to sell the liters even at a slight financial loss, to entice sales, rather than have it go bad and risk long term use after storage and thereby risk engine damage. In the furture, just buy your oil in convienent consumable sizes for one OCI at a time. If you want to save money, then buy the lube when (or if) it goes on sale.

 

[LucasDK]

Several older threads in this forum have discussed the expiration dates of engine oils. Valvoline says there is no expiration date (if sealed), however some other companies tell you to use the oil within 5 years. A member of this forum made an oil analysis of an 18 year old oil which still showed perfect values. The general consensus amongst members in the threads was, to use the oil and not worry too much about storage. Of course looking out for humidity and temperature variations. The barrel will be stored indoor at 10-25 degC all year round. Price problem: The 208 liters cost me the equivalent of 720 dollars (got it very cheap). The engine takes 10-11 liters of oil. That gives me approx 20 OCIs. If I go to a store to buy a Mobil oil in 4 liter containers, I will need 3 containers. Each container costs approx equivalent to 70 dollars = 210 dollars in total for an oil change. 4 OCIs and I already passed the price of the barrel. You see, it doesn't make sense to buy this horrendously expensive oil in small containers. Lucas

 

[Texan4Life]

Originally Posted By: LucasDK

Hi, I do not know where I should post this question, nevertheless ... I bought myself a barrel of engine oil (208 l, 55 gallons). Its a Mobil Delvac XHP 10W-40 with a MB228.3 specification and ACEA E3/B2. I will need oil from that barrel 2 times a year and in between I don't want any oxidation to occur or humidity entering the barrel. What type of pump system would you recommend for my needs? A rotary pump? A siphon pump? Anything else? Should I always remove the pump and close all lids again? Of course I'm looking for the least messy solution - and it should be as simple as possible :-). Are rotary pumps fully airtight? Lucas

first of all 55 gallons of 10w-40 HDEO? I'm jealous! If it were me I would use something cheap/simple like one of the squeeze bulb type siphon pumps. or maybe try one of those drill pumps. since you dont have to draw from the barrel very often. What ever you use I would reseal the drum after each use. I would also add teflon tape to the bung plug for a nice air tight seal. my .02

 

[roadrunner1]

What we use is a barrel rack to position the barrel horizental, then a spigot to drain the oil out. When you are almost done draining out what you need, tighten the top bung to create a vacuum in the barrel to prevent any leaking from the spigot.

 

[LucasDK]

Thanks, I've chosen this solution: Ball valve It is just perfect for my needs. Lucas