“No Mess” Bulk Oil Dispensing Rack

“No Mess” Bulk Oil Dispensing Rack FARM SHOP Handy Hints One of the handiest systems we’ve seen for storing and dispensing bulk lubricants is this one set up by B J Gingerich of Tremont Ill     “It’s convenient because we don’t have drums sitting all over our shop floor and making a mess ” says Gingerich who is the shop manager for a small family-owned company in the crane rental business “We rent out about 50 cranes of different brands and models and use a lot of different oils solvents and antifreezes which we buy in 55-gal drums ” he says “I came up with the idea because I was tired of the constant mess caused by all the drums and pumps ”     So he set up a big gravity-fed bulk oil dispensing pallet rack system Several 55-gal drums set on the top 3 racks each with a different type of oil while 14 rectangular 30-gal clear plastic tanks set on the lower 2 racks in a staggered fashion Oil gravity flows from the drums into the tanks and from there through hoses fitted with ball valves A big 250-gal overflow containment tank on the floor under the tanks catches any spillage and has a metal screen on top of it to place buckets and drain pans      Once a 55-gal drum goes empty Gingerich uses a forklift to replace it with a full one If a full drum isn’t immediately available he can use the 30-gal tanks as a reserve and continue dispensing oil out of them     “It lets us continue to bulk purchase oil and lubricants in 55-gal drums but also provides a ‘reserve’ system of 30-gal barrels whenever the drums go empty ” says Gingerich “Using the forklift I can replace an empty drum in just 10 min The bulk oil dispensing racks I found on the market were expensive and required a lot of pumping to refill the drums which is a messy job With my gravity-flow system there’s no need to pump anything ”     The clear plastic tanks were originally designed for use as water tanks in RV’s and because they’re rectangular they can be stacked next to each other without taking up much space “The tanks are made of thin plastic so whenever they’re filled with liquid they tend to expand ” says Gingerich     To keep the tanks from bulging out too much he sets each tank inside a home-built 3-sided plywood enclosure A 1-in thick by 12-in wide plywood strip is bolted onto the racks in front of the 2 rows of tanks with adhesive labels marking the contents of each tank Gingerich also cut long narrow slots into the plywood next to each tank to serve as sight gauges     He made the overflow tank by cutting up a 500-gal fuel tank “When the overflow tank gets full we pump the waste oil into a big 275-gal plastic tank that’s used to heat our shop ” notes Gingerich       Contact: FARM SHOW Followup B J Gingerich 26770 Allentown Rd Tremont Ill 61568 ph 309 208-8882; bj@gingerichcrane com

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