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Just picked up a nice unrestored lubester. Trying to figure out the easiest way to empty it. It's more likely 1/4 full but there's quite a bit of oil in there? How am I supposed ot get that out and how should I go about cleaning hte inside? Thanks


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Farmers use a lot of oil, maybe you could give it to a small farm owner.

Then take it to a car wash and use plenty of soap.

Jack Sim


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Eric try this.I have done it many times.
After you get the bulk of the oil out, buy a bag of oil dry. Put about 8 inches of oil dry in it. Let it sit about 6 hours. Then roll it on it's side and do the same with each side. It should soak up 98% of the oil. Dump out the oil dry and shoot it with Krud Kutter grease cutter. Then you can flush it out with a hose.
Good luck.


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Im with John on this one smile


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Turn the lubester on it's side and empty into drain pans. Then use a little kerosene or diesel fuel and wash it out doing the same trick.....


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Kitty Litter works well also [cat won't like it later] & most Quicky Lubes will take the oil [farmers around here won't take/use bulk oil w/o knowing the source].

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Dump the oil and then have it steam cleaned.

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If it is too full to turn on it's side, just pump it out like your supposed to and put the oil into gallon milk cartons and take it to any oil recycling place. I am will old racer on how to clean the inside.


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This is how I clean out my old Oil Dispensers. I'm not saying it's the only way, it's just the way I tackle the project. LOL

I start by pumping out as much of the old oil as I can. This all goes into gallon milk jugs and then to O'Rileys Auto Parts for recycling.

Then comes the 'oil dry/kitty litter'. Use as much as you need to get the remaining oil out of the unit.

Then I dissassembly the tank from the pump. The pump gets totally dissassembled and it gets sandblasted. The tank goes to a chemical stripper for imersion stripping.

That's the only way I've found to be sure that all the old oil is gone and none remains in the tank.

After I spend the time necessary to do a nice paint job - I don't want old oil leaking out of a seam and lifting the paint.

Later . . .

Jim

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What about the remnants of the chemical leaking out?

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When I restored the lubster I put on showcase and stories a couple weeks ago. http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=195573#Post195573

I recycled the oil that I could get out. Then I drilled a
1.5 inch hole in the bottom corner and let the remnants drain over night with the lubster slightly tilted. Then I tank dipped it, the 1.5 inch hole allowed the chemical to drain when it was removed from the tank. from there I started the process, of restoring it with no problems. "This also removed ALL the smell"


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Badgas:

The place I use does a through two-stage rinse to remove any of the stripper. Then they put a protective coating on the metal to protect it until you get some primer/paint on the item.

You have to wash off the final coating with soap-n-water prior to paint. This coating allows me to leave the inside unpainted without fear of rusting.

I've got Oil Dispensers that have been painted for over 5 years - with no problems whatsoever.

Later . . .

Jim

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I am with T-way on this. For years I have heard of people having problems with bleeding from chemical stripping. It is the ONLY way you will get rid of rust, oil ect and see what you really have to work on, yet not heating,bending or pitting your work surface. GET REFERENCES and ask about a strippers work. I have at least 10 pre 1935 pumps that I tanked over 15 to 20 years ago - no problems. Duplex of cast iron and a Simplex of metal right beside me. Key is that the company does a double or triple rinse down after the cold tank. Some of the private strippers are going out of business because of the monumental amount of acidic waste they must dump as "hazardous waste". Watch out for the "chain strippers i.e. Reddie Strip and the like. Service differs on each privately owned franchise. I deal with a private individual. Also did a 33 Cadillac six wheeled roadster with my father 15 yrs ago and it was completely "tanked" frame and all. Paint is perfect to this day.

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whats the cost to get something dipped/stripped like a lubester?


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Eric: Each companies pricing is different as you can imagine. Also they take into account how much labor they will expend on the project using the "hot and "cold" tanks, then the rinsing and if wanted ,the protective coating which is optional. The last pumps I tanked were a set of two M&S 80s pumps with the script tops (Mobilgas and Mobilgas Special). Skins, tops,sides and frames with pumps removed and of course the computer out for refurbishing, cost was $300. That was about 1 year ago. I can't imagine a lubester costing anymore than that. One wants to disassemble all individual parts such as the axle, wheels, lids, pumping mechanism, so they can be individualy tanked for a thorough job or left aside for "hand application". NO POT METAL nor BRASS, IT WILL BE DESTROYED by the hot tank. Check with your stripper. They will have a list of materials they cannot handle. Again Eric, I use a private company, not the chains, and they take very good care of my material. They even have baskets that are porus but very small for metal parts can go in to be cleaned such as small original bolts ect. I know the horror stories of chemical stripping out there but I think most of the problems have come from improper preparation after the process by the USER. Again, I agree with T-WAY and also wash all my parts with metal prep before ever doing body work ect. For your info, I have left both skins to a 515 Wayne for over a year with the "protective coating" on them. They were stored in an unheated, metal, concrete floored (Morton type) building on one of the farming operations my family owns. Not an ounce of rust but would not recommend waiting that long. With my concrete in floor heated garage here in town, I have a large old vise I tanked 3 yrs ago, been left on a piece of plywood in a corner, that I still have not gotten to and it is fine.. Hope this helps Eric, Rob

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Eric: One other option for say the skins on a pump would be walnut shell or soda blasting. I just had a 67 corvette body done with ground walnut shell pieces. There are actually many media blasting materials that are used today that are quite safe for our collector cars or petroleum collectibles. I long ago quit sandblasting when I had a set of roadster doors stretched by the heat of sand and ruined. Took me three years to find another pair. Don't get me wrong, many people can sandblast their own material or use a known company and come out fine. I have a small sand blaster for little parts but no car body parts or pump skins for me. As long as one keeps the PSI down on a sand blaster it can be done safely. But, if you drop your material off to a company that one has not dealt with, don't ask questions, things can happen. I am just not comfortable doing sand blasting anymore, my twin compressor is set for air tools for my race cars, and I don't want the added surface prep involved with sand blasting. Also of course the above methods will NOT clean the inside of anything. Only a chemical stripper can due that, such as the insides of your lubester. I like the situation of no mess to clean up by using the other techniques. Just my two cents worth, sure there are other individuals that are professionals in this area and have different opinions. Our moderator of this site (Jim - OLDGAS) I am sure has much more experience on this topic than I. I would ask his opinion. Take care Eric, Rob

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Hi Eric,
When I did mine a couple months ago, they tank dipped and double rinsed it. It took one day per step. They did my lubster and all the parts for $35 they are in Golden Co "A-1 Striping", so your prices may varry. I have not had any chemical seepage at all. If you look on the oil spout of my lubster, I could not get the brass nipple out before dipping it, so it was also dipped. I thought it would ruin it but it looks great. If you have any questions on what he did you could give him a call, he's a real nice guy. The owners name is John, he will remember the lubster I use them a lot. The link to my lubster is just above T- Way's post


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Now I know this is not an option to almost everyone, but here is what I did. First, as others have stated I dumped as much as possible, and recycled it. Then, I went to a car wash and used high pressure de-greaser. There was still allot of oil in it. At the time, I worked for a steel heat treating company. I put the tank in a furnace at 900 deg. F. for about an hour. It burnt it perfectly clean, and odor free.
Now I know most people don't have access to a 900 degree furnace, but how about a bonfire? It would smoke and stink, but it would be clean after the fire. The only problem I can think of is the possibility of warping due to uneven heat, but I think the odds of that are low.

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When hot tanking, be sure there is NO Alum. or Pot metal on item that is to be done. If there is it WON'T be there when returned.

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