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#338876 Wed Jul 04 2012 09:48 AM
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Well i just got my first Lubester. Here are some pictures. It’s a Texaco and looks like it has a sticker on the front of it. I have a few questions too.
1. The handle turns one full turn in to direction and about one and a quarter turns the other way. Is that how it works?
2. I want to restore it so I want to remove the pump off the tank. How is that done? I see bolt heads inside the tank. Do I have to remove those to get the pump off the tank?

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moonphone #338881 Wed Jul 04 2012 10:04 AM
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Ok I am so jealous right now!


I am always looking for anything Texaco or Oklahoma oil and gas company's, also I am a newbie at seeking globes.
texacokie #338883 Wed Jul 04 2012 10:07 AM
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HHhhmmm? Must be bolted from the inside? Just start taking bolts off and it will have to come off somehow! LOL


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texacokie #338886 Wed Jul 04 2012 10:12 AM
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I have a lubester that holds my oil it turns 11/2 turns. So that is correct

otisbagotis #338900 Wed Jul 04 2012 10:50 AM
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thanks guys, but theres about a gallon and half of sluge inside of it.

moonphone #338906 Wed Jul 04 2012 11:00 AM
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I think its a cool old lubester and should look really nice when you get done with it! Be sure to take pictures for us to see the work!


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K W FRITH #338911 Wed Jul 04 2012 11:16 AM
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Really nice lubester....... what size is it?

huskybob #338930 Wed Jul 04 2012 12:38 PM
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I am friends with the local auto wrecker and clean my lubsters there. They have a large enclosed hot solvent pressure washer that they use for cleaning engines, transmissions and differentials. It is environmentally friendly as it recycles the solvent and filters the oil and grease.


Dave GILL,
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Dave's Garage #339050 Wed Jul 04 2012 06:46 PM
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Thanks guys, but i couldn't help myself. i got the pump off the tank. I poured 10lbs of absorbent and vacuumed it out then degreased it. Going to spray it with rust inhibiter. How many parts does the pump break down to for restoring? So many coats of paint on this pump i have to blast it just to get a good at it. And tips or pictures will be of great help. didn't measure it but the dip stick says 20 inches.

Last edited by moonphone; Wed Jul 04 2012 06:47 PM.
moonphone #339063 Wed Jul 04 2012 07:50 PM
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Dip Stick is measured in Gallons, not inches!

Dick Bennett #339065 Wed Jul 04 2012 07:56 PM
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I always thought that meant 20 inches of oil myself Dick! Are you sure?

Notchcad #339066 Wed Jul 04 2012 08:01 PM
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says inches on the dip stick, sorry.

Dick Bennett #339069 Wed Jul 04 2012 08:08 PM
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i beleive you, i did a double take. so why would it say inches on the dip stick?

moonphone #339073 Wed Jul 04 2012 08:19 PM
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each inch = 1 gallon.. cool


RANDY
moonphone #339074 Wed Jul 04 2012 08:21 PM
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Maybe they make the tank the exact size that every inch is a gallon!

Notchcad #339080 Wed Jul 04 2012 08:55 PM
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Like db and Randy said....

Remember this is an bulk Oil Dispenser. When refilling it from the bulk truck, hard to tell the driver to fill it with 20 inches of oil..... But to fill it with 20 gallons of oil......


Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
Bob Richards #339102 Wed Jul 04 2012 11:45 PM
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I am a stickler for calling things what they are. If a truck goes by and it is filled with Coke bottles, it is not a Coke truck, it was not made by Coke, they made soda, not trucks. The same as for this unit, it is not a Texaco, it is a OPACO, they made it under special order from Texaco (meaning Texaco paid extra to have the lid embossed with the Texaco logo).

So now, if you happen to be looking for parts (which it looks likes you are not beause this unit looks very complete) you should be asking for parts for a OPACO.

A couple of OPACO unit are shown in my Gas Pump Identification book, but none as generic are yours. I am sure I have info on your unit, but do not have time to look them up.

Jack Sim


Author, 1st & 2nd editions of Gas Pump ID book, 3rd edition is now available at www.gaspumpbible.com
Air Meter ID book also available
Jack Sim #339129 Thu Jul 05 2012 06:18 AM
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yes jack, that is true. Texaco didnt make them. they where made for Texaco. is this a commom unit, i never seen one with legs before. it is almost complete, i'm missing the screen if it had one. but why put inches on the dip stick if measure by gallons. doesnt make sence to me. is the pump difficult to break down? and how many parts does it break down into?

moonphone #339148 Thu Jul 05 2012 07:42 AM
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Depends on how big a hammer you use.

moonphone #339161 Thu Jul 05 2012 09:29 AM
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Just out of curiosity, why don't you measure some water into the tank and see if 1"= 1 gal. I would be interested to see.

Flatland #339181 Thu Jul 05 2012 10:53 AM
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i was thinking the same thing. thats exactly what i'm going to do first thing tomorrow morning flatland.i got it all apart, took about an hr. now i need to de-grease and strip. nothing rusted, thick paint that i needed to scrap off to get things apart.the paint is real thick. looks like melted wax and is soft.you can see it on the tube on the left side of the picture.

IMG_2547.jpg
Last edited by moonphone; Thu Jul 05 2012 10:57 AM.
moonphone #339186 Thu Jul 05 2012 11:06 AM
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...that's a neat oil dispenser...it might be advisable to strip the paint carefully over the decal on the front, so you can see what it is before you remove it...you might be able to take a good hi-res photo and some careful measurements, and find an NOS decal, or have one made...


Looking for better Gulf items: signs, globes, cans and paper - especially porcelain Gulf flanges, and Gulf A-38 & A-62 ad glass...
moonphone #339193 Thu Jul 05 2012 12:42 PM
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I wish I got to my projects as quickly as you have this one. Keep us posted.

Flatland #339210 Thu Jul 05 2012 03:35 PM
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yes, i was thinking the same Gulfiend. i really want to take the paint thats over the sticker off carefully so i can see that the original sticker was.

moonphone #339226 Thu Jul 05 2012 04:05 PM
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I still don't understand why they would put inches on the dipstick if they meant gallons.
I agree with Flatland and try the little experiment.

bppierce #339240 Thu Jul 05 2012 04:41 PM
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Could it be if the dipstick broke or was lost, the owner of the dispenser could use a regular ruler or yard stick?

Seems like calibrating volume by a common inch measure is kinda smart...

Nicole #339247 Thu Jul 05 2012 05:28 PM
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so did all the manufacturers of lubesters adhere to this rule of thumb? that if you make a lubester tank one inch of depth equals one gallon. and the theory that they used inches in case you lost the dip stick. then the dip stick would say gallons. and if you lost it you would know to use a stick or a 3 ft ruler and every inch is a gallon. this will bug me until i put a gallon of water in it tomorrow. i wont sleep to night.

moonphone #339284 Thu Jul 05 2012 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: moonphone
so did all the manufacturers of lubesters adhere to this rule of thumb? that if you make a lubester tank one inch of depth equals one gallon. and the theory that they used inches in case you lost the dip stick.

If that was the case they would all be the same amount of square inches.-length x width -they arent

JimT #339288 Thu Jul 05 2012 08:17 PM
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Only Bowser made an item called a LUBE-STER & they Don't have a DIP STICK!
1st pic is adv. for foot operated, 2nd pic is one I own;

1b.jpg
Dick Bennett #339324 Fri Jul 06 2012 05:22 AM
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Did most pump makers refer to their pumps as visibles? Or clockfaces? Or Roman Columns? Or "T" pumps? No.

Yet somehow these terms have become commonplace in our field of collectibles. Instead of giving someone the help they're asking for the esteemed veterans would rather argue about whether he's calling it the right thing or not.

moonphone #339325 Fri Jul 06 2012 05:22 AM
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Originally Posted By: moonphone
so did all the manufacturers of lubesters adhere to this rule of thumb? that if you make a lubester tank one inch of depth equals one gallon. and the theory that they used inches in case you lost the dip stick. then the dip stick would say gallons. and if you lost it you would know to use a stick or a 3 ft ruler and every inch is a gallon. this will bug me until i put a gallon of water in it tomorrow. i wont sleep to night.


moonphone: in my experience, most product whether it be gas or oil was dispensed in a defined unit of measurement like a quart or gallon.

Inventory however was usually measured in inches. If you had a square tank and you knew how many gallon capacity it was...say a 25 gallon tank...you just checked how many inches were left and you knew when to reorder.

Over the years the size of bulk oil tanks became larger with manufacturers like Aro adding air pressure...but even then most of the garage owners I knew had a wooden measuring stick and they would 'stick' the tank to see how much product was left. Eventually gallon meters were installed on top of the tank so you could see how much product was left in gallons.

Gasoline was the same way, the product in the tanks were measured in inches. We would have to 'stick' the tanks every night. You also have to take into account the shape of the tank. The larger storeage tanks were not square..but cylindrical. Once you determined how many inches were in the tank you looked at a chart that would show you how many gallons there were.

Yours was a good question, got me thinking about how tightly controlled the dispensing of product was, but in reality inventory management wasn't nearly so. Hope that helps some.

Ohio Oil #339375 Fri Jul 06 2012 10:17 AM
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Ok, so i put two gallons of water into the tank. And considering i didn’t use a device calibrated by the NYS dept of weights and measures, it was pretty accurate. It was off by about a pint. So 2 inches means two gallons. My thinking is that there must have been a standard that you tank must size up with your dip stick that an inch is a gallon?

moonphone #339377 Fri Jul 06 2012 10:28 AM
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All Oil Dispensers when new had tags on them informing the "new" owner how big the tanks were.... Of course in time and usage a number of tags were knocked off/destroyed. At times the gauge sticks were also misplaced and/or destroyed... As long as the owner/attendant/bulk driver had a general idea of how big the tank was... They could/would make their own gauge sticks.... (same as the gauge sticks for the gasoline bulk tanks)...

Everything worked out okay....


Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
moonphone #339380 Fri Jul 06 2012 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted By: moonphone
My thinking is that there must have been a standard that you tank must size up with your dip stick that an inch is a gallon?


No. You're over thinking the whole process.

Bob Richards #339382 Fri Jul 06 2012 10:53 AM
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what are the dimensions of the tank itself? just the width and depth, not the height...


Looking for better Gulf items: signs, globes, cans and paper - especially porcelain Gulf flanges, and Gulf A-38 & A-62 ad glass...
Bob Richards #339411 Fri Jul 06 2012 01:06 PM
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actually i did find a tag on the inside of the tank. a little bit bigger then an index card. stick to the inside of the tank. it oil soaked so i cant make out what it says. i have is saved and to the side until i figure out what i can do with it. i don't want to wet it cause i don't want it to fall apart. what would be a quick way to get all of this thick paint off? paint remover? its so thick that i want to remove some before i sand blast. thinking of maybe just burning it off?

Ohio Oil #339565 Sat Jul 07 2012 07:26 AM
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i think we are also Ohio, company that made the tank might have had there own sticks made for there tanks. when the oil truck showed up, you just looked inside and figured out how much you needed by looking inside the tank. it wasn't rocket science.

moonphone #339656 Sat Jul 07 2012 03:48 PM
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well now i know what brand i'm going with on the lubester. this is what i found after i carefull removed some paint from the sticker on the front. and the size of the tank is 16x19x24.

IMG_2549.jpg
moonphone #340124 Mon Jul 09 2012 12:38 PM
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here's what i found after removing paint. is this decal still being re-produced?

IMG_2551.jpg
Last edited by moonphone; Mon Jul 09 2012 12:41 PM.
moonphone #340127 Mon Jul 09 2012 12:57 PM
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Yes, it's commonly available as a reproduction decal. Also available in 12" porcelain signs. Referred to as the round Texaco Petroleum Products decal.


Dave GILL,
Dave's Garage & Memorabilia, Inc.
Dave's Garage #340135 Mon Jul 09 2012 01:38 PM
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thansk dave, but i cant seem to find the one with the black out lined "T".

moonphone #340139 Mon Jul 09 2012 01:48 PM
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You can always fix that with a permanent black felt marker or pin striping.


Dave GILL,
Dave's Garage & Memorabilia, Inc.
Dave's Garage #340260 Mon Jul 09 2012 09:35 PM
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Moonphone, how are your other projects coming along?

dalin #340263 Mon Jul 09 2012 10:00 PM
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one of the parking meters is done. the bennett is done, the M+S 80 just needs the doors put on. ill post a pic of the 80.

photo.jpg IMG_2508.jpg
moonphone #342452 Wed Jul 18 2012 03:50 PM
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ok heres the lubester blasted, and powder coated. now its just re-assembly.

lub1.jpg lub2.jpg lub3.jpg
moonphone #342904 Fri Jul 20 2012 07:27 PM
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Parts are looking great.


Dave GILL,
Dave's Garage & Memorabilia, Inc.
Dave's Garage #343064 Sat Jul 21 2012 12:06 PM
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thanks, the powder coater, coated the brass tag. how do i get it off? paint remover or wire wheel?

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Shame on you for not removing/or covering it.

Last edited by Dick Bennett; Sat Jul 21 2012 01:37 PM.
Dick Bennett #343426 Sun Jul 22 2012 07:32 PM
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well here it is all back together. all i need are the decals.

IMG_2555.jpg IMG_2556.jpg IMG_2557.jpg
moonphone #343539 Mon Jul 23 2012 12:09 PM
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Certain paint removers will remove powder coated finishes. I would use a paint remover. Wire wheel will scuff brass as it is softer then the steel bristles on the wheel.


Dave GILL,
Dave's Garage & Memorabilia, Inc.
moonphone #582896 Fri Nov 28 2014 09:39 AM
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finally finished

photo 2 (600x800) (375x500).jpg
moonphone #582898 Fri Nov 28 2014 09:44 AM
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looks great... cool


RANDY
advertologist #583044 Fri Nov 28 2014 10:41 PM
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Turned out great!!


Dave GILL,
Dave's Garage & Memorabilia, Inc.
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