Just Given a 600 gallon diesel fuel tank

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TxBBQBear

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A friend's dad just gave me a diesel fuel tank to make a smoker/s out of. He has lots of scrap metal that I can use also. So, I think I can make a smoker pretty inexpensively. The tank is 600 gallons. Here are my questions:

1) How do you clean a diesel fuel tank to guarantee that the diesel is gone?

2) how would you configure as smoker or smokers out of so large a tank?

I will go look at it today and get the dimensions and some pics.

Thanks,

keith
 
I am not sure. I am pretty new to the forum, but good luck!!!!
 
An old friend of mine converted a 500 gal oil Tank, I know he had put dry ice in it first. and cut it with a Plasma cutter. Much better then a torch. Makes a clean cut. his was cut into to compartments, 2/3s into a smoker, and 1/3 into a charcoal Grill.It had separate hatches.It was trailer mounted, had 2 turkey fryers mounted on it and a propane to operate them, he used them to do corn and La. shrimp boils, was a nice unit. I used to have a pic of it, sorry can't seem to find it. I'm not sure what he did to clean and season it. I know it could smoke 20 full racks of ribs, and he had small rods hanging from the top of the smoker part with hooks, so he could hang chicken breasts in the smoker part. Hope this gives you some ideas.I'll keep lookin for the pics I had.
 
get a piece of hard rubber hose and go from car exhuast to tank and let car run
for 30 min to be sure all air is purged from tank then cut, have done this myself
many times even on propane tanks. still here
 
i would get some degreaser AKA dawn soap and scrub till you cant scrup no more then dump 4 or 5 bags of charcoal in it pictures would help alot
 
Pics and measurements

Folks,

The tank is 42" diameter and 94" long. I've included pics. The tank looks to be three pieces. It's welded at the half and the back half is two pieces. By my calculations it's 563.77 gallons.
 

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I would do something to reduce the size like cut out a few feet to make it something you dont need to feed trees!
 
The folks who are giving it to me have a good bit of scrap steel lying around. So I'm thinking of making it 2 or 3 smokers. I'd really appreciate ideas on how best to go abt this.
I thought abt making a firebox and connecting it with pipes to 2 smokers made from it so you could route smoke to one or both of the smokers.

Ideas welcome.
 
TxBBQBear said:
The folks who are giving it to me have a good bit of scrap steel lying around. So I'm thinking of making it 2 or 3 smokers. I'd really appreciate ideas on how best to go abt this.
I thought abt making a firebox and connecting it with pipes to 2 smokers made from it so you could route smoke to one or both of the smokers.

Ideas welcome.
Click to expand...


I think that is a pretty good idea. I would like to try one like that. I was thinking, put the fire box right in the middle bottom and have a smoker on either side and a griddle/grill on top of the fire box with a closeable lid. You could use any or all sections together. Cook breakfast on the griddle, coffee, eggs and bacon while smoking on either or both sides. #edit# Doors on the ends for the smoking chambers. That way you have total access to the chamber. just thinking out loud. Got a few big drums like this and a couple of the flattened ones and getting ready for a similar project, Wife willing. "wink"

Just my $.02 what do ya think?
 
You may not get a lot of advice on the subject of cutting into a tank that has held flamable material. It won't be because the folks don't have an idea how to do it, it is just that no one wants to be involved even indirectly with the possibility of you blowing yourself up.
 
Hugh Jorgan said:
I think that is a pretty good idea. I would like to try one like that. I was thinking, put the fire box right in the middle bottom and have a smoker on either side and a griddle/grill on top of the fire box with a closeable lid. You could use any or all sections together. Cook breakfast on the griddle, coffee, eggs and bacon while smoking on either or both sides. #edit# Doors on the ends for the smoking chambers. That way you have total access to the chamber. just thinking out loud. Got a few big drums like this and a couple of the flattened ones and getting ready for a similar project, Wife willing. "wink"

Just my $.02 what do ya think?
Click to expand...

I think this is a great idea. It's what I wanted to do. Rather than have one huge smoker, have smaller smokers with a central firebox. The pipes running to each smoker could be opened or closed depending on whether it was being used. I like the grill/griddle idea to. Very Nice suggestion.
 
Cliff H. said:
You may not get a lot of advice on the subject of cutting into a tank that has held flamable material. It won't be because the folks don't have an idea how to do it, it is just that no one wants to be involved even indirectly with the possibility of you blowing yourself up.
Click to expand...


My grandfather was a welder all his life, starting on the railroad in the late 1920's. He used to weld on partially full gas tanks and did so by hooking up a running engine to the tank and letting it fill with CO.

Cutting it is not my big issue. My big issue is how to clean it so all the diesel is removed.
 
I was going to say use a good quality engine degreaser with a power washer, but considering the size of this bugger i'm not sure that's a viable option.

just use a power washer and soap.. . start there and if that doesn't get all the diesel residue out (it will) then work your way up to something mroe complex.

as long as you can cut a door / access hatch to get inside it shouldnt be that big of a deal to clean out with soap and water and pressure.
 
You need to get a meter to test to see how much flamable gasses are present. If there's a high amount of gas you'll need to purged the tank with Nitrogen while you cut that. Nitrogen is an inert gas we use all the time when we work in oil refineries. We also use grinders with cut wheels to cut pipe. I would just be careful and check the gasses inside.
 
I made my first bbq pit from a 325 gal. fuel oil tank. I burned it out after I cut it open with a jig saw by loading it down with wood and burning a really hot fire in it.(Of course it was fuel oil and not a light petroleum with fumes)
picture.php


This pit that I used to have is 36" by 96". You are going to need a firebox no smaller than 36" sq. My pit was 1/4" steel all over. I'm pretty sure that the tank you have is closer to 3/16". It's going to require a lot more fuel to heat and maintain it. If it were me, I'd either insulate the firebox so you don't lose the heat through it or I'd make a firebox that was as long as the cooking chamber and was attached to the back side.
picture.php
 
River City Smokehouse said:
I made my first bbq pit from a 325 gal. fuel oil tank. I burned it out after I cut it open with a jig saw by loading it down with wood and burning a really hot fire in it.(Of course it was fuel oil and not a light petroleum with fumes)

This pit that I used to have is 36" by 96". You are going to need a firebox no smaller than 36" sq. My pit was 1/4" steel all over. I'm pretty sure that the tank you have is closer to 3/16". It's going to require a lot more fuel to heat and maintain it. If it were me, I'd either insulate the firebox so you don't lose the heat through it or I'd make a firebox that was as long as the cooking chamber and was attached to the back side.
Click to expand...


What would be the best way to insulate the firebox?
 
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