So how bad did I F myself here?

[sardo_67]

got 2 500gal “propane” tanks, were used for fuel storage, full of sludge and years of fuel storage.

There anyway way to easily clean this or just scrap it and move on?

 

[TCaldwell]

Looks like you already cut the ends out, you’ll have to clean them up to determine the condition, possibly a little pitting under the sludge, but that can be fixed.

 

[jebatty]

I won't actually recommend this, and too late to help you. I filled my 1000 gal tank with water, added a very low suds detergent, fired the boiler and heated/circulated the water for several hours up to 190F, then drained the tank hot water, rinsed the tank, and used the tank thereafter with a hot water filter installed. Changed the filter multiple times over a one year period, and by the end of about a year the filter no longer was catching anything and not being discolored. That was about 10 years ago, and never have experienced a known problem. I don't actually know how much crud/sludge was in the tank, and I'm thinking that anything non-soluble and heavier than water just sank to the bottom and settled in the tank, no longer a source of any harm.

 

[sardo_67]

I won't actually recommend this, and too late to help you. I filled my 1000 gal tank with water, added a very low suds detergent, fired the boiler and heated/circulated the water for several hours up to 190F, then drained the tank hot water, rinsed the tank, and used the tank thereafter with a hot water filter installed. Changed the filter multiple times over a one year period, and by the end of about a year the filter no longer was catching anything and not being discolored. That was about 10 years ago, and never have experienced a known problem. I don't actually know how much crud/sludge was in the tank, and I'm thinking that anything non-soluble and heavier than water just sank to the bottom and settled in the tank, no longer a source of any harm.

you don't have to worry about the oil getting into your home heating system?

 

[BoiledOver]

got 2 500gal “propane” tanks, were used for fuel storage, full of sludge and years of fuel storage.

There anyway way to easily clean this or just scrap it and move on?

What is the thickness of the steel in your tanks? From your photos it is difficult to see but appears to me that it is not 3/8" like a 500 gallon propane tank should be. Are you sure they are propane tanks and not fuel oil tanks?

 

[maple1]

Is that a stay? I didn't think LP tanks had stays inside. Don't remember seeing any when I peeked in mine. Ya looks a little thin too.

 

[sardo_67]

they are 3/8 or so, tag says they are pressure vessel tanks for propane, this one is from 69 actually.

i read you can have them steam cleaned or something but it's not worth is since the HAZMAT issue this would cause for a real business is too much.

going to try and sell one then just scrap the other. soon as i hear they had fuel in them at one point i should have ran.

 

[jebatty]

you don't have to worry about the oil getting into your home heating system?

I didn't believe there was much, if any, crud that would circulate after the cleaning I did. And the hot water filter would prevent any solid material getting into the plate hx for the pex in-floor system, which was filled with an antifreeze solution. As for the storage tank, boiler and piping, 10 years have passed and no problem has surfaced. As I said, I don't recommend what I did. There are unknowns that could cause a problem -- just none that I know of for my tank and system.

 

[salecker]

Just clean them.
Some soap and a pressure washer and a little time and you are good to go.
Add a filter to your system, and relax and enjoy the heat.
I have a side-stream filter in my system,but on the glycol side.I used used copper tubing and fittings for most of my system and have Y strainers on each side of my plate heat exchanger.
I replaced the filter after 2 weeks then 2 months and then it's been fine for the last 7 years.
I have valves right at the bottom of my tanks,every year i open them to see if there are any sediments in my tanks.Clean water is all i ever get.

 

[sardo_67]

Just clean them.
Some soap and a pressure washer and a little time and you are good to go.
Add a filter to your system, and relax and enjoy the heat.
I have a side-stream filter in my system,but on the glycol side.I used used copper tubing and fittings for most of my system and have Y strainers on each side of my plate heat exchanger.
I replaced the filter after 2 weeks then 2 months and then it's been fine for the last 7 years.
I have valves right at the bottom of my tanks,every year i open them to see if there are any sediments in my tanks.Clean water is all i ever get.

mine is all inside my house with oil boiler back up so i wasn't planning on running any type of additive, except maybe some type of rust prefention treatment.

this weekend i plan on bringing the one i cut in half to my moms house where i can just burn the oil off. after that i'll go back to my original plan.

which filter system do you recommend?

 

[salecker]

I am not sure what brand the filter is that i have.It has a plastic housing and the refiles look like cotton string wrapped around a center tube.It has a site glass with a ball in it so you can see if there is flow through the filter.