Oil tank

“ If the oil tank be emptied of oil at any time, air will get into the suction and delivery pipes of the pump and it will take some time before the oil going through the pump and pipes will be free of this air; for awhile thereafter, the engine will not work properly, as the air, by being compressed as the pump works, will interfere with oil being pumped in suddenly. It is best, if the oil gets below the filter in the tank, to work the pump by hand for about 10 minutes, holding the relief valve (on the vaporizer box) so as to get air well out of the pipes. ”

“ From the mouth of the shaft, elevated some fifteen feet above the surface of the ground, the oil either flows or is pumped into an immense vat or tank, and from this is led to another and another, until a large well will have a series of tanks connected like the joints of a rattlesnake's tail. Into the last one is put a faucet, and the oil drawn into barrels is either carried to the local refinery, or in its crude condition is boated to the railway, or to Oil City, and thence down the Alleghany. ”

“ Special care should be taken to keep the filler caps of the fuel and oil tanks clean and free from dirt. If these are dirty, the dirt will be carried into the tank when filling, and will sooner or later cause trouble. ”

“ Motor Tank Vessels.—Several oil tank vessels have been fitted with internal combustion engines instead of steam repelling machinery In 1903 the “Vandale” and “Sarmat,” capable of carrying 750 tons of refined petroleum each, were built for Messrs Nobel Bros., and fitted with Diesel motors of 360 H.P. More recently the “Emanuel Nobel” and “Karl Hagelin” have been built for the same firm; they are fitted with Diesel motors of 1200 H.P., are 380 ft. long, 46 ft. beam, 161/2 ft. draught and carry 4600 tons of kerosene oil. ”

“ The tank which holds the oil supply is placed near the roof of the power-house. After the oil has passed to the bearings of the dynamos and shafts it is conducted into a filtering cylinder; the clean oil runs into a tank below the cylinder, from which a pump forces it back into the supply tank. The pumps are run by the waste water in the bottom of the wheel-pits. ”

“ For the oil, I had a glass gauge in the sump of the motor and a five-gallon tank also behind my back, I started off with two gallons in the sump, and occasionally pumped up a little pressure in the oil tank, opening the tap between the tank and the sump to keep the oil level in the sump somewhere within sight. As the petrol was used and the weight lessened I closed the throttle slightly, the engine running equally well at all speeds. ”

“ We may, who knows? save them a little kerosene. No one has measured the capacity of the tank; it has been tapped only here and there; the plant that manufactured it, moreover, is still in operation, and is doubtless making more. But whether so or not, we still may trust in future oil, for the saving spirit of our new movement watches the pipes that carry it to our cans. ”

“ FIRST STEEL OIL-TANK STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, AT TITUSVILLE, JUNE 11, 1880.
A pretty girl might as well expect to escape admiring glances as petroleum to escape a fire occasionally. “Uncle Billy” Smith’s lantern ignited the first tank at the Drake well and a long procession has followed in its smoky trail. The lantern-fiend has been a prolific cause of oil-conflagrations, boiling-over refinery-stills have not been slack in this particular, the cigarette with a fool at one end and a spark at the other has done something in the same line, but lightning is the champion tank-destroyer. ”

“ When a big gusher is struck, it sometimes spurts out a thousand barrels of oil a day, and you may be sure that no one is allowed to be careless with matches on the oil fields, for if a gusher or an oil tank gets afire, it is almost impossible to stop it, and immense damage is done. ”

“ After fuel tank has been filled, check pipe connection and drain plug for leaks.
f. Remove Oil Tank.
(1) Disconnect battery negative ground wire at frame connection.
(2) Loosen the two cap screws which secure caution plate and tank top strip.
(3) Remove instrument panel cover (par. 119) .
(4) Drain oil from tank by removing drain plug. Use a trough (of cardboard or tin) to keep oil from draining on engine. NOTE: If oil feed pipe nipple cap (manufacturer’s (H–D) No. 3583–15) is available, it can be screwed on to tank nipple, thus eliminating draining of oil. ”

“ It puts the producer in direct communication with the carrier and a market at all seasons, regardless of high or low water, rain or storm, mud or dust. The tanks at his wells are connected with the pipe-line by one or more of the two-inch feeders that spider-web the producing-country. Small pumps force the crude, when the location of the well prevents running it by gravity, from these tanks into a receiving-tank of the line, whence it can be piped into the trunk-lines or a storage-tank as desired. ”

“ This tank is equipped for heating the oil to a very high temperature by the introduction of a large coil surface, preferably rings, one within the other and arranged so that each ring is accessible. The kettle coils, etc., should be made extra heavy. The top of the kettle must also be hooded and as the oil boils violently the steam must be given free opportunity to escape. The escape pipe should be at least sixteen to twenty inches in diameter in a tank six feet in diameter, and should be provided with a goose neck, so that the steam rising which condenses, does not drip back into the tank. ”

“ As soon as the indicator, which is attached to a cork which floats on top of the gasoline, shows that the oil is low, turn out the fire and refill the tank. Do not fill the tank to overflowing. Gases from the stove can only get into the tank when it is empty and while there is gasoline in the pipe to feed the stove. Gasoline gas is very inflammable and will cause an explosion if it becomes ignited. The tanks from gasoline stoves cannot be removed, as all the joints must be tight to prevent the escape of gasoline fumes as well as the oil itself. ”

“ It is evident, however, that the motor-engined oil tanker will be the order of the future, for already vessels are being built which utilize oil fuel internally—a much more economical process than burning it under boilers. ”

“ Instead of relying upon the suction of the cylinders for the positive feed to the piston, mechanically-operated pumps are used to force the oil to the various portions of the motor. In some systems, there is a separate pump for each oil lead. This is known as a mechanical122 oiler, and generally consists of an oil tank located on the dashboard of the car—either in front of the driver, or under the motor hood—and connected by means of a belt or gear with some shaft of the motor. ”

“ The crude oil is allowed to settle for twelve or more hours at a temperature sufficiently high to separate any water that may have passed the test at the retorts, and after this water has been run off, the oil is fed into the centre boiler of a battery of oil boilers. The lightest fraction of the oil—ultimately motor spirit and illuminating oils—is distilled off the feeding boiler and condensed in a coil of cast-iron pipes immersed in water in a tank, cold water being continuously run into the tank, while heated water is run off. ”

“ The oil from the press should run to a receiving tank, as many being used as is necessary to keep the different grades of oil separated. Where oil is being made in large quantities it is always advisable to have the receiving tank hold sixty tierces, or a car load of oil, for if smaller receivers are used the oil is likely to be irregular. ”

“ Tank must have indicator to show height of oil in tank at all times, said indicator to be so arranged as to allow no escapement of gases from tank.291 All pipes leading from the tank to the pump or place of burning, must incline toward the tank, and have a fall of at least 2 feet from bottom of stand pipe to top of storage tank, and must be so constructed that the feed pipe from stand pipe to burners shall be entirely above burners, so that no pockets of oil can be formed in any one of the pipes between the main tank, stand pipe, oil pump or place of burning. ”

“ There were not tank-builders enough in the United States to do the work, and crews were brought from Canada and England. This, of course, called for an enormous expenditure of money, for tanks cost from $7,000 to $10,000 apiece. Rich as the United Pipe Lines were they were forced to borrow money in these years of excessive production, for they had to lay lines as well as build tanks. There were nearly 4,000 miles of pipe-line laid in the Bradford region alone from 1878 to 1884, and these lines connected with upward of 20,000 wells. ”

“ With a system such as the gravity it is only necessary to run the turbine up to speed, turn on the oil, and then, over a period, calculate the volume of oil used by measuring the fall of level in the storage tank and multiplying by its known cross-sectional area. In those cases where the return oil, after passing through the bearings, is delivered back into the same tank from which it is extracted, it is of course necessary, during the period of test, to divert this return into a separate temporary receptacle. ”

“ The first-comers are lean, and will make only a gallon of oil to the barrel; those of September yield four gallons. A fleet of propellers, as well as sailing-craft of forty to fifty tons burden, are kept constantly employed.
At Pemaquid harbor, the fish cargoes are transferred from the steamer to an elevated tank of the capacity of four thousand barrels. Underneath the tank a tram-way, conducting by an inclined plane to the second story of the factory, is laid upon the wharf. In the bottom of the tank is a trap-door that, upon being opened, quickly fills a car placed below. ”

“ They eliminated the jaded horses, oil-boats, wooden tankage, and slow freights, tedious methods, and questionable practices of handling petroleum, and substituted therefor the stem pump, the iron conduit, the steel tank storage, and systematic and businesslike methods which soon commanded the confidence and respect of all oil-producers. They extended their pipe-lines to practically every producing well and established a transportation system which serves the industry to-day as no other on earth is served. The advantages of the modern pipe-line to the oil-producer are obvious. ”

“ The vast majority of oil tankers to-day, true to their calling, derive their power from oil, for they burn it under their furnaces, and, therefore, are not liable to those tedious delays so inseparable from the use of coal, and should severe storms beset their passage in Mid-Atlantic, then a little oil pumped overboard will quell the most turbulent sea and permit a safe passage onward. ”

“ The pressure being relieved from the tank, take out the head, use about a water-pail full of fine salt to settle the tank. This salt is scattered over the contents in the tank and has the effect of settling sediment and tissue which may be held in suspension. The tank should stand about two hours to thoroughly settle before drawing the oil. Draw the oil from the side valves of the tank into coolers. It is often necessary, in doing this, to raise the contents of the tank, as there may be considerable tallow or lard below the lowest draw-off valve. ”

“ The tank regularly fitted to the motor holds sufficient oil for three hours’ use. If the engine is required to operate for a longer time without opportunity for replenishing the oil supply, a larger tank can be used. As no oil is allowed to accumulate in the base with this system of lubrication, the motor can be operated continuously at an angle.
Water circulation is maintained by a centrifugal pump of large capacity, the impeller of which is mounted directly on an extension of the crank shaft, eliminating the usual bearings and its grease cup. ”

“ As the oil is used up a fresh supply must be admitted by some form of continuous drip-feed arrangement, the oil being forced over very often from a small tank on the footboard by means of air pressure or the pressure of the exhaust gases from the engine. It is very difficult under these circumstances to estimate how much oil is present in the crankchamber at any given instant, so that there was usually alternately too much or too little. ”

“ The company always has orders on hand in excess of the quantity of oil at St. Rose, and buys the oil in the Mid-Continent Field for the purpose of filling orders already received from the foreign buyers. The oil in each railroad tank car, however, is not segregated or assigned or destined to any particular cargo or shipment abroad, but is pumped into the large storage tanks, having the capacity of many tank cars, and is held in the tanks until a ship arrives, or until a sufficient quantity of oil is accumulated to make up a cargo. ”

“ The average tank-steamer carries about two-million gallons of oil in bulk across the Atlantic. In addition to this fleet of steamers, scores of sailing vessels, under charter of the Orient, France, Italy and foreign countries, load cases and barrels of refined-oil for transport to European ports. American wooden-ships are chartered sometimes to convey oil to Japan. Thus Russian competition is met through the instrumentality of pipe-lines to the coast and transportation by water to points many thousand miles away from the wells that produced the oil. ”

“ This product, called a distillate, was treated with chemicals, washed with water, and run off into the tin-lined tank, where it was allowed to settle. Anybody who could get the apparatus could "make oil," and many men did—badly, of course, to begin with, and with an alarming proportion of waste and explosions and fires, but with experience they learned, and some of the great refineries of the country grew out of these rude beginnings.
Luckily not all the men who undertook the manufacturing of petroleum in these first days were inexperienced. ”