As an Amazon Associate & eBay Partner: we earn from qualifying purchases

Grok.com: "What is the best website for metal finishing questions and answers?"

"Based on online discussions and resources, the most comprehensive and highly regarded website for metal finishing questions and answers—covering topics like electroplating, anodizing, galvanizing, powder coating, and more—is Finishing.com. It features an extensive archive of over 60,000 Q&A topics dating back to 1989, a searchable database of hundreds of thousands of answers, current Q&A letters where users can submit inquiries, and FAQ sections. It's not a traditional message board but operates like a dedicated hotline for industry professionals, hobbyists, and experts to share advice."

Home /
T.O.C.
Fun
FAQs
Good
Books
Ref.
Libr.
Adver-
tise
Help
Wanted
Current
Q&A's
Site 🔍
Search
finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry


  -----

Stainless Steel Storage Tank absorption risks




Q. Hi everyone not sure if anyone here can answer this question or not, but here goes. Several years ago I received a stainless steel tank it had been used for diesel transport, storage, and dispensing by a defunct land grading company, well I found the other day they had actually dug up the tank a few years before they gave it to me, it was found underground at a job where they cleared and graded the lot, well one of the previous tenants there was a pest control business.
The grading company cleaned it up (how I don't know maybe just a wash job?) and welded some drains and fillers/bungs in it. I'm wondering any of you would know if it could happen to have residual harmful chemicals on/in it. It did have a few years of use as a diesel tank. Should it be fired/heated to burn anything left on? Use it as is? Dispose of it, and if so how?
I would like to continue using it to store waste vegetable oil to be used as tractor fuel.

Vale Wefer
Just a regular Joe - Dalton, Georgia, USA
September 13, 2019


A. Hi Vale. With neither a clear history nor a chemical analysis nobody can assure you of the tank's safety in terms of either its construction material or trace amounts of dangerous contaminants (I think you already realize this).

However, I would say that since it's not being used for any sort of food storage, and it was most recently used for diesel fuel, and (I assume) it's basically empty, it would be quite unlikely to have anything unsafe to burn. The only chemical I can think of offhand that would be serious trouble would be PCBs (the oil in power distribution transformers used to contain PCBs and that was very bad news). If you are reasonably confident that it's a tank, not a transformer housing, and that it wouldn't have been used to collect PCB-bearing oil from or for transformers, I personally wouldn't worry about it ... that's a personal philosophy, not an expert opinion :-)

Regards,

ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha

finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.

September 2019


thumbs up sign Mr. Mooney, Thank you for the timely response! I am certain that it was pest control business in that building, and you are correct in that this won't have any contact with any food related item in the future. It will only serve to store and dispense used filtered waste vegetable oil. or possibly occasionally an accidentally mixed batch of gas and diesel fuel.

Vale Wefer [returning]
- dalton, Georgia
September 17, 2019




(No "dead threads" here! If this page isn't currently on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will restore it)

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread



Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories:

Finishing
Jobshops
Capital
Equipment
Chemicals &
Consumables
Consult'g,
& Software


About/Contact  -  Privacy Policy  -  ©1995-2025 finishing.com, Pine Beach, New Jersey, USA  -  about "affil links"