This year I finally got around to replacing the 40-gallon Olive Barrel we’ve been using for kerosene storage the past 10 years. That was fine, but it was plastic, so not going to last forever and only represented a good supplement to the natural gas – nowhere near enough to keep the place from freezing for very long without the furnace. This will be a much better long term solution, and holds enough capacity to carry us through more extended cold weather calamities involving utility problems, holding approximately 170 gallons.
The actual start was clear back in April. This was certainly one of my biggest welding projects ever, and took all summer to complete, by working for only an hour or so any given time. I was able to get it done because welding is something I can accomplish without moving around too much aggravating my back injury. Getting it down to the basement was a different story. The unique design incorporates a space-saving triangular shape. It was very time-consuming going over all the seams multiple times and testing to ensure a good seal. The construction approach was basically assembling 5 big sheets of 14-gauge steel with the wire welder, then going over everything again with the oxy-acetylene torch for good strong, solid welds. Took 2 welding tank refills before it was finished, so all told the materials bill came to around $500. I figure that’s about half what you’d pay for a lesser tank that didn’t fit right.
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