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wrote:
I'm hopeful that someone can help me with this problem. We are in the
process of getting our basement waterproofed. We need to move our 275
gallon oil tank away from the wall far enough so that the guys can get
close enough to the wall to jackhammer out the cement. So, our dilemma
is, "how do we move this oil tank?" We really only need to move it
about 3 feet straight out from the wall. There are four legs
(approximately 9 to 12 inches that are welded to the tank) supporting
the tank. We have considered floor jacks, which appear to be our
present line of thinking. Jack up one side, then put a piece of wood
underneath, then jack up the other side and put a piece of wood
underneath. Do this until we can put a piece of wood with some casters
on it, etc. You get the idea.

There is about a 1/4 tank of oil in the tank. We're just wondering if
anyone has some other "easier" way of moving this tank. Like I said,
it only has to come out about 3 feet from the wall.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Penny

I did approximately the same job years ago - same size tank, about 1/3
full. Turned it 180 degrees with two bottle jacks. That was only
possible because the legs were not welded to the tank but had some
movement. Method was jack until the legs on one end just cleared the
floor, manually shift the two legs as far as posible (only about an 1"
per shot), do same at other end. Sounds like a slow job but progress
is amazingly fast.

In your case, since the legs are welded, it would try it with
automotive type floor jacks - the ones with wheels. One on each end and
only jack enough to clear the floor. Once all leges are clear you
should be able to pull it. If the tank tries to tip, it can only go
until a leg hits the floor. Have one person on each jack pluss at least
one to steady the tank. Mve it SLOW - you don't want any momentum to
speak of built up or you could dump the tank on a quick stop. Be sure
that the contack point of the jack saddle is spread out. You do not
want a "point" contact or anywheres near one. You might have to cut a
"saddle" matching the tank curve out of 2X material to do that.

Harry K