My wife's parents are moving to assisted living....he's an old truck driver....he has a couple 55 gallon drums of old oil from when he owned a truck, still underground in a concrete pit. We're finding his old go-to places who used to pump out the oil for him are no longer willing to come to a residential area & handle it.

We need to get it out before closing date comes. I'm even thinking of getting a tank or drum in a pickup & pumping it up ourselves....then pulling up the empty drums.

Any thoughts about how to do this?

 

5 gallon buckets for ease of mobility, a drill driven pump. then start digging to get the drums out but because they are buried be careful to not damage the side of the them..they are probably already leaking

if they are encased in concrete you are gonna need a demo hammer. I bought two of these to demo my inground pool and deck. just keep the reservoir full
https://smile.amazon.com/Xtremepower...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

disclaimer: you might consider contacting your local environmental agency. Environmental regs/liability/fines are probably why people won't come pump it for you

consider a professional

 

Thanks Robb - I reluctantly have to agree, 5 gal buckets might be it. I have a pump as you describe. Lucky for us, these are all down in a concrete hole, not encased - a big concrete box like hole. So if I can pump 'em out, hoping we can left them fairly easily. Denver area, we think water hasn't been draining into there, so if we're lucky no rust holes nor leakage yet.

If any thoughts about a different larger tank come to mind, lay it on me!

 

Found the right keywords to get a decent list from Google of metro Denver companies, and the fifth one on the list was willing to do a small-time residential neighborhood pickup at a reasonable price. "Please close this help ticket, thanks."