[smurphny]

Last fall when prepping the boat to go in the water, I noticed oil dripping out of the keel drain hole. Tracking down the source, it turned out to be a pinhole leak in a brand new gallon of oil stored in a locker. Around a quart made it into the bilge, causing a clean-up mess. I have since stored all oil containers inside spackle buckets to stop this from happening again. Any other storage methods you guys/gals use to store containers of oil?

 

[IStream]

Nope, never had a leak. Those oil containers are pretty tough. Was there something sharp nearby or a leaky cap?

 

[smurphny]

No, nothing sharp apparent, just a nasty little pinhole in the plastic that must have dripped for months. It was laying against the fg side. Just wondering whether anyone else has had this happen.The container was a new 10w30 Rotella gallon. Cap was not even cracked yet and the pinhole was low on the container. I have never had this happen before either but the new containers are definitely not as thick as they used to be.

 

[miatapaul]

I was adding oil to my car the other day (just a quart container) and I was thinking that the container seems to be thinner and more flexible than they used to be. So perhaps they are just making them cheaper. Spackle bucket sounds like a good method. You might want to put a oil absorber pad in the bottom.

 

[hellosailor]

smurph-
Happens to everything. Email Shell and there's a good chance they'll say "Ooops" and send you a coupon for a new gallon of oil as well. The smart companies know this very well. I've had beer, detergent, all sorts of stuff pinhole through. Those thin poly gallons of milk and distilled water are among the worst.
Keeping that stuff in a deep tray work well enough ashore, but with heeling, your buckets probably are a better way to go. Or, two "contractor" grade trash bags, which tend to do pretty well even for oily wastes.

 

[IStream]

I'm sure they'll start touting their thinner containers as "greener", the increased incidence of oily bilge water notwithstanding.

 

[smurphny]

smurph-
Happens to everything. Email Shell and there's a good chance they'll say "Ooops" and send you a coupon for a new gallon of oil as well. The smart companies know this very well. I've had beer, detergent, all sorts of stuff pinhole through. Those thin poly gallons of milk and distilled water are among the worst.
Keeping that stuff in a deep tray work well enough ashore, but with heeling, your buckets probably are a better way to go. Or, two "contractor" grade trash bags, which tend to do pretty well even for oily wastes.

There was an old 30 weight quart I discovered way in behind the galley sink. God knows what else may be in there but nothing bit my hand Had probably been there since the boat had an Atomic 4. The poly was still in good shape after 20-30 years. I can understand making the new containers as thin as possible. They're not really designed to live in the bilge of a boat, mostly on a Walmart shelf. Kinda like the hulls of newer boats. The buckets work really well for 2 oil containers, although it takes up some extra space. I also keep alcohol gallons in them so they don't get punctured.

 

[Minnewaska]

Never had the Rotella puncture, but good to know. We have a locker where we keep 9 gallon sized containers of fresh water and once per season, one of them pinholes.

Oil absorbent pad and stored in a place one sees frequently, is an easy solution. Going to have to slide one under my spare.

 

[SVAuspicious]

smurph-
Happens to everything. Email Shell and there's a good chance they'll say "Ooops" and send you a coupon for a new gallon of oil as well. The smart companies know this very well. I've had beer, detergent, all sorts of stuff pinhole through. Those thin poly gallons of milk and distilled water are among the worst.
Keeping that stuff in a deep tray work well enough ashore, but with heeling, your buckets probably are a better way to go. Or, two "contractor" grade trash bags, which tend to do pretty well even for oily wastes.

Spot on. Happens all the time when you sail a lot.

 

[Azzarac]

When I first bought Chameleon I found a nice new tool box full of various oil bottles under the dinette bench. The hydraulic oil bottle had a pin hole in the side and leaked all over but the box contained the spill. Oddly, the pin was still in the side of the bottle... No clue why the PO would puncture the bottle but there it was.