Then one has to dispose of the oil which is a royal pain these days. Excess cooking oil is the only waste thing I have sitting under my kitchen sink that is a pain to dispose of properly and easily without costing too much $$. I usually take it to an annual chemical clean up day our local council runs (free disposal of all chems incl. any photographic ones I haven't poured down my sink - and no side tracking this thread by advising me on what I can and can't put down my sink please ! You could always start another thread if you feel so led). Regards Peter On 26 June 2013 00:08, <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > In the early days they just used a layer of oil on top of said liquids and > siphoned out what they needed. No gas, no tanks, pretty minimal costs. > Saw the illustration in James Reilly's book. > > >