Yeah if you shut the tank off sometimes you'll hear a little click a couple minutes later, thats the safety resetting. On my grill it'll set it every time if I turn the tanks on with the valves on for the burners, Ok on my old grill because my new one I put a different regulator on that I can...
I'd like to do the same thing to the PO of my house and shop, oh wait, its been in the family since new in the 60's, the 1860's and the house has been added onto 3 times so that makes it even worse. I wouldn't trade the house for anything though, shop on the other hand is too small at 40x60 but...
If the barrel is still sealed then its probably 40w locomotive oil, and you might be able to find someone to actually buy it from you for a little bit. Otherwise like others said advertise it for free and someone will take it.
I'm a mechanic too, work on tractors, combines and such. When I started at the dealer I had a claw hammer and was asked if I wanted to work on equipment, or build houses. They just have different places.