Storing diesel fuel

[DONOTDELETE]

I'm about to get a JD 4300, and am thinking that in the long run it would be really nice to have a tank of diesel fuel in the yard rather than have to make repeated runs to the gas station.

Our normal fuel oil (furnace) provider tells me he can put in a 190 gallon tank (his smallest) with a hand pump, and then just keep topping it off from time to time as they do with our heating oil.

I'll probably take a long time to go through 190 gallons.. just mowing, plowing snow, doing gardening work, a little landscaping, etc. Would the fuel go stale or degrade in some way if stored in this manner?

Thanks for any ideas.. and please forgive me if I mess up this post. This is my first post to this forum.

Thanks again,
Bob

[MikePA]

Would you have to worry about freezing weather? If so, a problem you might have is how much summer blend diesel is in the tank when winter rolls around.

[DONOTDELETE]

Quick guesstimate... maybe in about 4 years give/or take a few months... you should go through those 190 gallons on the average...yeah... somewhat stale....[img]/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif[/img]

But... you can have him tie both tanks in tandem so you can hand pump from one for your tractor needs and being tied together will give "extended/supplemental" fuel for your oil burner... so it's "all" being used and kept fresh... [img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img]

{or do like some of the smaller farmers do... and put the hand pump in the main oil burner storage tank...}[img]/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[beenthere]

I also have a 4300, and I am amazed at how little fuel I go through and seem to use my tractor often.
I made a 30 gallon fuel storage tank (painted it yellow and marked 'deisel'), fitted it with a hose and nozzle, that I could trailer to town and fill up. When I would get home, I lifted it with the FEL and filled the tractor from the nozzle (gravity feed). Then I would set it down on a dolly and roll it off into the corner. Worked well, but ........
I have changed my system to only getting two to three gallons at a time in a 5 gallon can (easy to lift up and pour into the tractor tank). My suggestion to you would be to hold off getting anything big (tank wise) until you get a good idea how much fuel you will use. I usually make a fuel run once a month for my 4300 and 445 tractors (diesel and gas), keeping fresh fuel around, but in small quantities.

[MikePA]

I shoulda done the math 190/52 = 3.7 gallons per week = .5 gallon per day.

JM III - On average, how much fuel do compact diesels burn/hour?

[DONOTDELETE]

"But... you can have him tie both tanks in tandem so you can hand pump from one for your tractor needs and being tied together will give "extended/supplemental" fuel for your oil burner... so it's "all" being used and kept fresh... "

Now this is a great idea! I called the fuel supply guy, and he said he'd check into this and get back to me. He wasn't sure about the refinement of the fuel being the same. He thought the tractor fuel would be more refined. I said, sure, but it wouldn't hurt if it burned in the furnace, right?

We'll see what he says. Now my only worry might be that the guy filling the tanks would mess up and put normal heating fuel in both tanks.

Thanks for the ideas, folks!!

Bob

[MikePA]

Do a search in the forums for diesel fuel and you'll find more information than you can imagine. I got an answer from Chevron in response to my question about the differences between diesel fuel and home heating oil and posted it.

[DONOTDELETE]

"Would you have to worry about freezing weather? If so, a problem you might have is how much summer blend diesel is in the tank when winter rolls around."

Ut oh. Yes, near Rochester, NY.. can be very cold. This is my first diesel, so I'm a bit (totally?) ignorant about this stuff. I was under the impression that most people didn't use different fuels for summer/winter. The only concensus I seem to have found is that it isn't worth the small savings to use "off-road" fuel, as is tends to clog up the engine more.

What started out to be a simple question has now become a logistical nightmare! LOL! What have I gotten myself into?

Thanks for bearing with me... Bob

[DONOTDELETE]

"On average, how much fuel do compact diesels burn/hour?"

The Deere site suggests it will use about 1.3 gallons / hour at 75% operating capacity (e.g., mowing.)

[MikePA]

Winter blends include additives, which the refiners add, that prevent gelling of the fuel. "off road" and "on road" are the same fuel except;

1. A red dye is added to the "off road" to identify it as such.
2. The road taxes are not included in the price of "off road" fuel.

Some people have an easy access to "off road" and use it, as do many farmers. Others, like me, do not have access and fill up our containers at the local service station.