FUELING FRUSTRATION

[Gary Fowler]

I personally wouldnt want to be hauling around a fuel tank all the time especially with my short bed on my crew cab truck. I bought one of the rectangular tanks with pump (105 gal.) off Craigslist with 12v pump and autoshutoff nozzle and 20 foot of hose for $350. One of my better purchases and great for reducing spills. The auto-shutoff means no more spilt fuel but they are a bit pricey if bought separately. I would check all the prices for new and then look for a bargain on Craigslist. I wouldnt worry about diesel going bad as it just doesnt do that like gasoline. Bio-diesel may have to have some biocide treatment, but since I dont use that, mine just sets in the tank for a year of so with no problems but it is not outside subject to drastic temp. changes either. I put swivel roller wheels on mine and can move it around without a problem although now I keep it in the corner of my boat shed and dont have to move it. As for the pump, I put on a regular car battery hooked to a battery maintainer so it is always hot and ready. It sets on top of the fuel tank with leads semi-permanently attached via screws into the battery post. I still use the alligator clips to attach the fuel pump leads though. If I couldnt get home delivery, I would just do like LBrown, get a couple of 55 gallon drums and use the pump to transfer the contents or use a siphon which would work just as well from the truck bed.

 

[cttractor]

I personally wouldnt want to be hauling around a fuel tank all the time ...

That has certainly occurred to me, too. Siphoning 55 gallon drums isn't the easiest thing to do either. Though, it's certainly a safer process than transfering gasoline, I wouldn't want to start it and leave it and have the siphon hose slip out. So, I'd still have to stick around until the transfer is complete. I haven't yet figured out which way I'll go, but I appreciate the comment.

 

[Al 2]

I've had most of the problems other's have had regarding fueling tractors and equipment in my yard. I've tried most of the ''super syphons'' and ''magic funnels'' and whatever but with less than satisfactory results. I finally spent the money and bought a 12 DC transfer pump from Princess Auto and couldn't be happier. The pump I bought is certified to pump gas as well as diesel and I use it to fill my diesel tractor and to gas up my lawnmower, snowmobiles and ATV. What I did was a little diferent from other postings. I don't use much gas or diesel so I bring it home in 5 gal (22.5 l) cans as needed. I have a small gas shed and I mounted the pump permantly on the bench near the door and power it from an old battery that I keep charged up. I have a flexible pick up hose on the pump intake and just stick it in whatever can I need. It gets even better. My wife can fill up the lawnmower without any hassel and cut all day if she likes. An friend of mine in his 70's who can well afford an electric pump fell off his loader as he was trying to get a 5 gal can of fuel and funnel to the filler hole .
Al
Al

 

[LBrown59]

I've had most of the problems other's have had regarding fueling tractors and equipment in my yard. I've tried most of the ''super syphons'' and ''magic funnels'' and whatever but with less than satisfactory results.
1*I finally spent the money and bought a 12 DC transfer pump from Princess Auto and couldn't be happier.
What I did was a little diferent from other postings. I don't use much gas or diesel so I bring it home in 5 gal (22.5 l) cans as needed. I have a small gas shed and I mounted the pump permantly on the bench near the door and power it from an old battery that I keep charged up.
2*I have a flexible pick up hose on the pump intake and just stick it in whatever can I need.

1* My pump and drum before i got them set up.

Like you i mounted the pump on a shelf.but i powered it with this.

2*Like you I can use the hose curled on the green hanger to pump from a 5 gallon can.

 

[PineRidge]

I have said this before but it bears repeating, you can get a used 275 gallon oil tank that was used for home heating oil for practically nothing and in some cases free. Around here lots of folks are converting from oil to propane or natural gas and glad to get rid of the home heating fuel tanks. In one case they even gave us the oil in the tank and the tank itself.

You can have as little or as much off road diesel delivered to that tank (we use Cambell Oil) and since it is "off road" it will be much cheaper since you won't be paying the road taxes on the fuel.

I don't use nearly as much fuel as I used to since we no longer have our Internet business so we have 150 gallons delivered as we need it. That normally lasts us a long time so I add a jug of stabilizer to the fuel as it's being pumped into the storage tank.

All I need to do is back up close to the tank and fill up the tractor via a 110 volt pump. I use the same nozzle as the fuel stations so it shuts down automatically when fueling is complete. No mess, no tangle of fuel lines, no hauling, no 4 bucks a gallon, no sweat.

 

[Ken45101]

My concern about the used home heating oil tanks is potential rust inside. Old tanks that have been around for a long time, in use or not, might be rusty and I don't want that going into my engine. Of course a filter helps but I don't know if that's enough. The few tanks that I saw around here were pretty scruffy looking on the outside, unknown on the inside.

Ken

 

[PineRidge]

My concern about the used home heating oil tanks is potential rust inside. Old tanks that have been around for a long time, in use or not, might be rusty and I don't want that going into my engine. Of course a filter helps but I don't know if that's enough. The few tanks that I saw around here were pretty scruffy looking on the outside, unknown on the inside.

Ken

I have seen a lot of outdoor tanks that have rusted through from the outside in. However if an oil tank was kept inside in a heated area such as a basement w/oil I don't see how that would be possible from the inside out considering we're talking oil here. The tanks do collect some thick crud in the bottom from years of storing oil but that can easily be cleaned from the tank before re-filling it with good oil.

I do nonetheless pump my oil through a Goldenrod water-block spin-on oil filter designed to remove debris and moisture.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I made my tank nearly 10 years ago out of a $50 plastic 300 gallon tote. One of them with a metal wire cage around it. It has worked fine and is simply gravity system.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

Back in '93 I paid the local energy company $2000 to extend the natural gas line down to my property so I could remove the oil burning furnace and tank and replace the furnace with a new gas model. The 275 gallon oil tank was in the basement, and someone asked to have it so they came and carried it out. Never thought back then I would own a diesel tractor someday or I would have kept it for that reason. Darn. Problem is, today there are likely so many regulations involved in getting and placing an oil tank it is more expense than it is worth.

Oh, reminds me...I used to work with a guy who lived in town, he wanted to have an in ground pool dug in his back yard...when the backhoe began digging it almost tipped over when it unearthed a series of 3 old fuel oil tanks the former property owner had connected in series to use a septic tank. It cost the guy megabux to settle the entire mess, not sure if he ever got his pool or not.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I made my tank nearly 10 years ago out of a $50 plastic 300 gallon tote. One of them with a metal wire cage around it. It has worked fine and is simply gravity system.

Chris

I got one of those last year for free from a company near here. They wash them clean and you can have as many as you want to haul. They get their raw product in the TOTE tanks and no one wants them back so they just stack up. They have to pay to get rid of them and welcome folks to come get them. They even give you an MSDS sheet for the former product although mine was clean as a whistle. I was going to use it to water with, but never did and finally gave it to my trash pick up man. Anyway as Chris said, they would make an excellent fuel tank, even has a shut off valve on the bottom. If I were looking for a fueling system, I would certainly look at those tanks, the top has an o-ring seal so water leakage would be nil. You may have to loosen the top when fueling to release the vacuum on it though, but with it being flexible, it shouldnt draw moist air in at night, just let the sides collapse a bit so less chance of condensate forming in the tank.