Oil & Fuel Diesel Fuel Storage

[bphillips]

I've got one of those little battery pumps too. Works great as I can keep a close eye on the level in the tank while filling. I like to keep it close to full - especially in winter, but filling too full can be a little messy ...

Brad - In NH

 

[Frank_Mulligan]

Wow, nice (and timely) setup. I had to fill up my L3010 for the first time yesterday and boy did I make a mess! Ended up cleaning the sides of the tractor and removing the panels to clean what I spilled inside. I thought about it afterwards and will probably use a short length of hose, or a very large funnel from now on.

BTW, when I used to use my old Craftsman lawn tractor I would go through at least 20 gallons of gas to cut what I just finished with less than 6 in diesel. Go with the 5 gallon yellow can.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

For those with bad backs and getting old, TSC has a small hand pump that fits on the yellow plastic diesel containers. Cost was about $13 with several adapters to fit different size openings. The "can" sits on the ground. Sure beats trying to lift the whole shebang and spilling it everywhere. Just stick the nozzle in the tractor hole and pull-push the pump rod (with a nice big knob on the end) until you get the amount you want in the tractor tank. Got one for the tractor and one for the mower. Damm it's hell to get old.

 

[Rch]

Something to check out is a marine supply place. They have 20 gal. or so tanks on a dolly with a pump. You may have to paint it yellow for diesel.

 

[ChuckinVA]

Restart,

I bought one of these and was disappointed in the speed at which it performed. It took about 10 minutes and a lot of short strokes to put a couple of gallons of fuel in my tractor. I finally took it off of the can and used the conventional spout that came with the can to finish the job. I think it would be fine to fill a small tank on a mower with gas, but I'm looking for something that can deliver a little more volume. I actually had pretty good results with the kerosene type bulb pump that once it is primed it continues to pull fuel through it. Only down side is you have to lift the 5 gallon can up to the fill spout to use it.

 

[PaulT]

<font color=blue> Finally sumpin' I really know about and can answer
intelligently!( well, sorta)...</font color=blue>

Since you sorta know sumpin', and I'm sure I don't, maybe you also know this. I'm looking at gauges to install in the other bung of the 55 gallon drum I use for diesel. Most of these say they fit 1.5 inch NPT, which I think is standard on the drum. They say they need anywhere from 5" to 22" of clearance under the gauge, with float travel from 4" to 16". How can these be accurate in a 55 gallon drum if the depth is greater than the clearance distance. It seems if the clearance distance is less than the total drum height, then you will be innacurate on when it reaches E, and if the float travel stops before the top, then you will be innacurate on when it reaches F. Am I missing something, here/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif? Any thoughts? (BTW, I am looking on pages 85-87 in the 2001 Surplus Center catalog if you have one.)