Newbie Question: How Much Diesel Tractor Needs?

[GreenAcres]

I have (on order) a 40 hp New Holland 4WD tractor with loader, filled R4 tires, and several toys (bush hog, disk, box blade, and soon to have a plow).

The farm is 5 acres, four of which will be under some form of cultivation - organic vegetable on about two acres, green grasses (i.e., "green manure") to be plowed under to enrich the soil for future growth on the other two acres.

Mostly the tractor will be used with preparing and growing the veggies, bush hogging the two acres of green manure, and normal stuff you do when growing veggies.

Once or twice a year, I might move 1000+ pound generator a few hundred feet or so.


With fuel prices escalating at such a fast clip, I'm thinking about getting a year's supply of fuel now, before prices go up even higher. Yes, I know how to treat diesel with PRI-D.

My question is this: about how much fuel should I get?

A second question: where does one buy previously unused steel drums to store the diesel in?


Thank you in advance for your suggestions and insight.

 

[SageBrush]

Contact your local fuel oil company. The tanks are usually cheaper through them. Mine cost $440.00 for a 550 gallon tank. In order to get a good fuel price here, you need to purchase over 300 gallons.

It won't save you money probably. On the farm I burn about 20 gallons per month through a CUT. Those drums are a real pain to haul around. I went with a truck mounted 50 gallon transfer tank for the CUT. I much prefer the home delivery route, but we burn 450 gallons a month. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> My question is this: about how much fuel should I get? </font>
You need to determine how many hours you will use your tractor per week or per month and then assume between .50 and .75 gallons per hour.

<font color="blue">where does one buy previously unused steel drums to store the diesel in?</font>
There have been lots of good discussions on TBN, including pictures, about what diesel fuel should be stored in, pumps to get it out of tanks/barrels, etc. A search of this forum will produce a nice amount of reading material.

 

[cp1969]

Although diesel stores much better than gasoline, still, one of the best (and cheapest) things you can do for your equipment is to give it fresh fuel.

The money you *might* save by buying a year's worth of fuel will be lost in the noise. The trouble you might be buying could easily cancel it all out.

 

[fractal]

My 18 horse kubota uses 3-4 gallons of diesel a YEAR between tilling, cultivating, grading and hauling stuff in the loader. I stopped even filling the 5 gallon container I buy fuel with and only put a couple bucks worth in it when the tank goes below half. My logs say I put 25-30 hrs a year on it by its meter, much of that idling.

I would be reluctant to suggest that someone who does not yet know how many hours a year they are going to operate spend much more than the price of a 5 gallon yellow diesel can. I am far, FAR from an anything even resembling an expert but what you suggest you are doing with the equipment looks like you are going to use it heavily several times a year (like I do) and intermitently the rest. Diesel fluctuates 25 cents a gallon around here, so buying low and using high might save me a dollar a year but clogging a fuel filter will cost me 6-8 bucks.. I don't buy any more than I need.

 

[_RaT_]

I purchased a 30 gallon pumping tank. It has a pump, hose, wheels, fuel level, is approved by DOT or someone like them and is very well built. It's a rectangular upright type setup.

 

[zuiko]

With how amazingly fuel efficent these things are (my lawn tractor burns fuel a lot faster than my 40hp CUT) I wouldn't bother until you know how much you are going to go through. The minimum order for most places is at least 100 gallons. Many will also only deliver to UL approved tank so I would check before buying barrels.

I might set up a tank since I already have a tank and a pump and I heat with oil so I can have them put in 30 or 40 gallons at the same time I get 200 for the house.

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Plowing snow with my 36hp Bota this winter, I was lucky to go through 5 gallons a week. (I was plowing for 2, sometimes 3 hours 3 times a week.)

I just bought two 5 gallon cans, filled the tank on the tractor and then filled both of the cans.

Steve

 

[KiotiJohn]

I went to a heating oil company and bought two 55 gal drums for $40 and a hand operated pump from TSC for $31, loaded the drums on my truck, filled up the tanks from the oil truck at $1.25/gal for red dyed off-road diesel and took them home. I will use this up in no more than 2 months. When it gets really hotter here, I won't want to keep it around for a long time due the bacterial growth. Yes, I can use biocides, but I'd rather not, so not more than 110 gals. every couple of months. John