Refueling

[Nik]

I bought a no spill spout and attached it to a 5 gallon plastic diesel container. I bought a cheap strap wrench from SEARS which I use to tighten and unloosen the spout from the container. That way there are no leaks. Also I sometimes only fill it with 4 gallons to make lifting easier. The spout is designed to stop fuel flow when the tank is full. I use this setup to easily fuel a Kubota L3710, NH TC33 and a smaller kubota. I will try to post pictures of it. Had a hand pump in the past but this was laborious.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> I will try to post pictures of it. </font>
How well do they work?

 

[DavidJ]

I think that would be handy to have. Where did you find it? I might consider getting a couple for fueling gasoline as well as diesel equipment.

 

[jmc]

Re: special refueling funnel

In case no one else mentioned it, there is a funnel with tabs on the outside of the neck to lock into the quarter turn slots on your tank . (These are the slots that the fuel cap locks into.) I inherited mine from Dad. It fit his 8n and it fits my Ford 1920 that is 40 years newer. Must be a standard connection. Although you still have to lift the fuel, at least you have a big, rigiid target once its up there. Also you don't need the tiny spout that slows down the flow.

 

[Trev]

Well, what I did was have a 300-gallon skid tank of off-road diesel set up behind the garage, refilled periodically by the same folks who provide our normal heating oil. Hand pump on it. Just stick the nozzle in and crank for a while.

When the big ice storm hit last winter, I was glad I had the extra storage, as the tractor was running 24x7 turning a generator. Of course, in that situation, I was back to filling again with 5-gallon cans.. which was kind of a hassle.. for all the reasons so well-articulated by others. One foot on the operator platform, one on the right front tire, etc.

Maybe someday I'll rig a pump to get the fuel into the garage in case of another extended power outage. Not sure it's worth it.. but during the outage I smelled of diesel the whole time. Get up in the morning, pump some fuel into the cans, lug to the tractor, fuel it, go to work, come home, do the same thing again, and on, and on, and on... power was out a bit over a week here.

This was a time I was glad I had a manual trans.. as I'm told otherwise the HST fluid would have been pumping the entire time. As it was, I just shut it down once, changed oil and filter, and brought it right back on-line. Easy maintenance, although the hour meter went up a bit. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Guess this rambling is to suggest that, if you have any plans of generating power with diesel (whether with your tractor or a standalone unit), having plenty on hand is a good thing. Without power to run the gas station pumps, I'd have been out of fuel in a day or two if just relying on my two 5-gallon cans.

Bob

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color="blue"> "One foot on the operator platform, one on the right front tire, etc." </font>

You know, I never thought about that as a problem. I guess that's a plus to being tall I hadn't even considered. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I fill my tank from a five gallon container while standing flatfooted on the ground next to it. If I were a foot shorter with appropriately shorter arms it might be tough, though.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color="blue"> "The highway isn't a real busy road and it has a nice wide shoulder - so, what do you guys think about just driving over next time?" </font>

The only thing I'll mention to you about driving over is, that if you're going to do it, do it on the road, not on the shoulder. If you're on the road, you have all the rights of any other vehicle there. If you're on the shoulder and anything happens it's your fault for driving on the shoulder. We've had two separate incidents here in the past year where a farmer was trying to be a good guy and drive on the shoulder only to be hit. In each instance, the farmer driving the tractor was listed as "at fault" for the accident.

I'm not saying I agree with this. I'm only reporting what happened. When I drive half a mile down to the Kubota store or a mile or so to the truck stop, I do it legally in my lane with my SMV sign displayed and my lights and flashers on.

 

[icat]

Thanks Gary - That's good advice. The SMV triangle and the flashing lights are all ready to go. I think I'll explore a bit in the SUV and see if I can find a back road that will get me there.

Got out on the road in front of the property on Sunday to cut the ditch. First chance I had to actually drive on a road. Man, those R4's make some funky sounds on pavement. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[F350Lawman]

If you want a low cost solution try the local car wash. They have 55 gallon detergent drums and the have a plastic pump that screws onto the top of the drum. Just rinse it out and let it dry and you have a great low cost filling station. You can either ask the oli guy to fill it or use a pick up truck to go wherever they sell off-road fuel and unload it with your front end loader when you get home.

This is what I am going to use. I have had the can for several years. I got it for free but you should be able to "buy" one from the car wash for a $20. I think the detergent distributors charge them a small fee if they don't return the drum and the pump can't cost them much either. Luckily mine came with the pump.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> and the pump can't cost them much either. Luckily mine came with the pump. </font>
You have to make sure that the plastic drum and pump are rated to handle diesel fuel. There were several threads, here's one, a while ago about the different types of plastic and whether it was rated to handle fuel. You wouldn't want the drum or the pump to slowly leach stuff into your fuel system.

I did the research by first determining what kind of plastic the diesel fuel cans are made of (high-density polyethylene), then bought a plastic barrel made of the same stuff. Then I bought a pump designed to pump diesel fuel.