5 gal a month would be 60 gal a year.
I bought 60 gallons on 6-6-08. I had 3 gal when I got it. I filled all 3 tractors the first of last month and still have 3 of the 63 gal of fuel left, plus all 3 tractors are full at the moment.
I'm roughly figuring my usage to be 10 to 12 gall a month but that's not year round as during the colder winter months. Nov - March. The tractors aren't used much at all. I very much doubt I'd use over a gallon or so during those entire 5 months.
I've found juggling between winter and summer blends to be a greater challenge than is the keeping the fuel fresh issue.
Back when diesel prices started falling it was still summer blend. Had I filled my 55 drum then I'd have been stuck with running summer blend all this winter.
If I fill it now it will be setting here next summer with almost 55 gal of winter blend to run next summer when I should be using the summer blend.
Your estimating your usage at about half of what I use. Yet you're wanting to store 5 times more than I store.
This combination would really compound the problem of having the right blend in the right season.
My 30 and 55 gal two drum setup is prefect - ideal for the 10 -12 gal a month user.
A 15 and 30 gal two drum setup would be a better match for a 5 -10 gal per month user.
Here is my list of reasons - purposes for building a fuel storage system arranged by order of importance to me.
1*CONVENIENCE
: Easier to use than cans and manual filling.
2* cost savings of off road over on road fuel.
3* enables home delivery of fuel in many if not most cases.
4* saving money by stocking up by buying when prices are down when and if practical.
The happy medium is #2 that is always available every time you buy in any market climate.
*For this I just dump a qt bottle of power service into the 55 gal drum when filling it or a half qt in the 30 gal drum of a 15 and 30 gal drum setup.
Is it worth it to build a fuel setup?
Yes, if you use 5 or more gal per month.
I leave you with this thought.
Keep in mind 60 gal of fuel is 12 of those mean old awkward hard to handle 5 gal cans.
LB that looks very good. BTW, I am considering getting a 275 gallon tank and loading it up at today's p[rices and using that for a while for fueling my tractor.
* Any tips on preserving that fuel for a while
1* - 2 years or so? Can I get by with treatment and filtering? Or
2* should I not try so much fuel?
3*My use rate would be under 50 gallons a year I would imagine, way under.
1*My goal is to use up 55 gallon of treated fuel within 18 months but prefer to keep that within the 6 to 12 month range.
2*That would be to much fuel compared to your estimated usage.
3*At 50 gallon a year it would take you 5 and a half years to use 275 gallons of fuel not 2 or so years..
