Calculating fuel left in a storage tank.

[pacerron]

Disclaimer- In my initial post, I said dimensions were approximate.
Playing with the calculator you attached, you can stretch things an inch or so and get really close to 300.
I said approximate dimensions because I used my yard stick to measure the tank. I did have to tie a string on the yardstick when I stuck it in the tank, so the diameter could easily be 37" + and the 60" length is a little if-fy with the yardstick too.
In the name of accuracy, I'll have to measure with a tape and see what it is.

Once you get the inside dimensions use the calculator posted by Stoneypoint above. It will do the job
you want easily. Tank Volume Calculator | Measurement Technology

You could make some lines on the front of your tank with various gallons on them from the calculator so
all you have to do is stick the tank and then hold the stick up to the front to see where the wet part stops.
I have my stick, no numbers, attached to an 8ft stick with screw eyes and an old piece of baling string so it can seek vertical. Then I just stand on the ground and flip the fill cap open with the long stick and lower the short one in the tank. Saves climbing up on a ladder or tractor tire. Safer too.

 

[IMCA38]

Tape measure sez....
38" diameter x 61 1/2" long.
Per the calculator, 301.94 gallons.

 

[pacerron]

Tape measure sez....
38" diameter x 61 1/2" long.
Per the calculator, 301.94 gallons.

There you go. Now you can mark your yardstick in gallons remaining or the tank.
Off road dyed diesel #2 delivered to the farm here in OH was $3.46/gallon last week.
Save your penneys.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

For the OP, is there a reason your wanting to calculate the amount left? I personally use a fuel guage designed for these tanks, you just screw it into one of the 2" holes on top and you have a nice sight gauge where you know how much fuel is in there without needing to stick anything down into the tank. When it gets low call for a fill up. When it hits the bottom of the gauge then you are out of fuel so definitely call for a fill up. You can get them at most fuel suppliers or plumbing supply shops that sell home heating oil tanks.

 

[Depmandog]

This one is pretty easy....will keep things approximate and very simple.

300 gallon tank that is 60" long.

300/60=5

The 5 is 5 gallons per inch.

You measured the fuel in tank at 13"

13 inches multiplied by 5 gallons per inch = 65 gallons left in the tank.

The ONLY thing you need to remember is you have 5 gallons per measured inch.

Hope this helps!!

 

[pacerron]

This one is pretty easy....will keep things approximate and very simple.

300 gallon tank that is 60" long.

300/60=5

The 5 is 5 gallons per inch.

You measured the fuel in tank at 13"

13 inches multiplied by 5 gallons per inch = 65 gallons left in the tank.

The ONLY thing you need to remember is you have 5 gallons per measured inch.

Hope this helps!!

Dean,
Not quite..
He has a round barrel tank mounted on it's side.

 

[Depmandog]

Dean,
Not quite..
He has a round barrel tank mounted on it's side.

Well DUH. I screwed that up!!

No problem. When you really want to know - stand that baby on end and THEN use my "easy" method.

Now that the worlds problems are solved, I am going to bed!!! Hahaha

 

[IMCA38]

For the OP, is there a reason your wanting to calculate the amount left?

Basically, I wanted to see how my supply was holding up.
My tractor and my mower both have tanks in the 6-8 gallon range and neither has a gauge. Therefore, I just top them off before I set out on any jobs that are likely to take a few hours.
After I set the tank up, I had 175 gallons delivered as I figured that should last quite a while. Turns out I was right.
I paid $1.88 / gallon for that load! Hopefully, by the time this runs out, the market will be waaaay down again and I can save some more cash.

 

[kf4uda]

If you happen to have an iphone, there is a free app that I use to quickly check my tank level.

App Store - Tank Calc

Using your measurements with the app shows your tank capacity to be 264 gal and the current level to be 86 gal. Nothing here you can't do with a little math or online calc as in previous posts, just a little quicker.