Oil & Fuel Fuel caddy with pump

texbaylea · May 15, 2004

I have been looking at Northern's catalog on-line. My back is giving me problems and I don't want to lift 5 gallon cans to fuel my tractor. Northern has several fuel caddies on wheels with hand pumps and capacities of 25-30 gallons, good idea, however their prices seem inordinately high. Up around $200-300 for some of them. Has anyone seen something like these elsewhere at a more reasonable price? The nearest diesel pump is close to 10 miles in part down a busy road so I don't wish to drive the tractor to the pump. How does everyone handle their fuel?

dos_perros · May 15, 2004

I have been using the following set up with good result. Buy a clean 55 gal. drum. Harbor Feight sells a rotary hand pump designed for drum use. Attach a length, i.e. 10 ft. of marine grade plastic hose, and pump directly into your fuel tank. Total cost aprox. $40.00. Not the ultimate solution but practical and inexpensive.

SteveH_CT · May 15, 2004

Just curious - How would you fill the fuel caddy? Other than ramping it into a truck bed or trailer I still think you're faced with lifting fuel, or ramps at some point in the process. I know northern also sells hand pumps that could go right onto a 5 gallon container. If lifting is the issue perhaps smaller fuel containers would help...

Good Luck - I don't have any back problems but I do know the nuisance it can be to lift a 5 gallon container over my hood - it's funny how the fuel seems to be heavier at the end of the day too! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

To20Chris · May 15, 2004

Fueling over the loader arms is much harder than fueling my TO20! TSC shows a simple lift pump that screws onto a 5ga conatiner, but they didn't have one when I went to the store. I got a new yellow 5ga. container to make sure I keep the diesel separate from the gas. It has one of those new safety spouts that you have to push down, and no separate vent. What a useless and dangerous piece of @!#$! There is no way I'm pushing that thing down onto the filter screen, it's sure to ruin it over time, not to mention awkward. So I just use a real big funnel, and it splashes all over the place at first because there is no vent. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Has anyone tried that pump? I'm betting it's slow - it looks like a simple lift-tube.

BenderKC · May 16, 2004

I have a lot of trouble filling my JD 4310 when the loader is attached. Large funnel helps a little but it is still a chore lifting over the arms and I spill some no matter what. It is actually my least favorite chore around the beast. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

surfran · May 16, 2004

Tex,

You may want to look at some of the boating supply catalogs like Overtons, Bass Pro shops etc. I don't know if they would be cheaper than Northern, but they should have them.

As for using one of these, we have used a 30-40 gallon one for several years at the lake with a gravity feed (boat is lower than dock). I will tell you it is a bit of a chore to unload when full, so as someone else recommended, you will want ramps if you already have a bad back. Also even pulling it around on the pneumatic tires can be a chore if you have any obstacles to go over or rough terrain.

Hope this info is helpful. It still beats the extra 30-50 cents a gallon premium of buying at the marina though!!!

texbaylea · May 16, 2004

I have a hydraulic crane mounted in the bed of my pickup that I use to lift stuff in to the bed. I figured that with a metal caddy I could figure out a way to put a lifting ring on it. I have thought about trying to build a tilting cradle that would allow me to lift an tilt a 5 gallon fuel can but that has problem too. Ahose and pump would be best.

Jibber · May 16, 2004

I have the 35 gallon model from Northern. It's built very heavy duty steel, with a good pump on it. It's expensive, you're right, but I wanted something good for GAS storage. I'm not sure I'd invest in as high of quality for Diesel. Gas is so volatile you don't want to take any chances with that kind of quantity.

As for filling it.. when it is loaded it is extremely heavy and hard to manuever around. I wouldn't want to think about trying to bring it down a ramp from the back of a pickup or anything like that. I fill it the old fashioned way. I carry a pair of 5 gallon gas cans in the car.. and when it's fillup time I top it off from the cans during my regular car fillups.

As for the tractor, I use much less diesel so I just keep a pair of five gallon diesel cans and when I need a fillup I do it the old fashioned way.

micromike · May 16, 2004

What about one of those battery operated fuel pumps used to fill up a Kerosene heater. I purchased one for about $10 at Walmart. An extra piece of hose attached for length and you're in business!

Mike

EastTexFrank · May 16, 2004

You've got my sympathy, I was in the same position over a year ago. My back was giving me so much trouble that I couldn't lift 5 gallon fuel cans to fill the tractor. In the end I actually got a fuel caddy from Northern Tool. It's good but you're right, it was expensive.
That's only part of the problem though, you have to get the fuel into the gas caddy. I built a carrier for 4 x 5 gal fuel cans. It's not pretty but it is effective. The short chains and hooks at either end attach to the lip of the FEL and I use the tractor to load and unload the carrier on to the truck. I use the 2-way pump on the caddy to suck the fuel out of the cans and then to transfer the fuel out of the caddy to the tractor. A cheaper way would be to use a 2-way pump and a 55 or 30 gallon drum. The carrier was made out of pieces of metal I had laying around but using the FEL to do the loading and unloading means that there is no physical lifting involved. My back is a lot better now but this arrangement was a lifesaver at the time.