Fuel Storage Tank for Tractors

[lostcreekranch]

Do not use the lifting eyes on the ends of the tanks for moving a full tank. They are only for lifting an empty tank. There should be a sticker on the tank warning of that issue. If you try to lift a full tank, you run a very high risk of ripping the eyes from the tank creating a big hole in the tank. It should have some mounting pads on the bottom corners than you can mount it to a sturdy platform that can be lifted with pallet forks OR as I did with my 100 gallon rectangular tank, mount wheels on it for rolling it around on a concrete slab. For lifting, use appropriate sized straps or chains (2) ran under the tank for chokers then use the tractor FEL to lift it out. The wheels make it about 2.5-3" off the floor so it is easy to get straps around it. When putting your suction pipe in the tank for your pump, lift the pipe up about 2" off the bottom so you minimize any lifting of water condensate when pumping. You can also tip the tank an inch or so to the end with the drain plug is lower. Install a drain valve there and open it occasionally and catch a sample in a glass jar so you can check for water. If clear the sample can be poured back into the tank. You just need a close nipple (about 1" long), some Teflon tape and a brass valve to install it. DO this before you fill it the first time and you will be set. Filters are available at TSC and other farm supply places. You can use one with screw on filter like car oil filters or one with a canister that a filter fits in. Goldenrod makes this kind , Baldwin makes a screw on one. Either one is fine. The canister type usually has a clear housing that you can visually see if any water is in the sediment bowl which is nice to know. The filter assembly will cost you about 20-30 bucks depending on the type you get. You will need two pipe nipples to complete it. Depending on how the fuel comes out of the pump (top or side) you would need to put in at least one 90 ell if coming out the top to remove the stress on the fuel hose. One 90 ell would make it lay horizontal if the discharge is from the top which is good but 2 and it would lay vertical which is better for the hose.

I agree with Gary. The lift eyes ARE NOT designed to lift a full tank of fuel.

 

[Gary Fowler]

IF you are a good welder and the tank has never had any fuel in it, you might could design and build a lifting eye. It would require putting on a larger doubler (reinforcing) pad of I would guess 3/16" thick, weld it all around to the tank. An engineer could figure the exact size needed to transfer the load over a large area of the tank. I would just make it h$ll for stout and make it L shaped so it lays on the side and over the top that way you have the corner strength of the tank working for you. A nice 1/4" thick lifting lug is then welded to the doubler pad with appropriately sized eye for whatever you will be using to lift (chain hook maybe). For maximum stability on the lift, you many want to put a lift eye on each corner and make a 4 point lift. If I were doing it a lot, I would build a set of lifting chains with 4 lift points exactly the same length, tied together with a shackle and two lift chains that would go to my chain hooks mounted on the FEL bucket. Then when needing to move the tank, just hook the suspension chains to the FEL bucket, pull up over the tank, drop down enough to hook the 4 hooks in the pad eyes and then lift away. No messing with straps or adjusting chains for a level lift.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just re-thinking this option. An easier way would be to weld some angle iron to each corner overlapping I would guess 6" should be plenty of weld on the tank corners leaving enough sticking above the tank to put a hole large enough for chain hooks to go into. This would be simple to do and very strong. If you bend the portion of angle above the tank to a 45 degree toward center of tank it would be much less stress on it when lifting and require a much shorter chain hook up.

 

[L355SS]

Some newer steel tanks have a plastic inner lining/coating to prevent rust, etc. Welding on the tank would damage this plastic film. Also metal tanks are very thin metal making it difficult to weld to without blowing a hole.
Dennis

 

[Gary Fowler]

Some newer steel tanks have a plastic inner lining/coating to prevent rust, etc. Welding on the tank would damage this plastic film. Also metal tanks are very thin metal making it difficult to weld to without blowing a hole.
Dennis

I have never seen a plastic lining in a portable fuel tank or even a paint coating. Maybe these might be installed on much larger tanks, but I have been involved in building up to 250,000 barrel tanks and no fuel tank is ever lined or coated, most water tanks for potable water will have an epoxy lining put on after hydrotesting. Portable fuel tanks would be much easier to make from aluminum to prevent rust than trying to put a coating inside.
As for welding, difficult but not that bad. After all the tank is welded construction on an open butt so a good MIG machine shouldn't have any problem welding on a heavy piece over solid metal. One would just have to concentrate the heat on the thicker material. I could do it easily with a stick machine and super easy with a MIG or TIG.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have a friend with a similar tank arrangement and no way to fill it. Once a year or so, he brings it by and I fill it for him from my larger tanks. Now that I have and electric pump and meter, this will be even easier. Keeps my Diesel supply fresher as well. Makes it more worthwhile for the fuel delivery guy to come out and top up my tanks.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

IF you are a good welder and the tank has never had any fuel in it, you might could design and build a lifting eye. It would require putting on a larger doubler (reinforcing) pad of I would guess 3/16" thick, weld it all around to the tank. An engineer could figure the exact size needed to transfer the load over a large area of the tank. I would just make it h$ll for stout and make it L shaped so it lays on the side and over the top that way you have the corner strength of the tank working for you. A nice 1/4" thick lifting lug is then welded to the doubler pad with appropriately sized eye for whatever you will be using to lift (chain hook maybe). For maximum stability on the lift, you many want to put a lift eye on each corner and make a 4 point lift. If I were doing it a lot, I would build a set of lifting chains with 4 lift points exactly the same length, tied together with a shackle and two lift chains that would go to my chain hooks mounted on the FEL bucket. Then when needing to move the tank, just hook the suspension chains to the FEL bucket, pull up over the tank, drop down enough to hook the 4 hooks in the pad eyes and then lift away. No messing with straps or adjusting chains for a level lift.

If you do any welding on the tank and it has a code tag; the minute you put a rod to it the code is no longer valid unless done by a certified welder with approved procedure and re-tested/coded. If you do it, you are on your own legally. I am a risk taker, so I would probably do it any way as I used to be a ASME certified pressure vessel welder (in my younger days). Still can weld pretty good.

Ron

Ron

 

[Hanksride]

Update: Ok I got the tank installed with 12Volt pump and filter. It was a snap to load the tank and go fill it and bring it home. I have fueled both my tractors with it and man does it work great. Pop the hood, clamp to battery and lower hood so that I can open fuel cap then pump fuel. No splash, no over filling, no lifting 5 gallon cans while doing a balancing act to pour them in, no funnels and fills a lot faster than with jugs. I love this setup, should have done this a long time ago.

I got the tank at a pawn shop for 130.00, pump and filter from Northern Tool 211.00 shipped to my door.


Mounted in my tractor shed in the dry, I can pull right up beside it to fill tractors.


Here is the pump, I think it is rated at 8GPM, had lock on fill handle and On and Off switch. 6FT 12 Volt cord and I believe 13ft fill hose. I did have to cut off the pickup tube, it was to long for the tank.


I built a PVC cover for the nozzle to keep the dirt dobbers and crap out of the fill nozzle.



I can undo large nut on pump and pull it out, hang it on the wall, put cap on tank and pick tank up with tractor and sit it in back of truck to go fill it. Reverse order to put back in place. With our tractor use, I feel like this will be approx 1 year of fuel for us.

 

[Beltzington]

I have the same tank and bolted it to a sturdy pallet. If you have pallet forks it is very easy to get into the bed of your truck and more importantly get out of the bed safely when filled with diesel(400lbs.) I actually fill a 55-steel barrel from this tank by lifting it slightly higher than the barrel and using a siphon hose. Much easier then using my electric-pump (also from NT), get the siphon started and walk away. Since I pump the gas from the barrel my original plan was too add more barrels but I found I rarely use more then 50-gals/year. Another advantage of this is I can put the tank in my truck if I ever want to take an extended trip and not worry about fuel stops.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you do any welding on the tank and it has a code tag; the minute you put a rod to it the code is no longer valid unless done by a certified welder with approved procedure and re-tested/coded. If you do it, you are on your own legally. I am a risk taker, so I would probably do it any way as I used to be a ASME certified pressure vessel welder (in my younger days). Still can weld pretty good.

Ron

Ron

Fuel tanks are open atmosphere tanks, not pressure vessels. They may have a tag on them stating build date and manufacturer but open tanks are only tested by filling with water (nothing but head pressure of the water) There is no ASME Code for tanks. API code covers construction of tanks. You don't have to concern yourself with it like you would welding on a pressure vessel.
I did Quality Management for 40 years and did a lot of ASME code certification and repair. There is a lot more to it than just being a certified welder, much more than I can go into here. I have being in charge of inspection of major tank repairs from putting in a new manway to replacing the entire bottom and all that is required is to fill it with water and check for leaks. Annular ring (section where walls meet the floor only require spraying with a penetrant (like diesel) and let it set for a few days to see if it seeps thru which is evident by an oily spot with dust collected on it. Don't even have to water test that. Mostly the water test after construction of a tank is not to check for leaks as much as to prove the design. Fill it with water and if it holds together it is good.
By the way, many companies that self-insure will make repairs to ASME pressure vessels without keeping it Code compliant (meaning no Authorized Inspector from an insurance company like Hartford Steam Boiler reviews the design and signs off on the repair. This is legal to do when they use their own certified (by the company who owns the vessel)inspectors and document the work accordingly.