Gasoline Fuel Barrel. Should I use it?

pizzaguy · Jan 16, 2015

I have a 270 gallon gravity feed fuel barrel that I haven't used in about 10 years. I went out to look inside it today with the thought of using it again, and it was bone dry but had a slight amount of rust flakes in the bottom of it. It is an older barrel and could have had it in there when it was used before. Very,very slight discoloring like surface rust toward middle and top of sides on the inside also. It also has a filter on it. I remember that I made sure I ran it dry when we quit using it.
My thought was to take it off the stand and clean it out the best I can and replace filter. Does anybody have any recommendations on a good way to clean out the inside? Is it worth doing? I would strictly use the gas for our 2 zero turn mowers and Polaris Ranger. We mow 5 acres and sometimes it can be two to three times a week. Hose and nozzle appear to be good but I will have to check them out better before I decide to fill it. It is common to go through 20 gallons of gas every couple weeks in the mowers and it is a PITA taking 5 gal. cans to town all the time. I figured 100-150 gallons in there would last the summer. I talked to a delivery man today and they said they would stop and fill for that little amount as long as they could do it when they were in the area. Since we live on the highway that is not a problem. Would you use it again? Ideas for cleaning it out?

pmsmechanic · Jan 17, 2015

If there is very little rust inside I wouldn't bother cleaning it out. Just make sure that you have a good filter on the discharge hose and it will catch all of the rust. Also letting the fuel in the tank settle overnight after a delivery before you pump anything out of it will also help. Don't pump right from the bottom of the barrel and you will have very few problems. Sheltering the tank from the sun will help with keeping condensation out too.

Diamondpilot · Jan 17, 2015

I would just top it off now that fuel is cheap, change the filter and go. Keep a spare filter on hand just in case the first one gets clogged.

Chris

mfreund · Jan 17, 2015

Be sure to treat to prevent the gas breaking down. Stabil or something for ethanol.

pizzaguy · Jan 17, 2015

mfreund said:
Be sure to treat to prevent the gas breaking down. Stabil or something for ethanol.

Yes I will. Part of the reason I quit using it was that I was getting poor quality gas and had a problem with an old WD Allis Chalmers running on it. Everything else ran fine but that tractor was fussy.

Copperhead · Jan 20, 2015

Yeah, while I generally will use ethanol treated gas from the retail pump, for something like a storage tank, especially the good old fashioned gravity variety, I would probably stick with a delivery of non-ethanol gas. And like has been stated, use stabil or one of the other gasoline storage products. There is just too much risks of condensation type of issues to have ethanol in the mix. Lots of expansion and contraction during temperature fluctuations. For a sealed system, ethanol problems are relatively minor.

almaryholm · Jan 20, 2015

Slope the stand holding tank away from outlet end so all CRUD settles to low spot at rear....

Gary Fowler · Jan 21, 2015

I think you will have a significant condensation problem with that tank never being more than half full. If you only need 150 gallons, I would sell or trade that tank for a smaller one.

PILOON · Jan 21, 2015

Wack it with a hammer to loosen any clumps and flakes of rust, remove the largest bottom plug or fitting and flush with garden hose and water.
Let it dry as much as possible followed by a sloshed fuel oil rinse and you should be good to use for fuel or gas.
New filter etc and maybe a sediment bowl B4 filter would help.

Personally I'd prefer a 45 gal plastic barrel.
With gasoline be sure to provide grounding lines as the merest spark from static can ignite an explosion.