Gasoline storage

[AirOpsMgr]

So are you guys filling them from the bed of your truck?

I do, mine are on a wooden pallet & I attach the grounding cable to the bed of my truck just to be extra safe.

 

[3Ts]

For gasoline, you will almost always see a warning like this, which defeats the purpose of using a large tank.

• When filling a container, always place the container on the ground.
• Never fill a container when it is in a trunk, in the bed of a truck, in a trailer, boat, utility vehicle, or on top of a vehicle.

I've seen that, however, I believe it applies only to those tanks that are not permanently mounted to the vehicle. I had a 30 gallon gasoline aux tank bolted into the bed of my pickup and did not have a problem with the service stations, and I did get asked if it was permanently mounted.

 

[MossRoad]

...Anyone know what the difference between a gasoline one and a diesel one?

Probably how much the manufacturer pays for liability insurance.

Seriously. Gas is so much more dangerous than diesel.

 

[MossRoad]

I suspect it's more a matter of certification of the tank itself, vapor recovery, and pump construction rather than the tank material itself.
I previously stored gasoline in a 55g drum with a manual crank pump. The purpose of storing my gasoline was for emergency generator use, and I cycled it into my vehicles every 2 years. Now that I have a pto generator, I store gasoline in (6) 5 gallon Jerry Cans for use each season in my walk behind and various trimmers.

I did the same thing for a while in a 55 gallon drum. It's just easier for me to handle my 6 gallon cans now.

 

[MossRoad]

Is static during filling the container an issue? I’ve never experienced this filling 5 gallon cans but I keep reading that it’s a thing.

Think of it this way...

Have you ever slid out of the seat of a car that had cloth seats, put your feet on the ground and then gotten a static shock when you touched the door? That's why they tell you to stay out of the vehicle when fueling. If you start filling the tank, then slide back into the seat, then get out and don't touch anything before you put your hand on the pump, you could generate a spark.

Or have you ever been in the bed of a pickup with a plastic liner and felt the hair in your arms tingle as you slide things around in there?

Or rubbed a ballon on your head of hair (no baldies need apply) and then stick the ballon to your face?

The action of gasoline flowing over plastic generates static on the can. If it's not sitting on the ground, that static can build up. All it takes is a spark to ignite the fumes.

Of course, fires at gas station pumps are very rare. But why take a chance?

When I worked fueling aircraft, both gas and jet fuel (glorified fuel oil), everything had to be grounded.

 

[MossRoad]

I do, mine are on a wooden pallet & I attach the grounding cable to the bed of my truck just to be extra safe.

I wouldn't think that would accomplish much as your truck is still on tires, which insulates it from ground. I guess it would make the tank and truck equal potential, though, so no spark between them. I'd still be leery as I've had a pickup with plastic bed liner. Super staticky.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I wouldn't think that would accomplish much as your truck is still on tires, which insulates it from ground. I guess it would make the tank and truck equal potential, though, so no spark between them. I'd still be leery as I've had a pickup with plastic bed liner. Super staticky.

I too have often thought about this for many years, but I keep coming back to the fact that my Ground equipment maintenance guys at work all fill their bed-mounted gas and diesel tanks several times a week without issue (most of which don't use the provided grounding cables eventhough we have to put a warning sticker on all of their bed-mounted tanks stating they must "always use a grounding cable during any fuel transfer").

And yes, a bed mounted tank is certainly different than skid mounted in the bed, but shouldn't be an issue with a grounding cable linked from the tank to the bed, yes? Or am I just lucky? Lol

In any event, I've never seen an issue occur in either case, but I'm always open to learning new safety measures to protect my staff and I! I'm not an OSHA brown-noser, but I'd rather not end up like Fire Marshall Bill ....

Edited to add: The airport fire Marshall has to sign off on each of our fuel dispensing units at work, usually annually, but depends on location .... they have never disqualified a bed-mounted unit as long as it has the proper markings, grounding cable reel, rated fire extinguisher, etc.

The same applies to our airport equipment dolly-mounted 500 gal GSE Fueling tanks, all of which are sitting on rubber wheels - these are $17K+ fueling specific carts, coming from the manufacturer with all the required ratings, etc .... and we still have to pump from high-flow gas & Jet-A pump outlets into them.... so still "insulated".

I say all that to say this, if there was an issue filling truck bed-mounted tanks, I'm thinking I would have heard of certification issues, but who knows, it's the government, and they're here to help

 

[jyoutz]

Think of it this way...

Have you ever slid out of the seat of a car that had cloth seats, put your feet on the ground and then gotten a static shock when you touched the door? That's why they tell you to stay out of the vehicle when fueling. If you start filling the tank, then slide back into the seat, then get out and don't touch anything before you put your hand on the pump, you could generate a spark.

Or have you ever been in the bed of a pickup with a plastic liner and felt the hair in your arms tingle as you slide things around in there?

Or rubbed a ballon on your head of hair (no baldies need apply) and then stick the ballon to your face?

The action of gasoline flowing over plastic generates static on the can. If it's not sitting on the ground, that static can build up. All it takes is a spark to ignite the fumes.

Of course, fires at gas station pumps are very rare. But why take a chance?

When I worked fueling aircraft, both gas and jet fuel (glorified fuel oil), everything had to be grounded.

I know someone who filled a gas can in the bed of his truck with a plastic bed liner. It flashed up and he went to the burn unit. He’s had several facial plastic surgeries since then.

 

[lman]

I have two of these. One for gas, one for diesel.

Amazon.com

How do you fill those?

 

[strykerAKAmack]

I put a chain on my hitch to the ground when I fill gas from back of pickup using 5 gallon jerry cans

 

[dkmc]

FYI anyone hating the modern 5 gal safety cans, I use this type. Large opening, easy fill and pour.
A local 'farm' store (Runnings) has generic ones, no label and lower cost.

Link for reference:

Pardon Our Interruption...

www.ebay.com

Also, in case someone hasn't discovered them, these vents can change your life if dealing with cans or
jugs that don't have usable vents. Drill a hole, pop them in

10Pcs Replacement Gas Can Fuel Jug Vent Caps Plug Eagle Chilton - Yellow- | eBay

This vent is designed to fit the Blitz, Kolpin, Rotopax, Scepter, Eagle, Midwest and all other plastic fuel cans. 10 x Gas Can Vent Cap. Color: Yellow. Convenient to use. Import Duties.

www.ebay.com

 

[NYlumberman]

I have two 50 gallon tanks with fill-rite hand pumps, one for diesel and one for ethanol free gasoline. I welded a piece of tube to a riser that lets me handle the tanks with my forks, well one fork. Easy to load into my pickup when it’s time to fill them. I set them on dollies, so they are easy to move around.

 

[manzer7]

What do you guys do for any thing more than 5 gallon cans? I wanna get something bigger but seems most things are rated for diesel and not gasoline. I was thinking of something like these. Amazon.com

Amazon.com

I bought this 14 gallon gas (can/container) about 10 years ago. The only problem I had was that the hose disintegrated and I bought a new hose at NAPA.
My problem is/was getting better diesel cans - but found these on sale at Tractor Supply.

I treat all my gas and diesel with the appropriate fuel supplements for gas the Blue Marine 360 Sta-Bil. And for the diesel I use EDT 6 in 1 Diesel Treatment and TRC DZL-Pep w/AAT.
"+" in the winter I also add Power Service Fuel Supplement CetaneBoost & Hot Shot Secret Diesel Extreme.

It sounds and looks like a lot - but I have never had it not start on me. It always starts on the first try of about up to 2 seconds duration on the key. Usually instantly when the key is turned on to start.

Also year-round I have a battery maintainer on when the tractor is not in use. - same battery since new in Jan 2018.

 

[jyoutz]

How do you fill those?

I usually fill them at different times due to different usage. I strap them to a pallet, then load/unload the truck with forks. For gas, the caddy has a grounding wire and clip. It’s not the most handy operation, but it works. The caddies are real handy in the shop and for fueling equipment. If I were going to do this again and wanted to spend more, I would buy a small flat trailer and mount truck transfer tanks on it. Park the trailer under an outside carport away from other buildings and have a fueling station that’s easy to use and refill.

 

[Skeletor]

FYI anyone hating the modern 5 gal safety cans, I use this type. Large opening, easy fill and pour.
A local 'farm' store (Runnings) has generic ones, no label and lower cost.

Link for reference:

Pardon Our Interruption...

www.ebay.com

Also, in case someone hasn't discovered them, these vents can change your life if dealing with cans or
jugs that don't have usable vents. Drill a hole, pop them in

10Pcs Replacement Gas Can Fuel Jug Vent Caps Plug Eagle Chilton - Yellow- | eBay

This vent is designed to fit the Blitz, Kolpin, Rotopax, Scepter, Eagle, Midwest and all other plastic fuel cans. 10 x Gas Can Vent Cap. Color: Yellow. Convenient to use. Import Duties.

www.ebay.com

I have one of the runnings “liquid containers” I haven’t tried it yet. The vent placement seems weird. I would think you gotta nurse it or it’s gonna piss all over you. I’m gonna try it with water to see how it works out first.

 

[qualsite]

Watch Craig's List or Nextdoor, or whatever you use in your area, for a used boat or other tank removed from a piece of equipment. I have both, and have them sitting up high on pallet [which I put in the back of the pickup when filling them] sitting on a tote, but any high support will do. My 20 gallon tank was something removed from a piece of equipment, is heavy, so is mounted to the pallet. I have a hose with a quick-connect on them, and a ball valve on the end. I drive my ride-on mower up to it and just let it gravity feed into the mower, or whatever else I need to fill. Of course, use a priming bulb to initially fill up the hose, but once it's full, gravity should do the work after that. A boat tank is made to be portable, and can usually be found used at a good price. I use Stabil Marine360 in the fuel when I first get it, and the fuel sitting in the forklift, and have never had a problem, even with the atrocious CA gas. The Stabil Marine version is stronger and seems to work better and longer. On the pallet, I've never had a problem filling or anyone complaining about filling the larger tank sitting in the bed of the truck.

 

[MossRoad]

I bought one of these battery operated pumps from Harbor Freight several years ago. Sure is nice for full 5-6 gallon cans.

$13 is pretty inexpensive.

https://www.harborfreight.com/battery-operated-liquid-transfer-pump-63847.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12192885310&campaignid=12192885310&utm_content=115861561806&adsetid=115861561806&product=63847&store=113&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsuSzBhCLARIsAIcdLm6lt2-qsSEKPoMQslF4UxwCCqvJhd7QW0Xq0bGP6bumqZhx7SyaphwaArI5EALw_wcB

 

[ultrarunner]

Watch Craig's List or Nextdoor, or whatever you use in your area, for a used boat or other tank removed from a piece of equipment. I have both, and have them sitting up high on pallet [which I put in the back of the pickup when filling them] sitting on a tote, but any high support will do. My 20 gallon tank was something removed from a piece of equipment, is heavy, so is mounted to the pallet. I have a hose with a quick-connect on them, and a ball valve on the end. I drive my ride-on mower up to it and just let it gravity feed into the mower, or whatever else I need to fill. Of course, use a priming bulb to initially fill up the hose, but once it's full, gravity should do the work after that. A boat tank is made to be portable, and can usually be found used at a good price. I use Stabil Marine360 in the fuel when I first get it, and the fuel sitting in the forklift, and have never had a problem, even with the atrocious CA gas. The Stabil Marine version is stronger and seems to work better and longer. On the pallet, I've never had a problem filling or anyone complaining about filling the larger tank sitting in the bed of the truck.

Can’t have any gravity fed fuel storage and ran into this at work and on the ranch…

Fire Inspector issued correction notices as a defective hose or nozzle would permit contents to escape.

 

[grsthegreat]

Here the nail you for any permanent mount fuel storage unit that doesnt have a containment base that can handle entire content of tank. Due to aquifer levels. There ok with gravity fill though.

 

[Jaygyver]

As a couple of others have done I have 4 of those 14 gal tanks, 2 for gas and 2 for diesel. They have wheels so me/the wife can roll them around. I may use a lot of fuel one year but barely any the next so my thinking is as one gets empty then the next time we go into town we fill it up then rotate the tanks. I can still get the full tank down off the truck, well for a couple of more years, and the wife just use's the bucket or forks depending on what is attached.
I don't use the stock hose, (kept them for backups), I bought 2 ac/dc stick pumps, one for diesel and one for gas. Rated for gas AND diesel. They can clip onto a battery or plug into an ac socket.

Amazon.com

I still have a few small pressure washer size tanks and didn't want to get diesel mixed in. The hose's do drain well so no big deal there anyway. You do have to lay the tanks down to use the stick pump as the the pump won't bend. It did fit a couple of my 5 gal cans but didn't on a couple of others. Got tired of holding the 5 gal can and it's a lot easier for the wife to use.
(Turns out it's easier just to take my 2 gal tank to the little machines then it is to drag the machines to the big tank than drag it back, oh well.)

And yes I do fill the tanks on the truck, I do touch the truck before fueling and keep the nozzle against the fill neck as I fuel. Actually all 4 tanks will fit side by side.