Oil & Fuel Getting That Diesel

[Rch]

Nice, heavy- duty plastic barrels; the local farm Co-op sells propionic acid (1 carbon up from acetic acid-vinegar) in 55 gal flat sided black plastic barrels. A few years ago they charged $28 deposit for the barrel. I brought 2, cleaned them out with sodium bicarbonate and used them to haul water. (Propionic acid is used to acidify stored grain in order to prevent fungus growing) The flat sides are nice and they are thick walled. The only down side would be the black color if stored in the sun. I suppose an appropiate paint and/or shade could fix that. Of course ,appropiate labels would have to be afixed.

RCH

 

[Von]

The 35 gal. blue barrels that I got had soap in them and are made in England out of #2 plastic. They are about 1/4" thick and very strong. Got them from a friend who gets them at work for free.

Von

 

[Anonymous Poster]

In recent issues of the Northern Tool Catalog under the Fuel Transfer section there are 2 "gas caddy" units shown that are well-suited for dealing with small amounts of fuel. One tank holds 28 gallons (polyethylene) and the other 30 (steel). Each has 2 wheels, push-handles, and hand pumps. The pumps can operate either direction to either fill or drain the caddy tank. I bring fuel to mine in 5 gallon plastic containers and use the pump to transfer the fuel into the caddy tank. Then when I fuel the tractor later, it is an easy job to just pump it in without having to lift a heavy 5 gallon container up above hood level. (As someone said, those cans seem to get heavier every year.) It would also be easy to just roll the empty caddy up the loading ramps onto the trailer and haul it to a service station to fill up. Rolling it back down with 30 gallons inside might be a bit tricky, but you could always just lift it off with the loader and then roll it into the shed. The caddy is also useful when you are working off-site.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

In all but the cold part of the winter I just take my fuel from my heating oil tank. I talked to several local fuel distributors that they all told me their off-road diesel and heating oil are one in the same (come from the same tank). I put a valve on the tank and fill a 5gal jug. Could do a hand pump but it hasn't been worth it given the amount I use.

Winter is different. You will need to either use pre-treated fuel from the local service station or treat the heating oil yourself to prevent gelling.

Also be sure to stay off-road with heating oil/off-road diesel to avoid fines etc.

 

[Sourdough]

Sportsman's Guide (www.sportsmansguide.com) in Minn. is selling the Green Nato 5.1 gallon used diesel fuel cans for about $10 or $11 - a fitted nozzle is another $7. These are heavy, substantial cans and do a great job. I bought 3, keeping a nozzle only on 1 and leaving the other 2 sealed with the o-ring seal. 15+ gallons at a tome are more than enough for the tractoring I do.

 

[gerard]

I'd heard the same thing about # 2 heating oil being the same as diesel but I also heard there was a different in sulfur content and something about waxes in the heating oil?? Anyone else have any informed opinions on this issue?? I use heating oil at me house and it sure would be convenient (and cheaper) to just pump out of my tank instead of getting diesel at the gas station. I just don't want to do anything that would degrade performance or hurt the tractor.

 

[FlynG]

I am currently using the 3 5 gallon plastic jug method. I did put about a two foot piece of clear hose on the nozzle with a tie wrap which allows me to get it in the hole before tipping the can.

I have been turning the blue barrels into horse feeders for years now and it crossed my mind about using one for a diesel bulk tank. Has anyone found a source for a valve that will mate to the barrel? A cradle and gravity feed sounds pretty simple.

 

[JerryG]

FlynG, the blue plastic barrel that I have takes a standard half inch pipe valve. It fits in the spin out plug. You may one like mine.
JerryG

 

[W5FL]

Don't laught too loud. Gravity feed is not legal for fuel almost everywhere. It is not considered a fire hazzard and your insurance won't allow it. Get a barrel pump or an electric pump as they are much safer and who wants 30 gallons of diesel on the ground.

 

[Bird]

Wen, is this something new? I know one distributor that was selling diesel last year (don't know about now) from a big overhead tank that was gravity flow. A neighbor was buying his there, and quit simply because the flow was so slow through the gauge they had. And I know a number of farmers are still using overhead tanks with gravity flow. And did you mean to say that it "is" a fire hazard?

Bird