Oil & Fuel Storing diesel fuel

Anonymous Poster · Nov 30, 2001

Okay, I've been reading and reading over in the fuel and lubricants area, and there's a lot to plow through.

I'm thinking my plan of a 190 gallon tank out by the garage isn't such a hot one! Especially if it's the same stuff as in the outside heating oil tank. Maybe I could just get the oil company to approve or provide a hand pump on the main heating oil tank, and just walk over with a 5 gallon can whenever I need some fuel. But we come back to the problem of freshness, which I don't yet understand. In the summer, the same old stuff sits in that tank for months and months. Would it be likely to be stale?

Anyway, back to my homework over in the lubricants area.

Thanks again, folks!!

butzkeg · Nov 30, 2001

LOL...funny stuff.

Bird · Nov 30, 2001

Baloney...Old wives tale

Hmmm, OK, John, I'm sure you know more about it than I do, but a fellow in my area told me about his brand new John Deere quitting on him twice; first time in the field, second time driving down the road, and he said both times the dealer's mechanic came to fix it and said that red dye had clogged the fuel filter, so he quit using fuel with the red dye, and no more problems. Now I can buy the dyed fuel, or I can buy the regular diesel (for off road use) at the same price, so I asked the distributor where I buy it about the dye and he said, "No problem if it's fresh, but I wouldn't want to keep it around more than a month or so or the dye can separate out and clog things up." Of course I don't know whether he knew what he was talking about or not, but I do know I don't put any dyed fuel in my tractor./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Anonymous Poster · Nov 30, 2001

Ok Bird...

I'll back peddle...2 inches... I'll reserve my statement for the Northeast where I live... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I don't know of any "off-road" usage fuel (2D Fuel Oil) that is sold here that isn't "dyed"... so in essence, "dyed" fuel is the only stuff farmers can get here that is "non-taxable"... {and the farmer sure ain't gonna pay more for "clear" fuel...}

You have to remember I'm in New York... they love those "tax revenues..."

By chance, just a remote possibility, like maybe... this farmer in Texas had "water-contaminated dyed fuel" that caused the original problem? The amount of dye they use in NY is miniscule... I don't remember how many parts per million... but basically next to nothing...

As far as buying "clear" 2D tax exempt fuel in NY... it's very regulated and I've never seen it or heard of it {but it wouldn't be the first.../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif}

Anonymous Poster · Nov 30, 2001

...Now I can buy the dyed fuel, or I can buy the regular diesel (for off road use) at the same price...

Why would Texas have both then... what purpose does it serve? {considering they are both tax-exempt}/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Anonymous Poster · Nov 30, 2001

I just found one more alternative I hadn't thought of before.. just pay a farmer near me to let me tank up off his storage tanks once in a while. He goes through a lot of fuel, so staleness shouldn't be a problem. He said it would be no hardship at all for him...

Just one more option to consider.

Appreciate all your help and ideas. Now back to the archives... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird · Nov 30, 2001

Beats me, John, why they have it both with and without the dye. Of course, a lot of paperwork is required. They made some changes to the law each of the last two sessions of the legislature. You used to just have to sign a form for the distributor you bought the fuel from and now you have to have a letter from the "Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts", a couple of numbers, leave a signed copy with the distributor, etc. Basically, what I had to sign is that none of it will go into a motor vehicle on public highways, I won't resell any of it, and I won't buy more than 3,000 gallons in a single delivery or 10,000 gallons per month./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif However, I got a bulletin from the comptroller that says effective September 1, 2001, those gallon limits were raised to 7,400 and 25,000 respectively. Reckon that'll be enough for a B2710?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Oh, and the form says for dyed and undyed diesel. I've got one neighbor who has a 250 gallon tank on a trailer that he goes after his diesel with, and another neighbor who has a 1,000 gallon tank to which he has his delivered, but neither of them use the dyed diesel.

pfoxy · Nov 30, 2001

I agree with the small quantities. I've had my 750 since 1988 and have gotten along nicely with five 5 gallon kerosene cans. Even when I was making my living with the tractor, keeping enough fuel on hand wasn't a problem.

The only reason I would consider bulk storage is to avoid the road taxes on pump diesel. But seeing as 25 gallons usually lasts me about 3 months, I wouldn't save enough to pay for the tank in this lifetime.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

vtrick · Nov 30, 2001

A couple of items to consider in bulk diesel storage:
1. tanks are subject to moisture condensation inside with temp. changes especially in the spring season
2. many times when moistrue becomes present in tanks, algae will begin to grow inside resulting in terrible filter problems. we had this problem at work once and the filters on many pieces of equipment had to be replaced daily.

Also, I use the red fuel at work without any problems. Some of the equipment sets idle for two to three months between useage.
Hope this helps
rj

Edited by vtrick on 11/30/01 07:53 PM (server time).

mbjacobs · Nov 30, 2001

Bird,

I live in Texas and I bought 30 gal of "Farm Use" diesel this week. All I had to do was sign a little form at the distributer. Go figure!

Maury Jacobs