Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit

   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #1  

texasjohn

Super Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2005
Messages
6,003
Location
Central Texas, Jarrell
Tractor
Kubota Grand L5030HSTC
Well, I hunted and hunted to determine the maximum amount of gasoline (flammable liquid) I could carry in a container in the back of my pickup. Lots of searching on the net was fruitless... at least for me.

Phone calls determined the following:

Gasoline is a dangerous substance, controlled by the Texas DPS (not DOT).

A fellow at DPS confidently told me that there were no regulations until you got to 119 gallons, then all sorts of permits were required. No unique signage is required until 119 gallons is reached... I admit, I didn't determine if it is 119 or 120 gallons is where the actual limit is.

All of the transfer tanks (TSC, elsewhere) indicate that they are qualified for combustible (diesel) but NOT flammable (gasoline) fluids. There is ONE manufacturer that sells transfer tanks for gasoline, but I couldn't figure out what is special about that tank, other than extremely pricey.

All of the transfer PUMPS indicate that they are OK for either diesel or gasoline.

My conclusion and plans.... one cannot throw caution to the wind and good judgment must always apply.... nevertheless, for my situation where I need to transport gasoline in the back of my pickup a few miles from a gas station to a larger external gasoline tank on the ranch, the following should be sufficiently safe:

Use an aluminum (reduces sparks) transfer tank, less than 119 gallons.
Use 12 volt transfer pump that is OK for gasoline.
Load empty tank into pickup, fill it up at gas station, drive carefully to ranch, transfer load to bulk tank, remove tank from back of pickup until next transfer is needed.
Use gas for generator, on ranch gas pickup, etc.

I spent lots of time researching this seemingly simple question, for Texas, thus thought I'd post my conclusions here.
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #2  
i am curious why Aluminum will cause less sparks? Is it not a conductive metal that even works better at conducting Electricity then steel? In explosive atmospheres at work we use brass, but that is for a metal to metal strike type spark, i.e. when i drop or slip with a wrench and hit something there is no spark.

Just curious. Good luck
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #3  
Well, I hunted and hunted to determine the maximum amount of gasoline (flammable liquid) I could carry in a container in the back of my pickup. Lots of searching on the net was fruitless... at least for me.

Phone calls determined the following:

Gasoline is a dangerous substance, controlled by the Texas DPS (not DOT).

A fellow at DPS confidently told me that there were no regulations until you got to 119 gallons, then all sorts of permits were required. No unique signage is required until 119 gallons is reached... I admit, I didn't determine if it is 119 or 120 gallons is where the actual limit is.

All of the transfer tanks (TSC, elsewhere) indicate that they are qualified for combustible (diesel) but NOT flammable (gasoline) fluids. There is ONE manufacturer that sells transfer tanks for gasoline, but I couldn't figure out what is special about that tank, other than extremely pricey.

All of the transfer PUMPS indicate that they are OK for either diesel or gasoline.

My conclusion and plans.... one cannot throw caution to the wind and good judgment must always apply.... nevertheless, for my situation where I need to transport gasoline in the back of my pickup a few miles from a gas station to a larger external gasoline tank on the ranch, the following should be sufficiently safe:

Use an aluminum (reduces sparks) transfer tank, less than 119 gallons.
Use 12 volt transfer pump that is OK for gasoline.
Load empty tank into pickup, fill it up at gas station, drive carefully to ranch, transfer load to bulk tank, remove tank from back of pickup until next transfer is needed.
Use gas for generator, on ranch gas pickup, etc.

I spent lots of time researching this seemingly simple question, for Texas, thus thought I'd post my conclusions here.
If I was buying 110 to 120 gallon at a time I'd just have it delivered and save all the fussin around.
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #4  
...
Use an aluminum (reduces sparks) transfer tank, less than 119 gallons.
Use 12 volt transfer pump that is OK for gasoline.
Load empty tank into pickup, fill it up at gas station, drive carefully to ranch, transfer load to bulk tank, remove tank from back of pickup until next transfer is needed.
Use gas for generator, on ranch gas pickup, etc.
...
Is there anything you have to do about static charge build up from the gasoline flowing from the pump to the tank? The gas stations always say to put the container on the ground (yeah, I know, try that with a 119 gallon container...), putting the container on the ground reduces static spark risks apparently.
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #5  
If you rely on aviation practices you would run a grounding wire from tank to the pump.

That is generally a simple braided wire (aircraft cable) terminated in an alligator clip that you clamp onto metal.
Simlpy carry a 12 ft length of wire with clips at both ends!
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #6  
I have an anti-sparking pipe wrench, made from aluminum, with brass jaws. No sparking with that one, but it doesn't get used much, due to the brass jaws being a little short life when you attack steel pipe with it.
David from jax
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #7  
Texasjohn

Why don't you have the gasoline delivered to your ranch by a delivery truck rather than you hauling it? You could then have it pumped into a tank at your property. This is what I do. The delivery trucks can carry up to 5000 gallons. If your tank on the ranch was mounted on a stand, it would not require any pumps for your use. Most tanks on stands in my area are 300 gallon tanks. The stand raises the tank 6-7' off the ground and gravity does the rest.
 
   / Texas 119 gallon max gasoline carry without permit #10  
Yes by all means...like LB59 said...and like he reminded us all again that he said it first...
 
 
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