Diesel fuel storage and delivery

[Overtaxed]

I'm in the process of buying my first "big" tractor (60HP) and was wondering how others deal with the fuel for a tractor like this. I'm used to carting around 5 gallon cans; but, I'm thinking with a fuel burn that's got to be 3-4X what I'm used to, that might not be reasonable anymore. My first choice would be to put a tank (250 gallon?) on the property and have someone come fill it. I'd also considered putting a tank on a skid; putting that into my truck and driving down to the local station for a fill, then unloading it back on the property once it's full. I'd like to use offroad fuel for the cost savings, but, honestly, I'm not going to burn that much each year to make it huge consideration; I'd be surprised if I went through more than 500 gallons a year. But saving lifting 100 cans of fuel would be very nice, especially if I can do it at a reasonable cost.

Location is upstate SC, in case that matters.

 

[George2615]

I use a 275 gallon tank. I have 3 of them. I have Home heating oil (#2 dyed diesel) delivered. I use the fuel for home heat and my tractor. The fuel is ULSD which has less than 15 ppm sulfur. For the tractor tank I have a 12V, 8 GPM pump.

If you are going to haul your own fuel you may need to limit the tank size otherwise a whole new set of rules may apply such as hazmat and placards.

 

[TripleR]

We use a 300 gallon fuel tank on each farm on a raised stand, our dealer refills it and replaces filters upon request, so much better and safer than handling it ourselves.

 

[Overtaxed]

We use a 300 gallon fuel tank on each farm on a raised stand, our dealer refills it and replaces filters upon request, so much better and safer than handling it ourselves.

What does the price per gallon look like when you get that much (~250 gallons) of fuel delivered vs buying it at the station? Of course, most stations around me don't have offroad fuel, so you're saving the taxes and buying in bulk, but is that enough to get over the delivery fees/costs?

 

[TnAndy]

I built myself a shed to hold my tanks up high enough they gravity feed easy. The shelving stores oils/antifreeze/etc.

One tank is 300 for gasoline (have quite a few small gas engines, and I occasionally fill the car or truck) and I get non-eythanol gas. The diesel is 275 and I buy off road 'red'.

For filling, I either call a local fuel distributor, or the local farm Co-op. Off road diesel here is 41 cents/gal cheaper than on road.....enough to buy the 'red'. No fee for delivery, but you pay the same price as if you picked it up too, so no discount for bulk either.

 

[Looking4new]

I use HHO as well. I save the road use tax. I still gotta pay sales tax and all that other nonsense.

 

[George2615]

What does the price per gallon look like when you get that much (~250 gallons) of fuel delivered vs buying it at the station? Of course, most stations around me don't have offroad fuel, so you're saving the taxes and buying in bulk, but is that enough to get over the delivery fees/costs?

I just got 300 gallons of #2 diesel HHO delivered last month. Price was $2.35 a gallon no delivery charge. On road Diesel at the pump is $2.59 a gallon so I save .24 cents a gallon and don't have to go get it. Note, these prices will vary depending on where you live.
Included on the bill is a Federal Superfund tax, Federal tax NORA, and NYS spill tax.

 

[TripleR]

What does the price per gallon look like when you get that much (~250 gallons) of fuel delivered vs buying it at the station? Of course, most stations around me don't have offroad fuel, so you're saving the taxes and buying in bulk, but is that enough to get over the delivery fees/costs?

To be honest, I never checked. My father in law use to own the business and since we live in a farming community he never charged for delivery fees etc. as they also sell propane, gasoline and lubricants, so he figured he would do well enough based on the number of customers and volume.

Even if we pay more, it is worth it not to have to handle the logistics for keeping fuel on both farms. We live three miles from the distributor and our other farm is only a mile, so when we run out, a phone call gets it to us real quick, same with our propane.

 

[TractorGuy]

I just set up a diesel generator so I wanted more than the 20 gallons I had been keeping on hand in cans. I did mine on the cheap and got two 55 gallon oil drums. The drums were clean with only some new motor oil residue in them and cost me $15 each. I painted the drums to blend with the color of my generator. My generator has a transfer pump/float switch that sucks fuel from the drum to fill the tank on the genset and shuts off when the generator tank is full. So far I have just used a separate 12v pump to fill my 5 gallon cans from the drum and I still pour the fuel into my tractors.



Local supplier delivered 100 gallons of off road diesel for $2.26 per gallon plus 7.5% sales tax. They have a 40 gallon minimum and the price goes up to $2.55 if you buy minimum. No delivery fee other than fuel cost reflects amount purchased.

 

[s219]

I have a 55 gal aluminum transfer tank and a 55 gal storage tank for my generator. Between the two of them, I always have 55-110 gals of diesel on hand. Every so often, I will go pickup a new load using the transfer tank, and bring it back home. For my needs, that setup works very well.

 

[skipperbrown]

I bought a 55 gal container and electric pump (Fill Rite). I made a pallet to put it on and I use my tractor to load it in the back of the pickup. When I need fuel, I use my pallet forks on the FEL and put it in the truck. I use a gas app to find the cheapest diesel within 3-4 miles and fill it up. Once back home, I unload it with the tractor and put the container/pallet on a dolly with rollers and roll it out of the way. I go through about 50 gal a month. It wasn't cheap, but this method works good for me and keeps my fuel fresh. It is surely better than filling and lifting 10 yellow fuel cans.

 

[Gary Fowler]

When I got my first tractor, I found some used 100 gallon tanks with 12VDC 15 GPM pumps for $350 each. I got one for me and one for my B-I-L. I put steel caster wheels on mine so I can roll it around. The local bulk distributor would bring 150 gal min without a service charge. Later he went up to 200 gallons so I got one of the plastic TOTE Tanks from a local chemical company (no charge for the tank and lets you have all you want). We fill our 2 tanks and tractors if needed and I take whatever is left into my 275 bulk tank. The driver bills us separately and no deliver charge since my brother-in-law is just 300 feet from me.
I use my fuel out of the 100 gallon tank, then remove the pump and put it in the 275 TOTE TANK and top the 100 gallon back up. It is easier to do that than try to plumb in the big tank and I can still roll my 100 gallon around if needed. I stocked up with fuel back when it fell below $3 a gallon at the pumps. I think I paid $2.68 per gallon. Wish I had held off longer now, but then who knew it would come down to close to $2 at the pumps.

 

[countrybumpkin]

I bought a 55 gal container and electric pump (Fill Rite). I made a pallet to put it on and I use my tractor to load it in the back of the pickup. When I need fuel, I use my pallet forks on the FEL and put it in the truck. I use a gas app to find the cheapest diesel within 3-4 miles and fill it up. Once back home, I unload it with the tractor and put the container/pallet on a dolly with rollers and roll it out of the way. I go through about 50 gal a month. It wasn't cheap, but this method works good for me and keeps my fuel fresh. It is surely better than filling and lifting 10 yellow fuel cans.

Pretty much the same thing I did for a few years, but got tiered of having to load and unload the tank. I had a small trailer setting around so mounted my diesel tank and a 50 gallon gas tank in it. Now when I start getting low in either tank , I just hook up the trailer on my way to town and top them both off. Only problem with that is now if I take the tractor someplace to do work I can't set my tank in my truck or on the trailer to take with me.

 

[richriddle]

I use 165 gallon tank on the ground with a crank handle. The non-road diesel is the same as home heating oil around here. Theoretically, it should be cheaper (it has no 50 cent a gallon road tax) than the road diesel you purchase at the pump. In reality, it's only about a dime a gallon cheaper.

 

[Fallon]

I started with a 55 gallon drum strapped to a pallet with a manual pump. Would fork it onto the truck & run to the gas station down the road to fill it with off-road diesel. Then fork it back off into the barn.

Upgraded to a 300 gallon tank on a stand in the shop & delivery. 250 gallons (what you can safely put in a 300) will probably last me a year or 2, but I wanted a stash to have in case of emergency. Also bought when it was cheaper last fall.

If you get a lot, get it in the winter so it's a winter blend & won't gell. Even so I put some biocide in to prevent slime growing & some Pri-D as a preservative.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have lots of rules here so options are limited...

The 360 gallon tank at work is limited to 180 gallons because it is required to be double containment tank with a monitored alarm sensor should any fuel make it into the secondary tank...

Jobber has a 100 gallon minimum fuel delivery requirement plus $50 for RED and the price per gallon works out to a few cents more than what I can buy it for at a station.

At the ranch we are not allowed any type of gravity set up... fuel is in 55 gallon drums with a hand crank and the drums must be stored on a containment pallet large enough to contain the contents should a drum leak.

Some of the other ranchers have 100 gallon AUX bed mounted tanks in their pickup beds... they can fuel anywhere and even fuel their diesel pickups...

 

[kthompson]

I use a 150 gallon tank in small trailer. We have station about 5 miles away who sells off road diesel. I would not want diesel fuel to sit for the months you are talking about I think. One point I just filled my tank at about 100 gallons to prevent it getting old and I use the most in the spring doing my small crop prep and planting but off road here was $2.09 a gallon with was .17 cents less than on road. Last time I heard the price of home heating oil here it was higher than off road fuel was. Made me wonder about the dealer she bought from.

I use a rotary hand pump and it works fine for me. Issue is not running over the tractor when filling it as you can not hear the fuel backing up as you are not at the nozzle. But I have no issue with needing power.

 

[Fallon]

Over 114 gallons or so if I recall right requires hazmat stuff. So you don't see any truck tanks over that.

 

[bdog]

My fuel distributor brought me a 1,000 gallon tank free of charge. When t gets empty I call and they come fill it up. Depending on how busy we are it normally lasts 1-2 months.

 

[pyro29]

Over 114 gallons or so if I recall right requires hazmat stuff. So you don't see any truck tanks over that.

If you are not in commerce, then the DOT regulations for hazardous materials transportation do not apply. So, if you live in a state where the haz-mat transportation law is 49CFR IBR, and if you are not in commerce, to mean that you are purchasing and transporting fuel for your own private, personal use, then you are free to go out and purchase a tank trailer and haul 8,000 gallons if you want, no CDL, no placards, no DOT number, no HMSP, no HM insurance.

Check your state regulations to see if your state is 49CFR IBR or if you have state specific regulations.

If you are in commerce, you are allowed to carry up to 119 gallons of diesel fuel without if being classified as hazardous. Over 119 gallons means haz-mat transportation.