Bulk Fuel Tank for the Small Tractor Owner

[5030]

With fuel prices going through the roof, what you need is a bulk tank...

Check local papers, flea markets or the scrap yard and find a 275 gallon fuel oil tank. There are a lot of them around as homeowners are changing from fuel oil to piped gas or propane.

Truck the tank home, purchase a 12 volt or 110 volt transfer pump about $150.00 at TSC, set the tank next to your garage (it already has feet) and call your local petroleum supplier and have the tank filled. Tell them it is for "off road use". You are only taxed on fuel used for "on road purposes". Your tractor is not "on road". Since it is "off road" taxes on fuel do not apply. Remember-DON'T PUT THE FUEL IN YOUR PICKUP OR CAR AS IT IS DYED RED AND IF CAUGHT YOU WILL BE FINED FOR IT'S USE. The first time fine for misuse of red dyed diesel in an "on road" application is $5,000.00.

We have 2 bulk tanks. One is 5000 gallons at the main farm and a 275 gallon which is an old home heating oil tank at the shop which is what I use for my Kubota. It's also a lot easier to fill your tractor with a nozzle than with a 5 gallon can. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you can't find a tank, most bulk suppliers will provide you with a skid mounted tank for purchase or lease. If you lease, you will have to use their fuel and sign a contract to that effect. Petroleum suppliers can be found in your local yellow pages.

Daryl
Forage Services L.P.

 

[Justaplain]

I'll bet the "average" the readers of this site do not use 150 Gals a year, so there goes fresh fuel and seassonal fuel /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[5030]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'll bet the "average" the readers of this site do not use 150 Gals a year, so there goes fresh fuel and seassonal fuel /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif )</font>

Diesel, unlike gasoline doesn't get "stale". Gasoline will, if stored for over 90 days, produce gum and varnish. Diesel on the other hand, will not. About the only thing you have to worry about with diesel is the formation of microorganisms or "algae". All you have to do is add a fuel additive like Power Service or Lucas Fuel Conditioner as they both have an algaecide that will deter the formation of algae or slime in the fuel.

The fuel tank I fuel my Kubota with gets filled about 1 time a year and I have an inline filter between the pump and hose with a clear polycarbonate bowl attached. I have never seen any crud in it and I have had this tank about 5 years.

Daryl
Forage Services L.P.

 

[Trev]

One thing I did was call our oil company and ask them if they had padlocks for the tank. Now I can keep it locked up, and the oil company has a key so they can fill it when they need to. These tanks might start to look very inviting if oil prices keep going up. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[thcri]

Daryl,

Since them tanks are up on legs you really don't need the pump, unless you got one of them big tractors that is still higher than the tank.

murph

 

[5030]

When I mean legs, I mean they are only about 10 inches off the ground. I don't mean a "farm tank" which is about 10 feet off the ground and has a gravity nozzle on it.

I am attaching a picture of my tank. It looks wet 'cause it's raining here. Probably will turn to ice tonite.

Daryl
Forage Services L.P.

 

[5030]

"One thing I did was call our oil company and ask them if they had padlocks for the tank. Now I can keep it locked up, and the oil company has a key so they can fill it when they need to. These tanks might start to look very inviting if oil prices keep going up. "

I have a 12 volt transfer pump on my tank and the only way to get fuel out is to plug the pigtail into the 7 way on the back of the tractor. That way, no one can get fuel when I'm not around. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif



Daryl
Forage service L.P.

 

[Steven]

Make sure you check that the installation of this extra tank is legal. what if that tank leaks out on the ground. the E.P.A. would have a field day with you and your wallet for clean up costs and fines if tank was not legally permitted. check you laws before installing.

 

[5030]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Make sure you check that the installation of this extra tank is legal. what if that tank leaks out on the ground. the E.P.A. would have a field day with you and your wallet for clean up costs and fines if tank was not legally permitted. check you laws before installing. )</font>

According to my local fuel supplier the EPA states that tanks under 275 gallons are exempt from containment structures. Our 5000 gallon bulk tank at the main farm is surrounded by a containment dike.

Daryl
Forage Services L.P.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This is just getting too funny.
First of all, alge infestation of diesel fuel rarely occurrs unless you are storing around salt water, like the ocean. It doesn't come into play for tanks located more than 50 miles from the ocean.
Secondly, Diesel does loose Cetane rating over time in storage. It also looses lubricity because the suspended parafin wax falls to the bottom of the tank.
Thirdly, anybody who thinks a diesel tank is safe from theft because of how their pump is wired or because of a padlock is deluding themselves. Skid tanks usually have threaded openings, and pumps can be unthreaded as can fill ports. Even if these ports can't be accessed, all that is needed is a pick axe an an empth 55 gallon drum and a couple hoses.
It's possible to suck gas or diesel from an underground tank using nothing more than manifold vacuum from a pickup truck. It's been done before, and it will be done again.