On Site Fuel

[thebmrust]

It seems that most responders are 50-100 gal & portable so it can be filled at a consumer/retail pump.

The biggest convenience (or absolute need) is not using 5gal cans anymore.

I’m doing 5gal cans about 3 times a month just with my riding mower (1.5 acres). Adding a tractor so gas and diesel in the future.

I have no idea how much fuel the tractor will use. Will not be mowing, but property upgrade and maintenance. Lots of projects that couldn’t be done by hand.

I was hoping the savings would be a factor too, but it appears no one uses enough gas/diesel to get delivery, in order to realize that potential savings.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I have 3 diesel trucks and 5 diesel tractors. I have 2 fuel cards in each truck. One is for the truck and one is for equipment. When I do my taxes, I get the road use tax back on all fuel purchased with the equipment cards. This way I can buy at any diesel pump without having to find a place with red diesel. And this allows me to buy at the lower price pumps.

Years ago I had a 300 gallon tank with clear diesel. It seemed that every time I filled it, the price would go down.

Now, one truck has a 100 gallon nurse tank and I have another 100 gallon nurse tank on a pallet in my shop. Both of these are filled using the equipment cards. This way I can fuel equipment on the job site or at my shop. Both nurse tanks have a 12 volt pump

 

[anomad]

I have 3 diesel trucks and 5 diesel tractors. I have 2 fuel cards in each truck. One is for the truck and one is for equipment. When I do my taxes, I get the road use tax back on all fuel purchased with the equipment cards. This way I can buy at any diesel pump without having to find a place with red diesel. And this allows me to buy at the lower price pumps.

Years ago I had a 300 gallon tank with clear diesel. It seemed that every time I filled it, the price would go down.

Now, one truck has a 100 gallon nurse tank and I have another 100 gallon nurse tank on a pallet in my shop. Both of these are filled using the equipment cards. This way I can fuel equipment on the job site or at my shop. Both nurse tasks have a 12 volt pump

Interesting! I need to talk to my CPA about this.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Like others, I got tired of going to town and filling up cans...and even more tired of fueling the machinery from cans.

Bought a 200-gallon Lee Agra tank with the 12 V Fill-Rite pump. Liked it enough to buy a second one for gas. Also bought four 325 gallon totes to replenish the diesel tank with, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out that having the fuel delivered was cheaper than trekking into town and paying pump prices.

These days the two Lee Agra tanks live in enclosures meant for trash cans, the pumps are powered by a car size AGM battery fed by a 10W solar panel.

Put a "scoop" on the first one to accommodate the height of the pump, but by the time I added the second enclosure I had figured out how to make things fit under the stock lid.

Either way, I can't imagine having to use 5-gallon cans or having to go fill them, ever again.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Could you elaborate on your DeWalt powered gas pump? I have not seen that accessory

LOL, the only thing DeWalt is the battery.

The rig is a 30 gal drum mounted on a wheeled cart with a plywood top. It has a 12V transfer pump powered by a 20V DeWalt cordless tool battery with an adapter wired to a 20V to 12V buck converter.

I fill it from another pump connected to my 1000 gal storage tank. That pump is AC powered and won't work during an outage. If I get careless and let the generator run out of fuel, I can use the battery powered pump to do the fueling if necessary. It's also portable and can be moved wherever needed.

I used this battery adapter and converter:

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

 

[duffer]

I have 10 acres of turf to mow essentially every week in season. Plus taking care of ¼ mi gravel road.

I have a 250 gal tote for diesel with a 12v submersible pump to plug into a port on the tractor when I fill it. Usually have the ORD delivered as my tractor can't lift 250 gal of diesel, and it's cheaper like Too Many Kubotas said.

Also have 3 30 gal HDPE rated drums for gas, on dollies that I can roll around to fill the vehicles with a 12v pump that uses the vehicle power port.
I can buy gas for $1 off a gallon based on points we get from Kroger. Wife has a great system for accumulating so many points we can't use them all each month. Haven't paid full price for gas in 8 years +

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Interesting! I need to talk to my CPA about this.

I got my 'road use tax' check from the US Treasury this week for $251.00. The federal tax on road diesel is $0.244 which means I used about 1028 gallons of road diesel in my equipment. Here in Louisiana our road tax is $0.20 per gallon. I'm not sure if I get that back or not. It's probably a tax credit on my Louisiana tax return.

$251 is not a lot, but I think it's worth the effort. The fuel cards do have a small cost, but they also help with tracking mileage and expenses on the trucks.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

How many of you have on site fuel tanks? Gas and/or diesel (on and off road).

Some questions have…
How big is your property?
How is it to work with your local fuel distributor?
What’s your setup? 55gal drums, ground level with pump, elevated gravity feed, mobile trailer/truck?
Do you use more/less fuel than you planned?
Any cost savings?
Is on-site worth it?

1. Property size about 112 acres
2.Very easy, I call when I am getting close to needing fuel, driver comes out within a couple of days and fills my 500 gallon off road diesel tank, my CC is on file and they charge it within a week and send me a sales receipt.
3.500 gallon ground level tank with a 120 volt 30 GPM pump, also have a couple of portable 50 gallon tanks with hand pumps.
4. I use about 1000 gallons of fuel per year between my farm and my skidsteer business.
5. Pay no tax on the off road fuel.
6. Being used to having it, I wouldn't want to try to make it without it.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

6. Being used to having it, I wouldn't want to try to make it without it.

A somewhat big thing for me is that if the feces hit the fan I'll still have a fair amount of fuel for feeding the generator and machinery. Plus a few regular road going vehicles - and under such circumstances nobody will care what color the fuel is.

 

[anomad]

A somewhat big thing for me is that if the feces hit the fan I'll still have a fair amount of fuel for feeding the generator and machinery. Plus a few regular road going vehicles - and under such circumstances nobody will care what color the fuel is.

Hurricane Helene, a year ago tomorrow, taught me I have no idea what prepared means. I'm working to convert everything to diesel and have all the contingencies squared away. Can't just stroke a check to make it all happen tomorrow though.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Propane is more expensive here per BTU than red fuel, and it won't fuel my tractors. I would also need a very large storage tank.

Gasoline is more volatile and goes "stale" after a few months. It also won't fuel my tractors or heat the house.

Diesel (red fuel) is the only product I can reliably store long term, and in sufficient quantity, to get me through a prolonged power outage. I use it for heat, to generate electricity and for tractor fuel. In an emergency, I can also use it in my diesel pickup. All home appliances, power tools, push mower, trimmer, etc. are electric.

Other than a small gas can for the backup generator, diesel (red fuel) is the only fuel I need.

 

[SwingOak]

I have a 106 gallon aluminum transfer tank mounted on a skid that I can remove or move between trucks. I can fill it wherever diesel is cheapest, which is almost always Costco. Costco is often the same price or lower than ORD, so I just use on road diesel so I can use it in my trucks as well. It’s more about convenience than savings, except when hauling equipment over the road - using it with the trucks can add up savings fast.

 

[Fxfymn413]

These days the two Lee Agra tanks live in enclosures meant for trash cans, the pumps are powered by a car size AGM battery fed by a 10W solar panel.

Please do your local firefighters a favor and label the "sheds" with a hazard placard so they know what is inside them. The placards are numbered so no one knows what you have inside except a trained first responder.

If you don't know how or where to get a placard contact your local FD for help.

 

[olenjohn]

No, but one of these days! I would probably go with a pallet mounted 55 gallon drum and a 12v pump. Throw it up on the trailer and drive to the gas station and not have to deal with delivery. I need to find a place to get off-road diesel around me when I get this set-up going. If I end up getting a chinese mini ex with a diesel I will definitely do it then.

That mini ex will burn about as much as a riding lawn mower. Is it worth the effort for bulk fuel for that?

 

[Fxfymn413]

I use a 60 gallon tank mounted in the back of the pick-up with a 12v pump. I use it to fuel the truck when I'm on the road with my RV or GN since it is much easier that trying to negotiate into a tight place to get fuel with the trailers.

When its off season for RVing I put the tank on a pallet in the tractor shed and use an "Anderson" plug mounted on the tractor to power it.

I also use taxed fuel for the tractors as the cost difference is minimal and it is much more convenient.

 

[henerythe8th]

Several years ago I traveled a route multiple times in my diesel pickup that was a long distance between stations, a few in AZ on the reservation were VERY expensive.
I bought a 50 gallon cube tank and a hand pump.
I've since screwed it to a little pallet to make it easy to move with the tractor, it's easy to bring to town to fill with ORD for my tractor and mini ex.
35 mostly wooded acres, various uses,

 

[pwhite42]

How many of you have on site fuel tanks? Gas and/or diesel (on and off road).

Some questions have…
How big is your property?
How is it to work with your local fuel distributor?
What’s your setup? 55gal drums, ground level with pump, elevated gravity feed, mobile trailer/truck?
Do you use more/less fuel than you planned?
Any cost savings?
Is on-site worth it?

I have a 55 gallon tank I attached to a pallet. It has a 12 volt pump. Being on the pallet, I can move it with one of my tractors with pallet forks on it.

 

[nyone]

I burn home heating oil in my machines. March of 2020 I filled a 275gal oil tank with $1.28gal fuel. It's about 1/2 tank now. I treat it and run a goldenrod filter on a hand pump. I prob have less than $300 into the setup.

I used a 55gal drum for a bit but still had to buy fuel from the offroad diesel pump and wasn't as cheap as HHO. I have older high pressure injection diesels.

 

[NYlumberman]

I have 50 gallon tanks with manual pumps for both diesel and ethanol free gasoline. I added a piece of rectangular tubing on top that allows me to easily load one into my pickup using my forks. They sit on dollies.

 

[mattdewalt]

Check FB Marketplace. 2 years ago I bought a 275 gallon tank with hand pump and about 100 gallons of diesel in it. I payed $125 for everything. You never know what people want to get rid of sometimes.