what do you do for fuel storage?

[Gale Hawkins]

Security is a concern. Needing fuel and not being able to get it is a concern.

When you are miles away from a source of fuel in a major ice storm as we found ourselves with our generator was drinking about 25 gallons a day with only electric heat source and kids in the house security concerns move to second place at my house.

60 foot from your back door is about the best security but one can not stay home 24/7.

 

[grsthegreat]

I know that I wouldn't need to fill it completely, but condensation is something to be concerned with. I always top off the tank (in the tractor) or run it dry (walk behind mower and weed wacker) before the winter.

My annual usage of diesel is (a real wild assed guess here) about 30 gallons, give or take. Might be a bit more if any special projects and would definitely be more if I get the PTO generator we're considering (assuming a power los, of course).

To save a fuel bucks, I'd have my fuel oil company fill the tank...but that won't be winterized fuel, obviously....so I'd be adding an additive (which I do anyway).

Anyway, unless we do buy that generator, I won't really need to keep that much fuel on hand. So, no tank purchase until after the generator purchase.

But, there are a number of TBNers in the south central and SE Pennsylvania area as well as a few in northern MD....so somebody may get use of that tank, which is why I posted the info about it.

yeiks..30 gal is that all... you need to play more. I filled 30 gal worth of 5 gal cans last month...nearly 1/2 empty and the tractor needs a refueling again.

 

[RoyJackson]

yeiks..30 gal is that all... you need to play more. I filled 30 gal worth of 5 gal cans last month...nearly 1/2 empty and the tractor needs a refueling again.

Well, these Yanmar engines are very frugal with fuel...and, the work (other then mowing and snow removal) I bought a tractor for initially is long done.
I really don't need a tractor anymore...a larger lawn and garden tractor could do 95% of the work. But, I enjoy having one...and when I do need one, it's invaluable.
Of course, it's also paid for!!!

 

[oldboyscout]

Gary et al,
what if I welded larger flat tabs to the sides, to have more surface area to distribute the load?
I'm only looking at 15 or 25 gallons tank

 

[JoeL4330]

build a frame out of angle ...if you put casters on, lifting w. pallet forks is easy; if you are planning to lift w. FEL-chain, you would need to "bridle" it (IMHO) if you are planning to lift it w. fuel in it ...fuel sloshing in the tank is not your friend and few such "transfer" tanks are baffled.

 

[moored4]

build a frame out of angle ........... if you are planning to lift w. FEL-chain, you would need to "bridle" it (IMHO) if you are planning to lift it w. fuel in it ...fuel sloshing in the tank is not your friend and few such "transfer" tanks are baffled.

That is the way I move my 40 gal tank that I showed early in this thread, chain sling, and the "sloshing" doesn't realy happen, I keep my chains short and I'm also assuming that you'll be on a driveway and transfering it from truck to storage building! No quick turns of course :thumbsup:

 

[JoeL4330]

Moored4: Nice fab ...i went to your build thread to see how you attached the chain--neat. On my refueling tanks I've found that spiders and other creatures seem to like the inside of the filler-nozzle and I once had same flow into my tractor tank and cause a clog... so now, I either cap the filler-nozzle when not in use or run the first little bit of flow back into the transfer tank so that it's filter will take care of things.

 

[ultrarunner]

I prefer cranking my hand pump to worrying about gravity working when I'm not around. I'd hate to walk out and find I'd lost 100 gallons of diesel on the ground.

Fire Marshall will not allow any gravity tanks in the county... has to have a pump... goes for oils and solvents too.

I use the 34 gallon tank in my truck to haul and store fuel. Installed a 3-way valve and it's been working great since 1990...

 

[bucktaker]

i picked up a 55 gal plastic barrel with plastic fittings. After I leak test/clean with water I am going to add a hand pump, nozzle, filter.
Will I have issues filling this thing with fuel at the landmark place since its not an approved container?

 

[bigbull338]

i picked up a 55 gal plastic barrel with plastic fittings. After I leak test/clean with water I am going to add a hand pump, nozzle, filter.
Will I have issues filling this thing with fuel at the landmark place since its not an approved container?

to me a tractor is a lifetime investment.so youd be better off buying you a 60 gal fuel storage tank from TSC an be done with it.we have a 100 gal tank that goes in the truck bed.an i know it has tobe well over 40yrs old.

 

[KML]

I use a 55gal transfer tank and 20 GPM pump I picked up off of craigslist. I had to add a filter, hose and tank adapter but the price was right ($100) and the pump actually worked

It's bolted to pallet and I pallet fork it to the truck and fill at the farm co-op. It lives on a shelf I built into the shed with a sliding door so it's out of the elements but still easy to get to.I use about 50Gal every 6 weeks-ish so this is much more convienient than 5 gal cans, especialy with the JD fuel fill location on the top of the hood Was a major PITA with cans but is no problem with the nozzle.

Right now it's powered by a L&G battery that I throw on the charger every few weeks, but it uses tha same connector (Anderson SB50) as the one I put on my Gator, tractor, truck, and lawn mower so it can be powered by any of those also. My battery charger and 1.5amp maintainer have been converted to the same connectors so they can be swaped easily to any of the above with out having to access the battery directly. Power is trenched to the shed but I haven't had the main pannel connected to the meter yet but soon. Then the maintainer will wired up in the shed and rotated among the different batteries. Or at least that's the idea

 

[Gale Hawkins]

to me a tractor is a lifetime investment.so youd be better off buying you a 60 gal fuel storage tank from TSC an be done with it.we have a 100 gal tank that goes in the truck bed.an i know it has tobe well over 40yrs old.

That makes sense to me. Having an approved storage system can be a plus if things go wrong.

On a local type of Craigslist I just picked up a nice 100 gallon Delta Consoldidated tank with a gas/diesel appoved 12v pump/filter system transfer set up. for $200. I know the pump runs but have not yet got fuel to test that it will pump. Today I can but the same system new but the lowest web pricing is $671 before shipping. The seller had bought a new diamond plate set up that will transfer to the new truck's fuel tank too.

We do not normally use a lot of diesel but both the BH and 265 MF require a ladder for me to fuel them with 5 gallon jugs plus I have to put a couple gallons in another jug before I can do it weight wise without giving them a diesel bath.

The pump has a long 12v cable with clips like a battery charger so I will always have a 12v source when I am fueling right in front of me. If using it for gas I would not want to get the 12v from the tractor battery.

I think some like to hobby with building a fuel transfer so what ever works safe is a good option in my view. My tank came bolted to a pallet so moving it with the forks is an option even if filled.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

In my area there are a lot of folks filling transfer type containers and I have never heard of or seen any station operator ever look at or comment on containers. I have even seen guys and gals filling glass gallon jugs. The law is very clear though that all such containers have to be approved. I doubt even patrolling police bother unless it is obvious that the container is not secured or stopping for some other moving violation. I was involved in an incident several years ago; a guy had two old rusty 55 gal drums in the back of his pickup, not secured, and he was just completing filling them when I drove up to an adjacent pump. I asked the station attendendant why he was allowed to do this as 55 Gal drums are not an approved transfer container in WA unless sold and transported by a licensed dealer. His statement to me was why don't you mind your own business, I want that big 100 GL sale and I do not care as I am not the gas police. I watched the guy pull away with a jerk and both drums slammed into the tailgate and almost popped the latch and bent it up badly. I jotted down his licensce # and called the fire marshalls office. They confirmed what the guy was doing was driving a huge bomb around. They investigated, fined the guy, confiscated the drums and gas. They called me back and thanked me as they saw that if he slammed the drums back one more time they would have been rolling down the street.

Moral: No matter what you use, secure it when moving.

 

[bruceha2000]

I don't use much fuel, maybe 25 or so gallons per year. I just tap off the heating oil supply down in the basement into a 5-gallon can (installed a valve and tee for this purpose).

I know if you screw up and run out of fuel oil for the furnace you can dump diesel in to get by rather than pay through the nose for emergency delivery. Are they close enough that you can safely run it in a diesel tractor??

I have to answer the OP's question for myself, once we get the property (Tues AM, fingers crossed) AND I figure out which tractor to buy AND figure out how much fuel I'm likely to use in a year so I don't either over or under size. Gonna be a crap shoot that one, but the other option is 5 gallon jugs in the back of the car 'cause I don't have a truck and (sorry guys) I DON'T want a truck. I know that gives me like minus 10,000 redneck points .

As for designs, my Dad had a 275 gallon oil tank he put up on stilts so it was higher than his tractor. No pump needed. Not sure how he knew when to stop, by sound I guess.

 

[brewdog]

Is it me or does anyone else smell a stinking rat?

 

[JoelT]

Hmmm. Isn't it against some law to own a tractor and not own a truck? Personally, I've never understood what cars were good for.

Well.......... except for my Mustang GT

 

[EMB5530]

Is it me or does anyone else smell a stinking rat?

I was just thinkin the same thing as I was scrolling down!!!

 

[LarryD]

Probably not much help but if you could find a building generator demo project you might get the day tank, at least that's how I got mine. I had to reverse the motor and install a down tube so it pulled from the bottom of the tank instead of filling the tank (gravity fed the gen) and wired a pressure switch through a relay to control the pump. A friend donated the pump nozzel and filter housing so all together I got about $50 in a 40gl fuel tank. I load it in the truck about every 8 months and add stabilizer at fill time.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I was just thinkin the same thing as I was scrolling down!!!

I guess best to be mute about fueling practices.:laughing: