where to buy gravity fed eq

Moon · May 26, 2005

Sorry, this is not tractor related.

I boat on the Ohio river. Because of slipages our local gas dock is closing down. There are a few others but they are more than 15 miles away. So, I'm looking for a easy way to gas up my boat while it's in the water. It has a 66 gallon tank.

My docks are located down a long flight of stairs and ramps, about 50' lower than the area where we park. I'm thinking of setting up a gravity fed tank so that I don't have to haul eight 5 gallon cans down to the boat. (I normally need about 40 gallons to fill up ...you never want to get to low on gas on the water.)

A 55 gallon container would work fine. I'd probably need 75' to 100' of hose from the tank to the docks. We have 4 boats sharing this docking area and I have not measure the distance to the furthest one yet. But I'd need a shut off valve near the end of the hose. Not sure if I'd need a shut off valve where the hose leaves the 55 gallon drum.

Each boater will transport their own gas from the local station to the drum and just dump it in the big drum. No fuel would be stored in the drum. Once you dump it in, you'd open the hose and fill the boat, then the tank is ready for the next boater.

Does this sound like it would work?
Where could I buy supplies for building this? The one piece I know I do not have figured out yet is the fitting needed where the hose leaves the drum. I'm hoping the supplier will have something to solve that.

Your thoughts on this whole setup ....what am i missing?

Thanks,
Moon of Ohio

Soundguy · May 26, 2005

i'd put a shutoff valve on both the hose AND the drum.

Soundguy

Moon · May 26, 2005

Thanks Soundguy ....after posting I got to thinking of that also. For example if someone forgot to close the shutoff at the bottom, you'd need to be able to stop the flow from up top. So I'll need a couple of shut off valves.
What type of hose would you need for this? I suppose an industrial supply place might have the hose. I'm afraid that will be the most expensive item for this project. Any ideas how much the hose costs, and what size would be best for my application?

Thanks again!
Moon of Ohio

MikePA · May 26, 2005

Some things to think about....

Who will own the equipment?
Who will maintain the equipment?
Diesel or gasoline?
If the equipment is damaged, who pays to repair/replace?
If there's an accident with this equipment, who is liable?
Where will the equipment be stored in the winter?
If there's a spill, e.g., malfunctioning valve/nozzle, who's liable?
Does your homeowner's insurance cover something like this?

Soundguy · May 26, 2005

For safety.. I'd only use a fuel rated hose.. and yes.. that's going to probably be your most expensive cost.

TSC sells fuel hose, though if you have a fuel dealer I'd also try them.

I'd go for something similar to what yuo see at a fuel station. This will be gravity fed.. not pressurized. Anything smaller than probably 3/4 ID will take forever to get 40 g's down that line into your tank.. Could always use a standard gas pump handle on the end of the line, PLUS a shutoff valve at the top and bottom. The gas pump valve should stop fuel flow fine, and be a good 'safety net' if the bottom valve is left open..e tc. That way you can add your fuel, open the top valve and then walk down, throw the handle inthe tank.. open bottom valve and then depress handle and fuel.. etc.

Soundguy

edski · May 26, 2005

My initial reaction is that this sounds like a fuel spill into the river waiting to happen.

75-100 feet of line will likely hold a good amount of residual fuel, and will eventually leak.

Once you have a spill, how will you contain, and clean-up. With my luck, it'd be all 40 gals at once.

I'm not sure , but I'd look into the potential for a static charge, fire, explosion, etc.

The more I think about this, the less I like it. I'd consider a different means of transport.

JerryG · May 26, 2005

Yes, by all means have a shut off on both ends. Like said, a fuel nozzle will work for the shut off on the boat end and I have and do use a ball type valve at the tank end. If you have everything stationary, I would say use steel line with a short piece of hose at the tank end and the fuel hose with nozzle at the boat end. That way there is less likely a chance of damage from using that long of a hose.

TOMLESCOEQUIP · May 26, 2005

Moon........sent you a PM regarding fuel info...........Tom

Moon · May 26, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Some things to think about....

Who will own the equipment?
Who will maintain the equipment?
Diesel or gasoline?
If the equipment is damaged, who pays to repair/replace?
If there's an accident with this equipment, who is liable?
Where will the equipment be stored in the winter?
If there's a spill, e.g., malfunctioning valve/nozzle, who's liable?
Does your homeowner's insurance cover something like this?
)</font>

Thanks for the thought provking questions Mike.

This is gasoline not diesel. I would own it all and be responsible. The other boats are my brothers and SIL. So the responsibility is all mine. I have no idea if homeowners would cover any of this ....i kinda doubt it.

As for the concern on spills, to me this seems safer than carring 5 gallon containers and filling the boats directly from them. For saftey sake, we'll probably have to make this a two man operation with someone at each end. We rarely boat alone so someone is normally around.

I agree the hose would hold a good bit of fuel, but my plan is to empty the hose with each use. If someone misjudged the amount of gas they needed, we could end up with fuel still in the hose. Maybe I'll put a double shut off at the bottom to be sure nothing could leak out. No one would leave fuel in the line on purpose, because the next user would then get that fuel for free. Gas costs to much to do that. We know the size of our tanks and how much it takes to fill. We play a game of guessing how many gallons we take when gassing up on the river, that helped us get pretty good at knowing how much we need. Running out of gas on the river can ruin a perfectly good boating day.

The whole setup would be taken down after boating season. We boat from May to Sept. Winter storage would be in my pole barn.

Thanks for all the replies. Helps make sure I don't overlook something critical.