- 737
- 14
- 18
- Location
- Bothell, WA
*cough* combustible *cough*Keep in mind diesel is flammable, so have a plan to fight fire and be careful as to what is around your storage tank.
Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
*cough* combustible *cough*Keep in mind diesel is flammable, so have a plan to fight fire and be careful as to what is around your storage tank.
Yes, moisture is a concern. We live off grid and would be using it about 5 hours a day during the dog days of summer, and we can get off road diesel delivered with no surcharge over 100 gallons.The posters above are correct, a home heating oil tank is to big for just a standby genset. Unless you keep that size tank full you will have moisture problems. The smaller sized tanks will be better suited for your purpose if you can find one for a good price.
Yes we have a diesel tractor.Do you have any diesel cars, trucks, tractors or burners? I leave my aux tank full and after a year burn it in my truck then get new fuel for the genset. That way it's always fresh.
So if you did aYes we have a diesel tractor.
I have thought about the tank not being full all the time. Thanks for sharing how your setup works. That really helps. Are your barrels metal or plastic? Do you have the 55 gallon barrel sitting straight up , or on it's side, and is the bung adapter mounted on the top of the barrel?I use two 55 gallon drums. I have a small diesel tractor and a 15,000 lb backhoe so I plan to use the fuel from the drums in those and replenish the drums as needed. The only problem is you always have one tank or drum that isn't full. Just as I periodically exercise and test my generator I periodically check for water in my tanks. I do this by simply siphoning some fuel off the bottom. I have a piece of stainless tube with tygon stuck on it so I know I am pulling fuel from the bottom. My bung adapter didn't come with the tube so I threaded a piece of aluminum tube for it that is several inches off the bottom of the drum. Both of my tractors are designed similer to give a buffer area for water to settle in. So far I have never found water in any of my tanks but I will continue to check for it. I also put a biocide additive and a lubricity additive in my storage drums.
.
My drums are metal and I have them sitting straight up on some patio pavers. These were once used oil drums so they were like new with some motor oil residue in them. I painted them to blend with the sand color of my generator.I have thought about the tank not being full all the time. Thanks for sharing how your setup works. That really helps. Are your barrels metal or plastic? Do you have the 55 gallon barrel sitting straight up , or on it's side, and is the bung adapter mounted on the top of the barrel?
In Georgia, where i live, diesel fuel containing up to 5% can be legally sold as straight diesel. Anything over 5% biodiesel in blends must be sold as B20 fuel. When I was talking about the bad experience of my friend using biodiesel, I was referring to straight biodiesel, not a blend. There aren't many stations around that sell straight biodiesel. One alleged advantage of biodiesel blends is that they 'clean' the fuel system. This can indeed be an advantage for clean fuel systems in that they may stay cleaner over a period of time. However, switching to a biodiesel blend on an older diesel can result in trash and contamination in the fuel system as crud breaks free in the fuel system.Unfortunately my supplier only has 5% bio-diesel. I would prefer straight up diesel but I'm not sure if it's available. The nearest station that sells off road diesel has 15%. I read somewhere you can't actually get less than 5% anywhere. Not sure about that unless they don't have to put it on the pumps at that percentage. There is no notice of biodiesel on most of the pumps selling road tax diesel around here. Either way it's too convenient to have it delivered. I filled my drums in February and have almost gone through one of them.