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Post by benmnwi on Mar 17, 2020 11:36:24 GMT -6
I have a fuel tank in my barn that has been there since we moved in 7 years ago. It's probably about 250 gallons and it's elevated on a metal stand, so it's probably 6' off the ground. It uses a standard gas station style nozzle with a fuel filter in line. I probably should have looked into this earlier, but it would be nice to have 250 backup gallons of fuel on hand these days.
The tank has been stored inside and looks great from the outside and none of the paint is chipped, but that's about all I know about this tank. This tank has been empty for 7 years, so how would I go about determining whether or not this tank is in good enough shape to bother filling up? I know I'll need a new fuel filter at a minimum, but is there a reasonable way to determine if the tank is good to go?
I called a company to see if they could come out and take a look at it and they said no and that I would need to bring it in and they would do a bunch of tests and reseal the joints, etc., etc., etc. and in the end it would probably cost as much as a new one. The tank is in great shape though, so I'm not sure if that is necessary but I know that would be a risk.
Someone here has experience with this stuff, so let me know what you guys think.
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Post by biglakebass on Mar 17, 2020 11:38:48 GMT -6
Any way you can get a visual of the inside with a flashlight just to get an idea if its a rust bucket inside?
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Post by benmnwi on Mar 17, 2020 11:48:59 GMT -6
Any way you can get a visual of the inside with a flashlight just to get an idea if its a rust bucket inside? I'm going to climb on it tonight and see what I can find. you're right though, that's probably a step I should have tried by now. |
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Post by Bob on Mar 17, 2020 12:05:55 GMT -6
U talking diesel or gas? And what would you do with it?
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Post by benmnwi on Mar 17, 2020 12:16:09 GMT -6
Gas. My tractor, ATV, lawn mower, etc. all use gas, so it would save me a lot of hassle of having to fill up a bunch of gas cans every two weeks. It sounds like the gas prices are expected to go down, so it would be nice to fill it up when the prices are low. I just don't know what to look for to verify it is capable of still safely holding gas. The prior owners of my place used it, but I haven't used it since we moved here.
And after the run on toilet paper it would be nice to have a couple hundred gallons of gas on hand in case there are supply issues there at some point.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 17, 2020 12:48:15 GMT -6
Couple things.
1. Stabilized gas is good for 6 months, then it starts going down hill.
2. You're gonna pay through the nose to get a 250 or 300 gallon tank filled.
3. You want gas outside, and gas outside gets stolen.
4. You want to be able to use it up quickly or keep it full. Half full tanks accumulate moisture. You can stifle that with a prevent cap, and keeping your tank white, and in the shade, but you can't prevent it 100%.
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Post by terrifictom on Mar 17, 2020 12:54:26 GMT -6
It might cause your home owner's insurance to go up if they find out you have gas storage onsite.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 17, 2020 12:57:16 GMT -6
I was a prepper once. I learned a few important lessons.
1. You'll never be able to buy enough stuff to make your life like catastrophe never happened.
2. Ability to produce, and skills are infinitely more important in a disruption than stuff, including the squash between your ears.
3. Focus on not needing stuff, and the anxiety of not having it goes away, like grid power.
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Post by benmnwi on Mar 17, 2020 13:40:41 GMT -6
The gas tank is inside my barn, which is more of a pole shed with a couple of stalls for livestock. The moisture potential has me concerned as does the potential storage issues if it sits for longer than 6 months.
Assuming the interior of the tank looks OK to my untrained eye and I put a new fuel filter on would there be much of a risk of poor fuel quality caused by using the tank? I could live if my 20 year old riding lawn more bit the dust if I ran poor gas in it, but I wouldn't want to harm my honda ATV or my tractor.
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Post by Foggy on Mar 17, 2020 20:10:29 GMT -6
^. If you really want to store gas in a tank. .....I should suggest getting some empty oil drums from an oil jobber (that way they are clean drums). They will cost you about $5 a piece. Then buy a drum pump and build the means to haul these drums and roll them around yourself. Not many jobbers want to deliver a couple hundred gallons of gas these days. ui I built a wooden cart on wheels that I can roll around my shop. Then I made a wooden means to pick the drum up and put it on my trailer with some pallet forks. Cost?.....about $25 or so and some scraps. I think I paid about $75 for a drum pump.....but you can find 'em for cheap at a farm sale or maybe Craigs List? (I'm too impatient and need to 'get 'er done".  . I have a barrel of deilsil fuel at my deer land. I dont like having to transport and lift cans. I only have one barrel......and will fill it twice a year. Good filter on the pump and I know what I got. If it were to go "bad"......I'm not out much. I can fill my tractor about 4 times before I need to refill the barrel. Ten of those 5 gallon cans is allot worse. Works for me. Diesel is safer to store than gas. I keep a few 5 gallon gas cans around too. Not perfect.....but I get along. For me.....the gas (and deisil fuel is only a few miles away) and I can drive my UTV over there and fill some cans. |
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Post by jbird on Mar 18, 2020 8:09:52 GMT -6
I like Foggy's idea of using a clean drum/barrel much more so than an old tank. The old tanks are nice, but like was mentioned it could take yo a long time to use 250/300 gallons of fuel. You then also have to pay for it to be delivered to you. The price per gallon won't kill you...the delivery charge will. I also know many farm stores sell metal 55 gallon drums as well...if you need a source for one. Like was mentioned gas is also far more dangerous to store in large quantities vs diesel (or whatever the hell Foggy called it). I also know many farmers have tanks in the back of their pick-up trucks around here as well.....easy to take to the station to fill it up and easy to get to your equipment ad well.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Mar 19, 2020 14:46:01 GMT -6
I have a 1000 gal and a 500 gal tank for diesel and gasoline. I am suppose to have a dike around them legally. But I don't. Gas is not much cheaper than the pump price, but you get the road tax removed and you can get 89 octane. I do get a little better discount buying over 1000 gals at a crack that you would not get. I never worry about fuel being fresh or ten months old or over a year old, it all burns. Fucking around with 55 gal drums aint for me, but its better then 5 gal cans.
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 19, 2020 15:10:25 GMT -6
I have a 1000 gal and a 500 gal tank for diesel and gasoline. I am suppose to have a dike around them legally. But I don't. Gas is not much cheaper than the pump price, but you get the road tax removed and you can get 89 octane. I do get a little better discount buying over 1000 gals at a crack that you would not get. I never worry about fuel being fresh or ten months old or over a year old, it all burns. Fucking around with 55 gal drums aint for me, but its better then 5 gal cans. I've never met anyone that actually got their hand slapped for that. Met lots of guys that dumped tens of thousands into double wall tanks and containment systems. |
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Post by badgerfowl on Mar 19, 2020 15:15:44 GMT -6
I have a 1000 gal and a 500 gal tank for diesel and gasoline. I am suppose to have a dike around them legally. But I don't. Gas is not much cheaper than the pump price, but you get the road tax removed and you can get 89 octane. I do get a little better discount buying over 1000 gals at a crack that you would not get. I never worry about fuel being fresh or ten months old or over a year old, it all burns. Fucking around with 55 gal drums aint for me, but its better then 5 gal cans. I've never met anyone that actually got their hand slapped for that. Met lots of guys that dumped tens of thousands into double wall tanks and containment systems. Isn't a dike a containment system? |
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Post by sd51555 on Mar 19, 2020 15:23:40 GMT -6
I've never met anyone that actually got their hand slapped for that. Met lots of guys that dumped tens of thousands into double wall tanks and containment systems. Isn't a dike a containment system? You can do all kinds of stuff, dike, tub, buildling, double wall tank. |
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