Homemade Diesel Storage solution

[IndyGunworks]

Was not slamming your tractor. Just was curious.
Btw, did you build that sand thing for you son? Looks like you can lose the lid. Is that correct?

I am VERY jealous to be able to out in the open like that. Many years may pass bf that happens.

Not sure what you mean be able to out in the open like that?

Yes, the lid closes, and when its open if forms seats on the sides... this prevents animals from crapping in the sandbox, but still allowes it to breath and dry quickly.

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

Those drums look familiar! Glad to see they're getting some use and looks like a pretty good project. Glad it all went as planned!

 

[Brian Ski]

I read ALOT of concerns about expansion and contractions in these drums. I am not worried about that with diesel in the least.

Diesel is an oil so it should not be a problem. Unless the bungs are cranked really tight you should be fine. I think the problem is when it is mostly air. I have several empty drums behind the garage, in the morning and evening I can hear them talking to me. Anyone comes by and hears them... What is that???

BTW I like these new unvented gas cans.


BTW nice sand box....

 

[IndyGunworks]

When stored outside you will get more expansion and contraction for sure. The sun heats it up hotter during the day, and it cools off more at night. Inside though the temps swings should be minimized... I don't think I will ever get 0 expansion and contraction, rather when stored inside I think the expansion and contraction is minimized to be w/in the rated capacity the steel drum can handle.

the new cans are half the reason for this. They make refueling such a PITA I decided to just say screw it.

 

[Brian Ski]

When stored outside you will get more expansion and contraction for sure. The sun heats it up hotter during the day, and it cools off more at night. Inside though the temps swings should be minimized... I don't think I will ever get 0 expansion and contraction, rather when stored inside I think the expansion and contraction is minimized to be w/in the rated capacity the steel drum can handle.

the new cans are half the reason for this. They make refueling such a PITA I decided to just say screw it.

Yea I watch out the for the old style plastic ones all the time. I have spilled so much fuel with the new ones I won't use them anymore unless I cut the nozzle off, an drill holes for the vents.

I have been thinking of doing the same, but 55 gallons is a lot. 20-25 is more in my range. Just never got to it.

 

[IndyGunworks]

35 gallon drums are available, but pricey, and if I am going to go through the effort of needing equipment to load and unload while full, I might as well get a lot of it.

I am thinking 35 gallon drums for the gasoline though as that would allow them to remain full and sealed for a longer period of time. Just need to source the drums which is not an easy thing to do on a budget.

 

[Slawburger]

Nice sandbox. Making the lids into seating was a neat idea.

 

[dprimm]

Not sure what you mean be able to out in the open like that?

Yes, the lid closes, and when its open if forms seats on the sides... this prevents animals from crapping in the sandbox, but still allowes it to breath and dry quickly.



OTE]

Out in the open for where you are planning on going. Looked open in the pic anyway.

that sandbox rocks! Did you design it? Looks like you moved it around --indoor pick. Animals using them as toilets always left me not wanting one of my own. With that design, when my son is old enough to want one, this would work extremely well.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Pretty out in the open out there... still got a couple neighbors but far enough in the boonies I can really live that "country" lifestyle. I didn't design it myself persey... more saw a picture modified it to what I wanted and built in... took about 6 hours from picture to box.

 

[Leadeye]

You must be a master at storage, years ago I remember your garage being crowded before all the extras you have added.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I read ALOT of concerns about expansion and contractions in these drums. I am not worried about that with diesel in the least. It will be stored indoors and out of the sun so will not see the HUGE temp swings the outdoor tanks see. definitely less temp swings than the dual tanks on a semi would see and they don't use/need breathers for expansion and contraction.

Perhaps its more of a concern w/ gasoline, but a lot of racing fuel is stored this way. Military JP8 is stored for LOOONG periods of time in nothing more than sealed 55 gallon drums and its way more volatile than regular diesel.

All of the concerns I read when I began researching this project had a lot of speculation from people w/out experience, and the guys providing the other side of the coin saying it was not a big deal were typically the guys who are actually storing fuel this way and have more experience with it. My understanding is the best idea is to seal it off completely and make sure its full (talking gasoline) if its going to be for long term storage, or the more volatile aspects of the gasoline will escape through the breather and will degrade the fuel quicker. With my method I can put the mr. funnel on the breather bung pull the pump up out of the fuel and pump whats in the hose back into the drum allowing one pump and fuel hose to be used for both gas and diesel.

Do you have information citing any specific reasons or concerns to go through the added expense and effort of your filtered breather idea?

Sorry for the late reply. My concerns are based on my job as an engineer for a major diesel engine manufacturer. Most of the engines I work with go into equipment with very large tanks either on board, or stored near the engine itself. One of our installation requirements we have is installing a filtered breather on the tank. Some of that is due to the fact that many of these tanks are drained and filled very frequently (some of our products burn 50+ gallons per hour), so there is always a lot of air moving in either direction. Air brings with it dirt and debris, as well as moisture, which can lead to other problems later on. You mentioned you have a filter on the outlet of the pump, so you should have a lot of that covered. The downside is it may make it easier to get water / moisture in your drum.

The actual expansion and contraction due to heat is a concern as well, but like you said more so when exposed to out door temperature as well as the sun. This gets worse with the more air there is in the tank since it expands in volume more than the diesel fuel does. The pressure build up from that air is one of the big reasons for the breather, so having a breather will allow you have more or less always have atmospheric pressure in the tank.


I don't think you'll have any practical issues with the bung, so my suggestion was more of one an additional item you could install to make your tank even better than it is.

 

[IndyGunworks]

50 gallons an hour? HOLY CRAP.

with diesel I am not worried about it to much. I am sure I will get some moisture in the tank for sure, but that should be taken care of by the Mr. Funnel. I have also thought about tying a movers blanket around the drum to further control the temp swings.

If I do one of these with gasoline, I am pretty sure I am leaning towards a couple of smaller 35 gallon drums that way they remain full and sealed and treated for the longest possible time.... I wouldn't want to have them "breath" either since that would cause me to loose all of the good stuff out of the gas.

 

[IndyGunworks]

You must be a master at storage, years ago I remember your garage being crowded before all the extras you have added.

Some stuff has been sold, but a lot of it has been moved to the barn on our property in Hancock Co.

 

[Car Ramrod]

If I do one of these with gasoline, I am pretty sure I am leaning towards a couple of smaller 35 gallon drums that way they remain full and sealed and treated for the longest possible time.... I wouldn't want to have them "breath" either since that would cause me to loose all of the good stuff out of the gas.

This is why I decided to go with a drum over individual gas cans. It takes up less space, and can be sealed better and tighter to keep the good stuff in.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Got tired of the MR. Funnel... it was slow and messy. So I added an inline filter.