Diesel fuel tank at home

brendonv

brendonv

Tree Hugger
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
7,152
Location
Oxford, Connecticut
With the chipper and the new boxer both being diesel, I'm thinking of getting a 275 gal fuel tank from a friend, putting it behind the garage and getting fuel oil delivered.

Home heating oil is the same as off road diesel correct? Or even on road diesel, but thats not worth the risk.
 
Up here if you mix up the uses the government throws a fit due to taxes. Fuel storage has to be up to date, certified and legally installed before fuel trucks will deliver.
 
We've been running heating oil in our farm tractors for decades. As far as I know, it is all low sulfur diesel now, just the off-road/heating oil has dye in it. Heating oil used to have more sulfur in it, which had some repercussions in internal combustion engines. I'd go for it. Some places I know that use a lot of diesel have only on road diesel, pay the tax, and keep records and file for a return on the off road portion at the end of the year.
 
As far as I'm aware the on-road, off-road and home heating are interchangeable, but other additives and other chemical content make it more efficient in their own respective applications, not to mention dyes for taxes.
 
From a website calked "the truth about diesel fuel" (or something like that):

"For a long time many diesel consumers believed that the non-taxed off-road fuel was still high-sulfur fuel and only the on-road fuel was ULSD. The only difference currently in the two fuels is the red dye used to distinguish the taxed fuel from the non-taxed fuel.

Other than that the two fuels are identical in their chemistry and sulfur content"
 
From what I have read you should stick to red diesel in your diesel powered equipment. I have not been convinced that heating oil and off road diesel are the same thing. It is hard to find specific gravity, cetane numbers, ash, sulfur, cloud point and pour point numbers for heating oil. I have read that heating oil is dirtier than red diesel. Just my .2 cents.

I have no experience with heating oil, this area is all natural gas and propane. Used to be coal and a few oil burners.
 
I drive past this farm and they have a storage tank on a trailer and it looks like it came from the supply depot and absolutely not a HO special fab job. It's all DOT badged and placarded and very sharp looking. I'll try and get a pic next time I drive on by.
 
I would think that something that would be also portable would be a good way to go. Especially here where delivery charges can really make a difference in price per gallon. Probably a lot cheaper to sometimes take the tank to where it is cheaper than having them deliver remotely.
 
I have a hundred gallon tank on my F250 I use to keep my equipment going. During peak times, I have to fill it 3 times a week... portable is the way to go from me.

For Brendon, a home based tank would be handy, fill up as needed. The Boxer with pallet forks should be able to unload a 100 gallon tank without much issue, he wouldn't have to modify a truck to carry the tank around every day.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12
Ive thought about a transfer tank on a pallet. Id have to find a place to fill it, to get the savings. I dont it rigid mounted in the pickup though. Its just too messy no matter how careful you are.
 
I figured make a roll cage from tubing for the tank.

With such small quantities, it's unlikely you'll save much, if any. It's mainly a factor of convenience.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14
Ya filling cans would suck all the time. Ive seen my brothers in laws fill up there transfer tank at a small oil company miles from here. Should ask them.
 
My dad bought a diesel tank on skids that he slides into his trailer to take to town for filling, then slides it back out. I'd guess it at 250 gallon capacity. Off-road is roughly 20 cents cheaper here than on-road, I think. I just fill the Gehl and Boxer as I go through town. I drive right past the off-road pump nearly every day. I bring it home for the tractors as needed in jugs.
 
You can credit $.23/gallon off your taxes by reclaiming the road tax. That's more than I can save at the pump, plus I get 2-3% cash back on fuel, so more savings via that .23 cents per gallon. ;)
 
I have been using 4 20l nato jerry cans for my diesel needs. They make a free flow nozzle for them that empties a can in about 30-45 seconds. Stump days with the 652 that usually lasts me all day aside from the golf course where I burned through 45 gallons, they supplied the diesel.
 
I have a galvanized funnel that locks in the gas cap notches that will take a 5 gal. in less than a minute. I hate the diesel smell and can usually avoid the one drop that is all it that it takes to stink.

My bud has a 275 furnace tank that was about full I have been emptying 5 gal. at a time.
 
If I smell like diesel, thats usually a good thing. My wife always says if my clothes dont smell like tree work, we have a problem.
 
FireFighterZero said:
From what I have read you should stick to red diesel in your diesel powered equipment. I have not been convinced that heating oil and off road diesel are the same thing. It is hard to find specific gravity, cetane numbers, ash, sulfur, cloud point and pour point numbers for heating oil. I have read that heating oil is dirtier than red diesel. Just my .2 cents.
Click to expand...

I deal with sulfur analyzers for crude and downstream products with a heavy focus on the downstream.

The are next to the same thing. The cetane content (ignition may vary). The S content doesn't really matter for the engine. I'd prefer a bit more S in my diesel as it adds lubricity to the fuel.
 
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