Handling a 55 gallon drum of gas

The bulk plant down the road carries ethanol free gas, but with their high speed pump they won't pump into 5 gallon jugs, they say. They say the minimum is 50 gallons & they will sell me an empty 55 gallon drum for $10.

I can haul it in my pickup, but how do I unload it & move it to where I can store it? It will weigh about 330 lbs.

Then there's the question of how to get the gas out of it. If I can get it up on a rack, I'll just put a valve in it and drain it into 5 gal. jugs to take to the airport--my plane doesn't use so much gas that it would be much of a hassle.

Any great ideas?

Thanks.

Check with Graingers catalog

They will have a barrel handling two wheel cart. It should have straps to secure the barrel. Getting off the bed of the truck is the trick, as you know. I'd make a ramp off the back of the truck and use either a come along to hold back or a barrel hitch with some good rope and slide it off the ramp...very carefully. If you don't have a strong enough material to make the ramp try putting a good sawhorse mid span. They will also have a hand pump for filling the tanks.

Richard,

Why not buy a tank to put in the back of your truck that holds more than 55 gallons?

That way you can have a 12V pump, filter, and hose to fill your plane. That and it has to be safer than messing with 55 gallon drums.

Just my $.02 worth.

N941WR said:

Richard,

Why not buy a tank to put in the back of your truck that holds more than 55 gallons?

That way you can have a 12V pump, filter, and hose to fill your plane. That and it has to be safer than messing with 55 gallon drums.

Just my $.02 worth.

Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking - a 75 or 100 gallon tank in the bed of the truck, with a tool box and a 12-volt electric pump. Drive right up to the wing and fuel it.

Hi Richard,

I like Bill's idea... In fact several of us at the local airport have a truck-mounted tank. Unfortunately, I no longer have a truck so I'm looking at other options. Our local airport has only one fuel vendor and the pricing reflects this! I can save ~$1/gal. by buying fuel at airports that are within a mile or two out of my way home from work over in Denver. I've now got a Honda CR-V (small sport utility) so I'm not sure what the new plan will be.

In any case, here's a few pictures of the fuel tank I built (or had built for me) for my now sold Ford Ranger pickup.





I cut the bottom out of the Delta toolbox and slipped it over my tank. The toolbox still functioned as a shallow box and allowed me to carry tie-downs and a few other miscellaneous things that I always seemed to "need."

For what it's worth...

I have bought....

airguy said:

That's what I'm thinking - a 75 or 100 gallon tank in the bed of the truck, with a tool box and a 12-volt electric pump. Drive right up to the wing and fuel it.

Click to expand...

...trailer parts from these guys... but they also specialize in the stuff you need....

Transfer tanks -

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatDsp?storeId=6970&Ns=P_Price&N=106 771280

12V Pumps - caution, don't use ones for diesel -

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200322214_200322214

...and of course, a nozzle at the end of the hose -

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200317087_200317087



Perhaps you can split the cost of the hardware with a few other local pilots?

Two or three old car tires just aft of the tailgate serve as a nice cushion to roll the drum out and give you the right height to get the barrel upright or onto a barrel dolly.

Bite the bullet and build a fuel trailer.

Check out Northern Tool. They have tool box/fuel tanks in different sizes.

Click on the picture of their "RDS Fuel Tank Toolbox Combo ? 91-Gallon, Model# 72748" tank for details. (Cost $750)


They have tanks in various sizes, shapes, and costs.

Here's what we did in the bush when I was flying on the wet stuff...

A) Barrel buggy. Transport the drum upright in the truck for legal reasons, and strap it down for legal reasons. Roll the drum on the bottom lip at that "sweet spot" balancing point off the truck onto the buggy. Important note: If you are building the buggy yourself ... ensure the height takes the barell weight into account. Simulate the weight of the drum on the back of the truck for suspension compression for taking measurments ... could be embarassing otherwise

B) Slap a rectangular structure together made of 4x4 posts at each end ... and I beleive 2x4's on the sides. Make it long enough for a gentle slope/incline ... and narrow enough the drum doesn't fall through. See picture below that took me hours upon hours to make. A tip for make it slide. Dunk the entire structure into your nearest lake .... or use a garden hose. Slippery when wet . Also tie the end leaning against the truck to some ancor point so the ramp does not slip off.

To get the fuel out there are tons of different drum pumps available. Electric, Manual like an old well, rotary. Check out a local farm supply, or somthing similar to Canada's Princess Auto.

Note: Blue prints do no contain proper blue print ettiquette nor is it to scale. Best of luck with these difficult plans!



PS. I'm no artist.

PSS. Wear steel toe boots!!!!

If you want to use a rack to fill 5 gal. cans, how about the truck bed? Syphon most of the gas into your 5 gal. cans and then unload it.

unloading 55 gal drums

I used to make a living hauling 55 gal drums of oil, etc. in a pickup truck. No problem. I am right handed, so I put the outside of my right foot against the bottom of the drum, reach across the barrel and lean it toward you. Lay it over on it's side and roll it to the back of the truck tailgate. Swing the bottom of the drum off the back. From outside the truck, pull the drum down and it stands on the bottom. I could unload 7-8 55 gal drums of oil weighing over 450 lbs each and I weighed about 175, in less than 10 mins.

Use a tire

Unloading it is easy. Lay it down in the truck and roll it on to the tailgate. Then place an old car or truck tire (no rim) on the ground right behind the truck and roll the drum off the tailgate and onto the tire. Just make sure you roll it off evenly and it lands flat on its side. It will bounce a little so control it with your hands and then stand it up. No big deal. Much easier than getting full drums into the truck. Good luck.

If anyone is using a truck bed tank, you better know the difference between a tank that is approved to transport combustible (diesel) and flammable (gasoline). Practically all of the inexpensive tank, pump combos are for combustible liquid. This is the only one I ever found that could transport flammable liquid in the back of a truck legally: http://www.transferflow.com/refueling_tanks.html

Tank Caddy

This one is for gas
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200338576_200338576
Mike H 9A/8A

55 Gal drum

I needed to drain some fuel from a T-6 in order to remove and repair the fuel tanks. Rolled the drum under the plane, gravity drained the fuel into the drum. Then when I was finished with the tank repair, I lifted the drum on a fork lift, and gravity-fed the fuel back into the plane.
Didn't spill a drop. At least that's my story, and I'm ......st..st..stickin' to it!!

SO, if the drum/fuel tank in the pickup bed is higher than the wing, then you wouldn't need a pump? What say y'all?

RScott said:

The bulk plant down the road carries ethanol free gas, but with their high speed pump they won't pump into 5 gallon jugs, they say. They say the minimum is 50 gallons & they will sell me an empty 55 gallon drum for $10.

Click to expand...

Hi Richard,

Where is that bulk plant? I could use some cheap mogas...

Jerry in Wilsonville

Tractor Supply Co. has lots of fuel transferring equipment and truck-mounted tanks for those of you with a store nearby.

Jerry,

The bulk plant is Hobart Oil in Molalla. And if your travels take you to Salem, Mark Nelson Oil has good gas at their plant. I am waiting for an email reply to find out if they have a minimum purchase policy; should hear on Monday.

For others, thanks for the ideas. I plan to do this on the cheap, because I think (maybe wishful thinking) that we have a chance of getting premium exempted from the ethanol requirement--some influential legislators have expressed unhappiness with ethanol. In that case, I'll just fill my 5 gallon jugs at the local gas station.