Got a boat on a lift and hate paying marina prices for gas. But the biggest tank on wheels I can find is like 28-30 gallons and for an outrageous price. Anybody know of some big portable tanks. 50 gallon plus. I’ve thought seriously about making a tank out of 55 gallon plastic drums and building a hose with a ball valve at the end to drain it to the boat.
Thoughts!!
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
can you swim 5 miles? “NO” then what is the difference in 5 miles and 50 miles!!! Go for it!
330 lbs if 55 gallon drum. Wouldn’t be to crazy with a dolly. Google tells
Me gas is 6 lbs per gallon. Beats pulling boat out of water or paying 50 cents more per gallon
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
can you swim 5 miles? “NO” then what is the difference in 5 miles and 50 miles!!! Go for it!
Gasoline is about 6.5 lbs per gallon. So a 50 gallon would be about 325 + container and dolly. A small fuel transfer pump and done. Question is what is the break point. If you have the cost of the tank, pump, hauling fuel to the head of the dock, your time, possibility of getting nailed for mishandling a fuel product over a water way…
I used to have family that used an old farm tank o 1500 gallons and they had an oil company fill it at the house. They ran a small hose down to the boat, filled it and then took it back off the dock. That was 30 years ago.
Gasoline can have some crazy effects on plastic. Not sure what the composition of red cans are, but the regular old blue plastic drums may not like gasoline.
Another thought, If you build a “dolly” using a plastic drum, make sure it is grounded and bonded to the fill nozzle before you start filling. You don’t want to create a big fireball from the static.
I have used 3 blue 55 gal drum for years, Fill them up at the gas station in the bed of the truck. Just roll them down 2 2x6 to the dock and roll out the dock,wait till low tide and use gravity to fill the boat tank. Make a hose/valve to screw in the big hole in the drum and use the other hole as a vent, at $.50 or more a gal. it wont take long to save a lot! Make sure you don’t have a smoaker in the gang!
Plastic tanks in the bed of a truck create static electricity. Static electicity can make gas go ca boom. This is why federal law requires all portable contains be removed from vehicle before filling. Also fed law has limit on size of portable container that can be filled. It is posted at all gas stations pretty sure something like 20-gallons. Is all this just to fill the 19-foot key west in your signature? I fill my 18 cc all the time with 5-gallon jerry cans. A whole lot easier than a 55-gallon drum to handle! Filling a sport fisher at the dock is one thing, filling a 19-foot boat another.
Stop by your local car wash. They buy soap in 15 gallon plastic drums. I don’t have a problem lifting them in or out of the truck. My car wash GAVE me two of them. 30 gallons is about what I burn on near/off shore trips so it works well for me and my rig. I work them similar to boatpoor except I use a dolly to roll them down to the dock at low tide and use a syphon hose (garden hose) to drain the gas to the boat