zredbaron Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hey guys. I finally have an enclosed trailer for my Z and I will finally be going back to 100 octane fuel full time. For convenience, I would like to mount a fuel transfer tank, say 50-75 gallons in the front of my trailer to hold the fuel. I have come across some interesting warnings and am hoping some of you out there would have experience first or second hand with this sort of thing. Problem #1: Every single fuel transfer tank I come across, such as this one (http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/11-20-fuel-tanks/fuel-transfer-tank-rectangular-100-gal-617306.aspx) all clearly state that the tank is designed and meets DOT standards for combustible fuels but NOT flammable fuels (ie diesel is ok and gasoline is not). I have spoken to a manufacturer regarding this and they claim the tanks aren't designed for the changes in volume (due to temperature) with gasoline and can fail. However...in practice it seems to be a very different story. All of these tanks come with vent caps to allow for changes in volume with temp. I am currently stationed in a very rural part of Oklahoma, and went into a local farmer's equipment supply store. I asked several employees about the no flammable fuels warning (labeled on each tank) and all were absolutely stunned to read that gasoline was not 'ok'...it seems they use it for gasoline all the time. One employee took me to his truck, and in his truck bed was such a tank full of gasoline. (Never had a problem for over 10 years.) Problem #2: Legally, it seems DOT will only allow transportation of gasoline in plasic gas gans, loose and spilling everywhere and not in a sturdy, fastened and sealed transfer tank. Weird. Question #3: Anyone have any reason why I should choose a steel or aluminum tank (one over the other) in terms of structure or perhaps corrosion / reaction between the fuel and the tank? If anyone has any experience or comments for any of the above I would greatly appreciate hearing what you have to say. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 I hauled Sunoco GT Supreme around in various 5 gallon jugs, 30, and 55 gallon drums fuel around in my trailers for years. Never had a problem. The tank warnings you're reading are CYA stuff from the manufacturer's attorneys. I wouldn't worry about safety with a properly mounted (strapped in place, not bolted) fuel tank. I've seen some really scary installations in Hot Rods where tabs are welded to the tank and the tank is solidly bolted to a very flexible '32 frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 I've only seen race gas transported in plastic jugs. The 55 gal drum stayed at the shop, and the gas was transferred into the plastic cans. Makes me wonder if you couldn't get an old gas tank from a big *** one ton truck or something, mount that to the trailer with an electric fuel pump or some kind of siphon setup that you could put directly into the fuel cell and use that to transfer fuel at the track without having to mess with the fuel cans. It's an interesting idea Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zredbaron Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 wow, you guys piped in fast! thanks! john, why the concern with strapping it in rather than than bolting? i would be using the manufacturer's intended bolting flanges, and would be bolting two points to I-beams under the wood floor and the other two points to the wood floor via lag screws. would that be ok in your book? jon, as for the getting the fuel out of the tank, i plan on using the 12V gas pumps specifically designed for getting the gas out of a tank like this and going into a car or truck. i see them all the time on the back of pickups out here in rural land. its just like a fuel pump at a gas station only without the meter and auto-stop feature. so...i had planned on doing this and figured i'd dummy check myself on hybridz...seems like you guys dont have any major gripes with this setup (possibly a pending mounting solution)...so am I right in assuming you guys wouldnt object to this? thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 If the structure you're bolting the tank to flexes (and pretty much EVERYTHING on a trailer flexes) it will put loads on the tank itself. This will, over time, fatigue the tank mounts or the tank itself causing cracks. Same thing happens when you solidly mount a radiator to the 240Zs core support. A couple local radiator shops send all their aluminum welding to me. I've repaired dozens of aluminum fuel tanks that were solidly bolted under hot rods, in pickup truck beds, and bolted to truck frames. All had developed cracks and were leaking fuel. A few I've welded twice after the dumb owners just reinstalled the repaired tanks the same old way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zredbaron Posted June 17, 2006 Author Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hmmm....would simple rubber pads under the manufacturer's mounting flanges do the trick? (Similar to motor mounts, I suppose) Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Those should work fine. Just don't torque everything down to 100 ft. lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zredbaron Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 seems i never followed up on this thread... this is how it ended up... works great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Nice work. Looks damned good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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