Farmall Cub

I picked up a 300 gallon gravity fuel tank with a stand really cheap.
I am trying to figure out if it is worth messing with to try and use it for gas or just use the material for another project.
Is there any fairly inexpensive solution to a rusty tank. I don't want to spend money to have it cleaned, sealed etc.
Is there any filtering/ sediment bowl that would be good enough.
If I do use this for gas, the gas will go in mowers and Cubs, and sometimes a vehicle.

Opinions welcome.

Thanks, Thackery

Here is my 2 cents. Take it for what you will. First, yes there are filters you can add to filter out debris from the tank. We had on our gravity tank back when I was a kid.

However in my opinion, the down side list is longer. Gas delivered to your home is no cheaper than buying if from the pump. I got that info from a friend of mine that runs a bulk plant. With that in mind, there is no cost saving for the fuel.
Most gasoline these days contains ethanol which attracts moisture the same way that brake fluid does (there is a name for it but I don't remember what it is) so gasoline will collect moisture if stored for a length of time.
The cost or hassle of cleaning or sealing the tank would be more than I would be willing to invest. I guess it it were me (again just my 2 cents) I'd salvage the stand material and haul the tank in for scrap.

Let us know what you decide.

Scrapyards around here will not take any sealed container unless it is halved, sometimes quartered.That could be deadly depending on past/present contents.

I have an overhead fuel tank with a stand and also a fuel oil tank on a stand. I've been trying to give them away for years, with no takers yet. I used to buy gasoline from the delivery truck, till it got too expensive. It's much less expensive to buy it at the gas station.

I'm with Gary on this one. Have a diesel tank on a stand with a filter. Someone can have it for free.

I have thought about having fuel storage for a number of reasons. Power goes out and the stations pumps won't work for weeks it would be nice to have my own fuel supply. I look at the price of fuel - and yes I am still getting non-ethanol .. and I realize that I simply cannot afford a 200 gallons or so at a time. That would cost me somewhere around $1,100.00 or so. They no longer have farm gas which had no excise or sales tax on it, so there is no advantage. I have given up on that idea. Now I just get what I need in my plastic jerry cans.

The only large storage tank I have now is for used oil and my local recycle guy will pick it up once a year or two depending on how much oil I go through.

Dad and I have used oil tanks etc., to use as trailer beds. Steel is heavy enough .. but man is it a bear to work with.

I have a tank sitting outside my shop that has been empty for about four years. I used to keep about 150 to 200 gallons in it when I mowed with the Kubota 100% of the time. Now that Cubs do a lot of the mowing I don't use diesel as much. I just fill up my two 5 gallon diesel cans when ever I am headed to the station. I really don't want to keep a lot of gas in it right outside the shop. Ialso don't want the tank out in the yard either so it remains empty. I have a good fuel fired furnace that I have thought of putting in the shop so I kept the tank just in case. I have my doubts about that now too.

Yep, ethanol attracts water and the 'shelf life' of gas is short these days (conspiracy??). This winter when we had the blizzard a big fuel tank would have been very valuable!

KBS has some interesting coatings, including for fuel tanks. I used their 'rust seal' to paint my truck frame and it's a quality product.

Another drawback to the overhead tank is that it sits out in the sun and warms up. Consequently, you will loose a lot to evaporation. Warmer fuel goes bad quicker too. Those are 2 of the reasons tanks are buried these days.

For emergency use, you are probably better off to get however many 5 gallon cans you think you need and fill them before winter/tornado/typhoon/hurricane/monsoon/flood season. Treat the gas with stabilizer. Be sure to use your oldest gas first so it doesn't sit around too long.

Bottom line, using the overhead tank is a convenience that may be worthwhile if you use A LOT of gasoline. But it will cost more and can create some other problems.

Buzzard Wing wrote:Yep, ethanol attracts water and the 'shelf life' of gas is short these days (conspiracy??). ........

The main conspiracy is your state and federal reps, they have mandated the ethanol by law. Not only does it absorb water, it lowers gas mileage, and costs more.