designing 60 gal transfer tank, ideas?

[RThompson]

Just completed a round trip from Wa. to San Antinio Tx. with our new truck towing a 25' 5er. 13 1/2 to 14 mpg is more than I dared to hope for. To avoid the high price fuel, I have decided to have a 60 gal tank fabricated. I have looked over a lot of information on transfer tanks and none seem to have low point location to drain off water and sludge. Also, the internal baffles have been a problem in some of the tanks that the local logging firms have purchased. Question for readers of this post is, what is a good locking cap setup for a alloy tank? Anyone know of 12v shutoff valve that I can fasten to primary filter base. In regards to the small depression in the bottom of the tank I plan on having 1/2 fpt and short nipple thru the bed floor to capture moisture on the right side.

 

[Whitmore]

I have a home fabed tank and love it . I have a toolbox on top of it so access to the fill neck is inside the tool box, its lockable. I have no baffels in there and dont need them , never feel the slosh of fuel. I have a 12 v solinoid valve and a 12v pump and a spin on filter then to a T in the fill spout of the main tank , system works great and wouldnt be without it... ... ... ... . Kevin

 

[LarryB]

Why does everyone ggo with a transfer feed instead of a direct feed? Is it because of no gauge?

 

[juicedcummins]

I have a switched gravity feed. Gauge also switches when tank switches. DC said it wouln't work and I now have 80k with no problem.

My tool+fuel is 11gauge stainless with 2 baffles with 6 1inch holes. 2holes in top corners,2in middle on edge,2in bottom corners. I had one before this and it wasn't bad without baffles but they are an improvement over not. If you are building I would put them in they also help strenghthen the tank.

Not sure but DOT might not like gravity-feed.

The transfer into vent also works well.

I think the switch I used was a PULLAK 6 port valve.

Hope this helps

 

[PRout]

I like the transfer to main tank idea mainly because you can use all the fuel in the aux tank.



If you run off the aux tank, you cant run it empty, or you can hurt the injection pump, so in my opinion its simpler to only run the motor off the main & just keep it filled by transferring into it from the aux. Just tap into the vent tube, no biggie.



This way you dont need to touch your gauge wiring (which in the future added connections start causing problems). And anyways, the gauge doesnt work right switching back & forth between tanks anyways - theres apparently a major delay while the computer readjusts to the new tank. Some people report having to turn off the motor & restart to get a correct reading after switching tanks.



You can tell when the aux is empty because no more fuel transfers (its easy to estimate time till the aux is empty as soon as you get used to it).



A couple things I learned were, stay away from the electrical valves, they are unrelaible. Use manual valves only, and a gravity feed from a bed tank works fine, its just very slow. Someday ill add a 12v pump, but its not critical. Also, if you forget & leave the valve on overnight, mine will leak a puddle under the truck from the main filler tube leaking at the place where it connects to the top of the tank.



Setup a mini toggle that lights an l. e. d on the gauge pod while im transferring for a reminder.



Also, make sure you have a way to shut it off at the aux tank in case of problems.

 

[RThompson]

Thanks guys for the responses. I agree, simple is usually best. Probably forego transfer pump and solenoid valve and see how I like it. Transfer lite that Shortshift recommends will be a part of the gauge upgrades after aux. tank, exhaust brake and fender flares are installed. Being able to run most of the fuel thru remote primary filter/water separator is going to go a long ways to avoid concerns about contaminated fuel. Warm fuel returning to a metal tank here in the damp NW is always a problem area that should be avoided. I plan on using 12 micron NAPA 3123 filter on the primary. The addition of fuel pressure gauge senders on the pre and post ports of the OEM filter should take care of most of my concerns until I see the lift pump starting to go 'south'.

Back when I was having to wrench on a fleet of diesel trucks and excavators I found that primary filters needed to be changed out twice as often as the secondary filters. At times primaries would have to be changed at every oil change particularly in the winter months when operators didn't fuel up after every shift.

Never thought I would ever be driving a Dodge much less a diesel.

Now that I have one in the garage it is starting to grow on me. Gotta love the power! With 7000 lb 5er, been able to stay in left lane (55-60 mph) over Siskiyou Mts. on I-5 and Tehachapi Pass. The test will be in April when we take the Trans Canada thru the Rockies to the East coast.