Insulating tank?

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I am thinking in order to more quickly warm up the fuel in my tank to cover the heater hoses going to the heater with insulating wrap, but to also put something over the tank as much as I can as well. Haven't thought much about what to use, but would want it to stick on pretty well and not be too thick. Maybe some kind of rubberized foam material, like about 3/8" thick, with self-adhesive on it.

Also I want to also apply some sort of stick-on electric heater pad to the tank underside (120 volt) to warm it while plugged in at night. Would put that on with the insulation under it.

I had a little trouble going over a pass one cold night last winter when it dropped down to about -5F, the fuel heater couldn't keep the fuel warm enough and I started losing power. Luckily I made it over fine and dropped down to warmer temps and the problem subsided, but had it been colder I may have found myself dead alongside the road on a very cold night

 

[cj hall]

tank

hello vaughn



I thought about a water bed heater for a heat scorce they have temp probes on them also thought the aluminum foil bubble insulating wrap (LOWES) and some good 3M Spray on glue would do the trick.



you would need a clean tank to do this to it.



other than that it should work great



cj hall

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Good ideas CJ, thanks.

 

[PhatB]

CJ, you stole my idea... lol



Anyway, waterbed heaters are usually only 300 watts and max out at 100ºF.



Actually thought about using two of them ducktaped on the bottom of my IBC tote that I use for settling, then insulating it with the foil bubble wrap so it will stay warm in my cold garage this winter.

 

[Curious Dave]

I am new to this area of thought... But why not put in a couple of bulkhead fittings with some coiled up copper tubing inside and then connect your heater hoses to some ball valves along with some copper transfer lines and some heat tape on them (with some insulation)? This then would go to your tank with the bulkhead fittings. You could also use some heat tape to put directly on the outside of your tank. Well... that is if they get hot enough.

I don't know of anything that sticks to the stock plastic fuel tanks (polyetheylene)... but you could use the yellow weather strip adhesive and some neoprene sheet to make a nice outer cover/jacket for your tank. That might also work well with the heat tape. Not alot of external heat... But well insulated and maintainable heat is what it sounds like you are after. Just an idea. Then you would have 120v heat when it is sitting in the cold... and utilize the engine heat while you are driving. Not to mention that a circulator pump in line woud help heat up the trucks engine.

Just a thought... or two.

 

[LSchulz]

You don't really want to heat the whole tank. Excessive heat will help accelerate oxidative polymerization. The trick is to get the tank contents just warm enough to flow out through the fuel pickup, and then (depending on you have things configured) let the rest of the system get the fuel up to temp. My tank isn't insulated, but all of my fuel lines, even the hose-in-hose have a 1" foam wrap on them.

 

[KKaminski]

Okay, LSchulz, a hose in hose?????



I've been trying to figure out how to have an inner pipe / hose to run the fuel and an outer one to carry the coolant. This is my only dilema to date, as I've finally figured ouot that 4 hours of constant filtering work best for the WVO that I can get my hands on.

 

[cj hall]

heating hose

1/2 pex line in side of 3/4 heater hose bulkhead (bored thru)fittings on 3/4 tees on the run with 3/4 hose ends on the outlet.



this would be the easy to make



cj hall

 

[LSchulz]

Okay, LSchulz, a hose in hose?????

I've been trying to figure out how to have an inner pipe / hose to run the fuel and an outer one to carry the coolant.

Frybrid has a pretty good schematic of how to do this.

1/2 pex line in side of 3/4 heater hose bulkhead (bored thru)fittings on 3/4 tees on the run with 3/4 hose ends on the outlet.

I would not recommend PEX. I used that the first time, and had it break on me twice. I sent a healthy does of coolant into the VP and kissed it goodbye. Now I'm using aluminum fuel line, #5177K26 from McMaster, just as shown in the diagram. It has a 1000psi rating, and transfers heat much better than PEX. That's been in the truck for 7500 miles now with much better results.

 

[cj hall]

tube

hello LSchulz

sure that sounds better go with the aulm tube not the pex. most use pex aound here. but they do have problems.

have you had any problems with it work stressing or did you mount it so it would not move.



cj hall

 

[KKaminski]

That's what I was trying to imagine. Now, with a diagram / schematic / PICTURE, I can realy put my mind to work. I'll be getting right on this - as soon as the wife isn't looking.



Thanks for the help.

 

[The patriot]

I have a 3/8" loop in my transfer flow tank with a 1000 watt tank type heater just before the tank. It dont do too much, and were nowhere near 0 deg F here.
I've seen 600 watt 12 volt heaters on fleabay I've been thinking about having a 1" bung welded in the tank, but then you start thinking dis-similar metals etc. etc. .
My MIL insulated her Florida room some years back. She used flat Styrofoam insulation. I dont remember the R value, but it seems like it could be an option.
One year I insulated my heater lines, the exposed steel ones over the exh manifold. Standard home plumbing insulation. It DID make a difference..... until it started melting. :-laf

 

[LSchulz]

have you had any problems with it work stressing or did you mount it so it would not move.

It's pretty well secured to the frame rail, so it doesn't move around a whole lot. I also have a thick foam wrap on everything, so the HIH has a nice soft cushion around it.

 

[VeggieCummins]

A friend rhino lined his tank