Pictures of welding on the jerry can -- converted to fuel tank

Explanation follows on the website

My folks had an 8kw propane generator installed, I had to dig the trench between the 120 gallon tank which has to have head space hence is often called a 100 and the generator. When full it still won't last but about five days blackout. I know diesel uses less especially at idle but you are stating 20kw generator. How much fuel do you plan on having? Is the object to fill in for rolling blackouts of a few hours due to uncertainty of the future legislation of electric generation and the lack of risk takers to build plants or is the object to protect the contents of a freezer full of food after a hurricane or like event? Is there a like ordinance against outside propane tanks? I know propane is a racket, the second fill may well cost two and a half times the first.

I suppose you are going to paint it yellow for diesel. you can use oxygen or argon fittings on those pipes for the lines coming out and a short hose plugged when taking it to the fuel depot. That must be a newer version jerry can mine have an approximate three inch opening with a spin off plug on a chain.

I hope you aren't looking for compliments from aircraft grade welders about those beads. Was this a clean off the paint first or after? or a little of both?

Fran

At present, I have approximately nine full jerry cans of diesel.

I will just use barb fittings.

A little bit of both, I hope that those welders do not notice. :)

In my defense though, there is fusion and wetting all around, it seems.

With an algaecide in the diesel right?

That's the biggest advantage of propane IMO. It stores well.

I believe so. It's been a while and I may be wrong by now. I bought one more can of algaecide and will put it in every one again.

The issue with algae is that it appears when there is water in fuel. I do not believe that there is much in the fuel that I have.

So does diesel fuel.

The generator can run about 5-8 hours on one jerry can. I will simply refill the tank as necessary.

I did, at some point, buy a bigger tank, but I changed my mind about using it due to fuel management and environmental concerns.

A diesel must do a lot better on fuel usage than a gasoline engine. I had a 15 KW gasoline generator running a Dialarc 250 that would get about an hour and a half on a 5 gallon tank of fuel. Have you checked the fuel consumption under a load?

BobH

I still have to wire it. I have a 10 kW electric room heater that I made a while ago, it will make a nice test load.

See the above link for more extra pictures, I added pictures of fittings that I put on the can. The purpose of tee fittings is to maybe add a tank cleaning setup that would filter fuel through a filter and water separator. Right now the extra outlets on tee fittings are plugged.

A gasoline or propane engines burn fuel at near a 14 to 1 fuel to air ratio. Diesel burns at near a 100 to 1 fuel to air ratio.

I am glad for your sake that you don't have a priming problem. Maybe my stuff is older, but I've sure had to bleed injectors on different tractors and trucks to get them to fire if someone ever let them run out of fuel.

This generator generally sucks in much more fuel, than it actually consumes, at least under light load. It returns the excess back to the tank via the return line.

Thus, it can work through and keep running, even if it has a lot of air in the incoming line. It uses its fuel and returns the air back into the tank.

For example, right now I have a 10 foot long fuel line, and it had no problem at all starting and continuing to run, even when the entire line was empty when I just connected this new fuel line.

No, they are different.

The diesels that I have seen, are very good at repriming themselves if there is still some fuel in the fuel filter, injection pump etc. They would get rid of the trapped air in short order. My familiarity is with Cummins/Onan and Kubota engines that I bought, used and sold.

This Onan also easily primes itself from fully empty, after a bit of cranking.

I personally want to have one jerry can as fuel tank, and just refill it as necessary, even while the generator is still running.

I have a big Racor fuel filter, which I want to put in the incoming line, with a fine 2 micron element in it. It will both filter the fuel, as well as separate water from diesel.

My immediate plan is to make a welded frame from 1/2" pipes, that would be the skeleton of the enclosure. After that is done, I will have a good place to mount this Racor filter.

congrats and good luck. seeing your photos made me wonder, if you lose the fuel line prime on the generator do you have to go through a procedure (venting the line, etc.) to reestablish the prime? just curious. on a compact diesel tractor if you run the tank dry you have to go through a (hassle!) procedure to re-prime the engine.

reason i was wondering, this group, people working on projects, exchanging ideas, seeing your project made me wonder, made me think, if i ever needed to plumb up a bunch (9) fuel tanks (are ALL your jerry cans EXACTLY the same?) i think i'd try to make a fitting (clamp on seal, feed, return and vent) that goes onto the fuel filler neck, so i wouldn't have to modify the can itself at all, but that would necessitate repriming the engine every time i needed to change cans or refill the can. i'm not criticizing your project. i'm just wondering out loud, after seeing your project, if it would be possible. an exchange of ideas, modifying someone else's work.

b.w.

That will last you around 36 hours or so, presuming like most houses your base load has the generator at idle and only slightly of idle for heat/oven/etc.

Put a 55 gal poly (no rust) drum inside one of the 65 gal overpack drums and you'll have a nice safe fuel tank with full secondary containment.

Sounds about right. On the other hand, it does not need to run continuously. In a terrible emergency, I would ration fuel, in a small emergency, I would just buy more fuel when I run low.

I think...that brazing may have been a better choice for those tubes.

Or TIG.

Shrug

As long as it works.

Shrug again.

Gunner

"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster

Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton

Well, that was TIG.

Maybe it would also apply to me if I ran out of fuel, as well. But if I simply have a lot of air in the system, the generator works through that.

Oh...ahum. Sorry.

Try brazing next time..with your Tig torch.

Works amazingly well.

Gunner

"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster

Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton

I will definitely try that, yes. I have a bunch of silicon bronze.