Now that I have your attention, I just have a quick question. We all know the way diesel has gone through the roof the last few days....well the WalMart here in Charleston didn't jack it up immediatly so I was able to go fill up 3 55 gallon cans and put them in the garage. I rigged up a Harbor Freight rotary pump with 1 inch clear plastic tubing for to pump it into the truck. I got to thinking about a filter between the pump and the valve on the end of the hose. I was thinking about fabricating some sort of PVC tube with the 1 inch barbed fittings on each end but what would you use for filter media inside? I looked around on Ebay for some diesel filters but they are mostely like the inline kind with the ITP In tank kits and I just want something simple to filter any stuff that might have gotten into the 55 gallon tank as I pump it into the truck. As a side note, the cans were cleaned out really well so I would say there is NOTHING in them and the 5 gallon cans were all clean, but I really don't want to take any chances. Any suggestions???? I could not turn down the chance at diesel for $3.16 a gallon when it jumped to $3.43 and $3.55 everywhere else in town....Man I hate saying that I was glad to jump on it for $3.16

 

Dave, ideally you would like a nice one with a water seperator, but I don't think you plan on running that setup continuously. I would recommend the largest cheapy inline you can source and use the fuel soon before it gets too much moisture in it.

 

A filter that might suit your needs is for a diesel Jetta.
It has two 7mm (3/8") fittings on the top of the filter, one in and one out, with a water drain on the bottom.
Part number: 191 127 401C
I'll post a picture next post.

 

 

Go by your local farm supply store or farm tractor dealer. They will have a large (about 1 qt) filter with a clear or red plastic housing and a water drain valve on the bottom for around $15-$20. This type of set up is exactly what they're made for.

You could also check places that sell auxiliary fuel tanks, or even a Northern Tool if you have one near you.

I've hot a lever pump style handle on the 55 ga. drum I use for my tractor with this set up. I'm not familiar with the rotary pump Harbor Freight sells, but I do know that some rotary pumps need to be primed before they work. If you have any problems with yours, unscrew the outlet tube off the top of the pump and pour some diesel down it to get the pump primed.

 

Thanks for the input.....the pump is self priming and pumps a 3/4 inch outlet tube with lots of volume and pressure with little effort. I was just looking for something to filter out the trash and moisture (if any) while it is waiting to be used. I looked at the northern tool online catalog and they had some clear water seperators so it should be just a matter of "rigging" up some fittings. I want to conserve what I have cause there is no telling what the price will be up to when I go to refill them if I can afford to even then...who knows what it will do for sure. I will check out the farm supply places and see what they might have. There is no Tractor supply place around here...just my luck that would probably have what I needed. I was just thinking about something like folks have used to filter the fumes from the CCV vent....I guess I just wanted to make something work from scratch. Thanks again, I will post what I come up with, and keep the suggestions coming...the light bulb will come on eventually...

 

I had about Eight 55 gallon drums full of diesel that was about 1.5 years old I ran the same exact pump you did with no filter and never had a problem. Some drums sat in a warehouse for a 6-8 months as well. Never got a Water in fuel light or anything.

 

That was definitely good to know. I work at a marina and I see boats almost daily that set and set for months and sometimes years on end. They go to start them up and the whole fuel system is gummed up and the fuel has gone bad. I was not sure what the "shelf life" was on diesel but I should be able to get it burned by the end of the summer. When we drive to the races, I will use it to top off before we leave and to fill up when we get home....I will go by Northern tools and check out what they have for filters. I figured since the drums were spotless I may not NEED a filter, since I have the in tank mods and prepump filter, but I would feel better filtering it before I put it in the truck...

 

F350-6 had it right I used to keep a 500 gal above ground tank for fuel when I was farming and you can even get them with water seperating filters. Here is some different ones I used to use the golden rod 17041 water block setup on my outside tank the the standard on my inside tanks they are 10 micron which will get most of the stuff you have to worrry about and then the trucks filter can do the rest.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...6970_106+79097

 

What about a hydraulic fluid filter? I know napa carries lots of those and they'd have the larger fittings.

 

treat it with PowerService. It's cheap insurance for stored fuel.

 

Oh yes, i second that. i did add PS to all of them before i pumped each barrell.

 

I love how you always mention some kind of vw diesel stuff. I work for VW. Have you looked in to our 5.0 twin turbo diesel touaregs?

 

Good ole Northern tools pays off agian. I figured I would error on the side of safety, and take the advice about the Water seperator filter setup from Harbor freight. I put it just after the pump, and just before the ball valve to shut off the flow to the truck. It is 15 micron so that should get the chunks out of the fuel.....also the pickup tube on the pump has a pretty fine screen too....that's the other reason I opted for the water filter one insted of just the plain filter. One thing I learned.....close the petcock valve before you fill the filter....lost a little and now I smell like diesel.....like that's a bad thing though.....and wrestling the full drum up onto a drum dolly.....well now that was sporty single handed....while the wifie watched and said.."can I help"? Problem solved and many thanks for the inputs......Dave