Gas Caddy

[HFarr]

I keep my boat in a lift, so fueling it always involves buying high priced Marina gas, or lots of 5 gallon cans. I had finally decided I was gonna spend the $300 plus for a caddy, but then had an idea that worked out great for me. Got a couple of 30 gallon Polyethylene drums for free from a car wash. They go through them a lot, and just toss them. Same thing a gas can is made of, and they are actually thicker too. I built up a little platform and put it on an old dolly I had so I could make room for the hose at the bottom. Purchased $5 worth of fittings from tractor supply, and a $20 hose and pump handle off Amazon. I put a simple tire air valve in one of the bung caps on the top of the barrel, and put my portable battery operated tire pump on it, but a hand pump would work too. This puts about 4psi of pressure on the barrel and pushes the gas out. It pumps about 10gpm, so empties the barrel in 3 minutes.
My jet skis sit below the level of the dock, so they just gravity feed pretty fast with no pump. If my boat fill cap was lower, it could too.
I have one barrel that I leave just as it came and strap it in my truck. I fill that one at the gas station, then use a $4 siphon pump to transfer, mainly gravity feed, to my caddy on the ground. This way I never have to try to lift any heavy gas. Then just roll it up to the boat. I have to admit it works great!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oHHnDp9fHH1AkP8i6

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[HFarr]

I never store the fuel in them either by the way. Just fill and transfer when I need it.

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[zabooda]

I used my old Moomba fuel pump (carbed) and built a transfer pump. It does a 5 gallon can in 5 minutes. You have to watch it at the end as there is no automatic shutoff.

[Bigs28]

Pretty nice. How many gallons does that hold. I have a 30 gallon caddie with a hand pump on it but could use another.

[HFarr]

The barrel is 30 gallon. I could have gotten some 55, but 30 is much easier to handle.

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[HFarr]

5 gallons in 5 minutes? Did you say that right? You can pour it faster than that.

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[zabooda]

5 gallons in 5 minutes? Did you say that right? You can pour it faster than that.

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I stand corrected. 72gph so a little over 4 minutes. We often boated where no gas was around so pumping 2-3 cans at a time was not uncommon. I can't imagine doing it the old way.

[cozilla]

Do you have a picture of where you put the fittings on the barrel?

[HFarr]

Do you have a picture of where you put the fittings on the barrel?

I had to drill a 1" hole in the bottom. Also is a pic of the air valve I put in the top. That is the game changer. The slight pressure really gets the gas out faster. The air pump only at 3.5 psi per the gauge is sending the gas uphill in my other pics emptied 30 gallons in only 3 minutes. When boat is lowered it cuts the time down even more.

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[cozilla]

Awesome thanks! I have the same situation and think I am going to do this as well. Saw some barrels on FB marketplace for like 15 buck a piece.