How do you fuel your bu'?

[Chef23]

My boat stays in the water at my dock and there is no gas on the lake. I have 4 5 gallon jugs that I fill and carry down. I have about 15 steps so I don't think I could get one of the larger caddies down.

[Pistol Pete]

I have to trailer my boat everywhere. Usually a 5 hr. drive one way. I fill up the boat just before getting to the lake so as not to be towing the extra weight the whole time. Before any weekend trip, I fill 6 5 gallon cans at a local gas station and haul them in the bed of the truck up to the lake. I refill the boat in my campsite the morning after we've been out on the water all day. There is gas on all the lakes I go to but, I'm not willing to pay the extra $1.00 or more a gallon.

Here's the weird thing, at any marina I've been to, I've seen and spilled gas into the water by accident due to over filling but, nobody freaks out and there's nothing in place to prevent spillage or clean it up out of the water.

[electricjohn]

...I do not like jerry cans because I do not want to spill any gas in the water like everybody else who uses them...

Not everyone spills when using gas cans...

I honestly have yet to see that.

One other thing...I can not believe state EPA's would allow 500 gallon tanks on the waterfront of lakes, even if there is an impermeable dyke system around it. Even if the risk of spillage is negligable, there is still that risk.

Edited April 4, 2008 by electricjohn

[JAF1063]

Gas cady for me. it is slow but it works well. I may try the hand crank with it this year to see if that is faster.

The hand crank is faster, I bought that for mine about 5 years back. It works great, that way the boat can be on the lift and not sitting in the water with waves splashing the boat every which way.

Our above ground tank is not that close to the water, it is approx 150 ft away.

Actually the guy that had his put in last year it is right on the channel, maybe 10 ft ftrom the water.

Edited April 4, 2008 by JAF1063

[Sixball]

Keep a bottle of dish washing soap on the boat or at the dock . if you have a small spill squirt some dish soap around it the spill will brake down and dissipate in seconds. Also if you need some binding lube it will work. Its not my first choice for binding lube but it will work.

[CBMalibu]

I buy on the lake. If you pay in cash the marina cuts me enough of a break to not make hauling cans worth it. Over a season it might cost me an extra $10 to $20 and I can live with that.

[jimw]

I keep my boat on the lift. I use a gas caddy and 5 gallon jugs. I have a cargo rack for the back of my suburban and it works great for transporting the caddy for fill ups. It's easy on and off(when full) b/c it's so low to the ground. I can just pick it up and slide it off onto the wheels.

Since my father is getty older he stopped using his caddy b/c of the weight. I just bought him one of these for xmas but he hasen't used it yet. http://www.flo-n-go.com/products/product_duramax/

[Olive]

Is there a rule about filling "in the lake"? We are on a small 400 acre lake, in a slip at a marina where gas is $1 over market but with only 87 grade -- we were thinking about "renting" a local dock for two bottles of scotch that would allow us access... if not could I fill off the beach with 5 gallon cans?

Premium is one thing but my 04 HH likes 89 or better -- any one hae experience in SE Michigan?

Regards, Olive

[kelcamax]

Check out the gas-link at www.gas-link.com. You use easy to handle 5 gallon jugs. No spilling in the water and no back strain, etc. Inexpensive solution. Works great because it is so simple.

[jtrovato]

Check out the gas-link at www.gas-link.com. You use easy to handle 5 gallon jugs. No spilling in the water and no back strain, etc. Inexpensive solution. Works great because it is so simple.

$109 seems a little expensive for a funnel on a stand don't you think? I'd rather buy a funnel and some tubing from the hardware store for $10 and attach it to the dock post, or have a buddy hold it while I pour the gas!

[MalibuTime]

I have to trailer my boat everywhere. Usually a 5 hr. drive one way. I fill up the boat just before getting to the lake so as not to be towing the extra weight the whole time. Before any weekend trip, I fill 6 5 gallon cans at a local gas station and haul them in the bed of the truck up to the lake. I refill the boat in my campsite the morning after we've been out on the water all day. There is gas on all the lakes I go to but, I'm not willing to pay the extra $1.00 or more a gallon.

Here's the weird thing, at any marina I've been to, I've seen and spilled gas into the water by accident due to over filling but, nobody freaks out and there's nothing in place to prevent spillage or clean it up out of the water.

Thats interesting. I think everywhere that I have been here in Wa and Idaho there are the white fuel absorbant bumpers at the gas dock, they will absorb fuel/oil off of the lake. I bought some fuel absorbant pads from West and threw them in the boat just in case, but haven't used them. When we have been at a lakehouse for a week I have just bought gas at one of the marinas. Launch and retrieve would take too long and using cans would be a PITA for just one week, plus the I think the closest gas station by road was actually more expensive than on the water! Never saw anyone buying gas there for obvious reasons, probably old and waterlogged to boot.

[smooth as glass]

500 gallon tank would be great, but can't imagine it would be allowed next to any body of water without EPA restrictions! We have a caddy and it easily slides out of truck to wheels and then to dock for gravity feed to boat on the lift. I might have to stop skiing if I had to drag 5 gallon containers anywhere......Wait no I'd get somebody else.

[medicdiver]

You could get a nice diamond plate fuel tank that mounts in the bed & has an electric pump with a service station type hose/handle. Then just drive the truck to the waters edge & fill er up. I have a buddy with a Supreme that does that with success. Here is an example of that. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...06725_200306725

If you read at the bottom of the listing for the 51 gallon tank for teh bed of your truck it says not for gasoline. It is illegal in most states to carry that much fuel in a tank without a hazmat license/placards due to fire hazard. Even carrying 6-8 5 gallon cans may be illegal in some states. I would check before hauling that much fuel.

As for my boat, it stays on the trailer, and the gas station is half mile from the house. Easy enough to run and fill it up.

On a side note, has anyone even run high octane (over 100) in their boat. the gas station down the street carries 110 octane leaded gas, and the airport is only 2 miels away right up my street, they have 100 low lead gas for about the same as 89 octane at the pump.

Those of you with the 300-500 gallon tanks check to see if you can get out of paying the road tax on the fuel as it is being used in the boat. They dye the gas so you cant use it on the street in your trucks, but it saves another 50 cents or so. We bought gas that way for the farm. It is a lot cheaper when you buy it in bulk.

[kelcamax]

no gas on our lake, so i use thoes freekin 5 gallon cans. I fill 6 of them at a time, and that will usually cover us for a week, unless we have lots of company over or spend alot of extra time skiing. This year I WILL find a better solution. I feel like it takes us half an hour just to fill the boat from all the small cans. Thoes little pour nozzels are so restricting. I might try to find some sort of large and long funnel that will fit in the gas fill of the boat snugly on its own. The idea with that is I could unscrew the small spouts on the can and dump it into the funnel through the 2.5" opening. That should go alot faster than thoes 1/2 inch spouts. Has anyone found a good funnel that fits in the gas fill? I'm thinking that one with a 45 degree bend might work the best

I've had my eye on a gas caddy too, but gravit fed wont work for me, so I'll need a pump. The pump seemed like it would be very slow. Can anyone with a pump and a gas caddy provide info as to how long it takes to empty it with the pump?

What I would really love to do is somehow figuar out how to siphon or drain (or even pump) the fuel out of the truck and into the boat in an efficient mannor. That would be a real easy way to transport 20 or 25 gallons to the lake at a time! Anyone ever done that?

[Olivertuft]

Check out the gas-link at www.gas-link.com. You use easy to handle 5 gallon jugs. No spilling in the water and no back strain, etc. Inexpensive solution. Works great because it is so simple.

$109 seems a little expensive for a funnel on a stand don't you think? I'd rather buy a funnel and some tubing from the hardware store for $10 and attach it to the dock post, or have a buddy hold it while I pour the gas!

I love that goofy thing. It only makes me think of two things... 1) I wish I had invented it and 2) what clown will be the first to think its an ash tray?

Seriously, a funnel and some hose is the answer. Put the other 90 dollars you saved into the boat tank.

[Deltawake]

We go the 5 (6) gallon can route. Our boat is in dry storage. We have the white plastic containers with a hose rigged to the cap. No spills.

At 7-8 gallons per hour and 400-500 hours per year, we save at least $1.20 per gallon over buying gas on the Delta. $4000-$4500 savings

per year. It's worth a little bit of legwork to save the $$$.

[kyleecoyote]

I fill up at the gas station on my way to the lake. Gas is ridicules on the lake. Especially on lake Tahoe. I bring my 5 gallons cans if I need extra gas and have my friends fill them up. I sure am glad gas is a little cheaper then last year. Get the gas caddy if you go alone. Or use the 5 gallon cans when you have the whole crew.

[MadDogMike]

I bought this 14-gallon gas caddy:

I like it, but it's kinda slow to siphon out. I was thinking about buying one of these battery-powered pumps and installing it in-line:

Anybody use something similar? Got something better? (I need something portable, so if you're lucky enough to have your own fuel farm at your dock, I don't want to hear it! )

thanks,

Mike

[Faceplant409]

I trailer at least 1-1/2 hrs to any lake we go to. We fill up at stations near the lake which are USUALLY cheaper than in the heart of the bay area where we live. We spent the week at New Melones and kept the boat in the slip. We filled up at the marina a couple of times. It cost us a dollar more per gallon... But it saved a lot of time and stress on Mrs. Faceplant. She hates backing the truck into the water and does not want to drive the boat onto the trailer. Though I was proud of her to ask to practice driving into the slip!

[wakeup]

I keep my boat on the lift. I use a gas caddy and 5 gallon jugs. I have a cargo rack for the back of my suburban and it works great for transporting the caddy for fill ups. It's easy on and off(when full) b/c it's so low to the ground. I can just pick it up and slide it off onto the wheels.

We do the very same thing. We have a 20 gallon caddy and load and unload right on the cargo rack. We like the 20 gallon because it comes with large air filled tires and rolls great across the yard. The smaller ones tend to cheap out on wheels.

See you on LKG.

[Jimmypooh]

We use the 5 gallon cans too but don't pour. We use the "Magic Siphon":

They make 2 sizes. The larger diameter hose drains a 5 gallon can in about 60-75 seconds. This is the best invention for a long time!

[Pruis6]

We go the 5 (6) gallon can route. Our boat is in dry storage. We have the white plastic containers with a hose rigged to the cap. No spills.

At 7-8 gallons per hour and 400-500 hours per year, we save at least $1.20 per gallon over buying gas on the Delta. $4000-$4500 savings

per year. It's worth a little bit of legwork to save the $$$.

We are also in dry storage on the delta so we do the same. I use a super siphon to transfer the gas it's awesome. Looks and works like a magic siphon. Amazing and Fun!

[Baddog]

I keep my boat on the lift. I use a gas caddy and 5 gallon jugs. I have a cargo rack for the back of my suburban and it works great for transporting the caddy for fill ups. It's easy on and off(when full) b/c it's so low to the ground. I can just pick it up and slide it off onto the wheels.

We do the very same thing. We have a 20 gallon caddy and load and unload right on the cargo rack. We like the 20 gallon because it comes with large air filled tires and rolls great across the yard. The smaller ones tend to cheap out on wheels.

See you on LKG.

How do you ground the tank when it is in the truck bed being filled? I have always understood that it is a HUGE no-no to fill a plastic container with gas in a truck bed wothout it being grounded.

[Baddog]

We use the 5 gallon cans too but don't pour. We use the "Magic Siphon":

They make 2 sizes. The larger diameter hose drains a 5 gallon can in about 60-75 seconds. This is the best invention for a long time!

How do you start the siphon?

[CLOUT1]

We go the 5 (6) gallon can route. Our boat is in dry storage. We have the white plastic containers with a hose rigged to the cap. No spills.

At 7-8 gallons per hour and 400-500 hours per year, we save at least $1.20 per gallon over buying gas on the Delta. $4000-$4500 savings

per year. It's worth a little bit of legwork to save the $$$.

We are also in dry storage on the delta so we do the same. I use a super siphon to transfer the gas it's awesome. Looks and works like a magic siphon. Amazing and Fun!

Sounds great...I can see it being amazing perhaps, but FUN??? Interesting...filling g as = fun. Just pulling your chain, it struck me as funny...FUN???!!!