Fuel containers exposed to the sun.

iana · Guru

Fuel containers exposed to the sun.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Weight is also a consideration . A simple tarp to keep suns radiation off would help . Yes its something we have to be aware of ! The joys of traveling !

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I have Australian made "Fuel Safe" plastic jerries some of which are now over 25 years old. They have had lots of use over the years including significant exposure to the sun.
Not a single failure in that time.
Cheers,
Peter

Whenarewethere · Guru

Not a lot that we can do, but they have a bit of clear anodised aluminium covering them reducing the percentage of tank exposed to the sun.

I have thought of tucking a white coloured sheet under the top piece of aluminium. We haven't been using them in summer so the tanks haven't been getting that hot.

IMG_1598 (1).jpg

Mamil · Senior Member

Whenarewethere wrote:
Not a lot that we can do, but they have a bit of clear anodised aluminium covering them reducing the percentage of tank exposed to the sun.
I have thought of tucking a white coloured sheet under the top piece of aluminium. We haven't been using them in summer so the tanks haven't been getting that hot.

Totally off subject, but I saw a 2010 Freelander 2 advertised locally, 140,000kms, SE TD4, $14,000. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks?

dieseltojo · Senior Member

I had a friend that had a great idea. on a desert trip he installed a couple of flat boat fuel tanks on top. The lower profile would be better for the centre of gravitiy isues.

All good till we got into 38 degrees when the full tanks which have a natural expansion valve, leaked out onto the tarp covering them and ran the fuel down the side of his new Prado. The Prado was ok after a clean up.

We still shudder at the thought of what could have happened if a smoker was in our midst.

Any way he used the fuel right away and we through the tarp out to dry for later disposal.

-- Edited by dieseltojo on Friday 11th of September 2020 08:44:36 AM

-- Edited by dieseltojo on Friday 11th of September 2020 08:44:57 AM

JayDee · Guru

We carry to 2 x 20 litre fuel tanks attached to the rear of our van. These units have never had a drop of fuel in them.

The purpose for the tanks is to fill with water just prior to when we reach our bush camp destination.

When full we carry them in the space behind the back seat of the Cruiser. The van has 2 x 85 litre tanks also.

Fuel exposed to heat is a time bomb just waiting to happen.

Jay&Dee

-- Edited by JayDee on Friday 11th of September 2020 09:08:28 AM

Whenarewethere · Guru

We keep our water behind the front seats. Auxiliary batteries under the seats. Can't do much with what's on the roof but have tried our best to keep it as centred & compact as possible. We swapped the roof platform for 4 cross bars for a 16kg net saving. Drilled out brackets to reduce weight. The custom built fuel tank holder are about half the weight of steel.

On the roof the 10L plastic fuel tanks do expand & contract a lot over a 24 hour period.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

JayDee wrote:
Fuel exposed to heat is a time bomb just waiting to happen.

Not at all.

These approved fuel containers are designed to survive exterior conditions and physical abuse safely.

Their design and manufacture has little in common with plastic containers used for water despite the apparent similarities. They are made from a cross linked high density polyethylene which is exceptionally tough.

I recall years ago when plastic fuel tanks were first introduced for cars. Ford in Melbourne was the first to make them in Australia. At Chrysler in Adelaide I saw them testing some that were filled with glycol at -20C and then dropped from the roof of the building onto concrete, without damage.

When sealed plastic jerries full of petrol get hot, they can expand significantly. The expansion is determined by the temperature and the vapour pressure of the petrol. When the pressure gets to equal the vapour pressure, the expansion ceases. Releasing the cap to reduce the pressure is completely pointless. It will simply expand again and all that will have been achieved is to release some very volatile and flammable petrol fumes.

Putting fuel into NON fuel approved containers on the other hand is extremely dangerous. The plastic may not be suitable for either fuel contact or for UV resistance and the container almost certainly will not withstand the pressures or the impact requirements.

Cheers,

Peter

oldbloke · Guru

Peter is right. Fuel containers are as tough as old boots. And the risk is much reduced if it diesel.

Sailfish · Member

Yep, petrol can be most hazardous.
One day I rinsed the whipper sniper filter in some petrol to remove the oily mess.
Left it on a concrete block next to a drain to dry.
While I was in the garage doing other things.... WOOOPH
The fumes had flowed down the drain and found something hot in the sun some 5m away and that was the end of that air filter.

very small amount of petrol involved so no serious consequence but Lesson learned!

I don't know about the following but I read that static discharge can be an ignition source when filling a tank from a plastic fuel container.
Recommendation was to ground out the container & yourself to the car before opening anything
Anyone know?

oldbloke · Guru

Sailfish wrote:
Yep, petrol can be most hazardous.
One day I rinsed the whipper sniper filter in some petrol to remove the oily mess.
Left it on a concrete block next to a drain to dry.
While I was in the garage doing other things.... WOOOPH
The fumes had flowed down the drain and found something hot in the sun some 5m away and that was the end of that air filter.

very small amount of petrol involved so no serious consequence but Lesson learned!

I don't know about the following but I read that static discharge can be an ignition source when filling a tank from a plastic fuel container.
Recommendation was to ground out the container & yourself to the car before opening anything
Anyone know?

Yes, it is possible. It's the vapours that ignite if the ratio to air is right. I would think that proper petrol containers would be designed to not generate static though.

If your worried a length of wire from the container to ground would discharge the static.

Plain Truth · Guru

Sailfish wrote:
Yep, petrol can be most hazardous.
One day I rinsed the whipper sniper filter in some petrol to remove the oily mess.
Left it on a concrete block next to a drain to dry.
While I was in the garage doing other things.... WOOOPH
The fumes had flowed down the drain and found something hot in the sun some 5m away and that was the end of that air filter.

very small amount of petrol involved so no serious consequence but Lesson learned!

I don't know about the following but I read that static discharge can be an ignition source when filling a tank from a plastic fuel container.
Recommendation was to ground out the container & yourself to the car before opening anything
Anyone know?