Tank heating

[Labhunter]

Ok, here is the next issue. I know...I have issues.
My tank. It is Aluminum. That is good. Problem is it is only 7" deep. It fits under my tool box perfectly, but is shallow. It is about 1/2 " shorter than the width of my bed and is about 3' in the other direction. 42 gal. tank I believe.

Now, I am assuming it is baffled, will check on that later today.

Would like to use a Hot Fox in it to heat, but they will have to shorten it if so because it needs a 1/2 " space and the shortest one they make is 8".

Will that work, or should I just go in a different direction.

One person suggested that I have a 4 to 6" hole cut out under the hot fox. Have a small reservoir welded in. This would give me a longer hot fox and help with air intake when the tank is low. (That is lessen the chance)

I don't know, should I just get a different kind of heater and forget the hot fox? If so, what.

Notice, I live in Fl. So the problem is not here, it is when I go North in the winter, which I do on occasion.

[Labhunter]

Ok, I checked over lunch. The tank is baffled!!

The depth is 7 1/4".

[ridiculously_necessary]

i have a 105 gallon L tank. i cannot use the last 20 or so gallons for the same reason.

if i had to do this again, i would go the resivour route. VegginPSD is doing that on his latest tank. I have and OBS, so with my truck i would like to use some sort of in tank heater, and use the drain plug with HOH and run it to the underbed tank, and block off the excape routes with some ball valves. this way i get the most out of my oil and two tank capacity.

[Labhunter]

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

i have a 105 gallon L tank. i cannot use the last 20 or so gallons for the same reason.

if i had to do this again, i would go the resivour route. VegginPSD is doing that on his latest tank. I have and OBS, so with my truck i would like to use some sort of in tank heater, and use the drain plug with HOH and run it to the underbed tank, and block off the excape routes with some ball valves. this way i get the most out of my oil and two tank capacity.

Is your tank baffled and if so, you still can't get the fuel out?
I thought the baffles were supposed to stop that from happening.
I can tip the far end of the tank up a bit, but the more I do that, the more wasted space I'll have!

[ridiculously_necessary]

the tank is baffled, but i cannot see them. i figure on hills and long curves the fuel will still slosh away from the hotfox. that and it doesnt go all the way to the bottom, i didnt install the brass extender. i too could tip it up, and may do that.

i think the baffles are just to keep the fuel from sloshing with a ton of force.

[Labhunter]

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

i have a 105 gallon L tank. i cannot use the last 20 or so gallons for the same reason.

if i had to do this again, i would go the resivour route. VegginPSD is doing that on his latest tank. I have and OBS, so with my truck i would like to use some sort of in tank heater, and use the drain plug with HOH and run it to the underbed tank, and block off the excape routes with some ball valves. this way i get the most out of my oil and two tank capacity.

If you did the resivour thing, what do you use as the resivour and how hard is it to weld aluminum?? Would the mashine shop get another piece of aluminum and fabricate it for the resivour and then weld it to the tank?

[ridiculously_necessary]

aluminum needs special equipment to weld. send a message to vegginpsd, that who i will ask if and when i get around to this. i would think maybe look around for something thats aluminum that would work as a res?

[CharlieC]

Rather than welding, I imagine you could tap an outlet on the bottom of the tank to use as your fuel pickup. The same company that makes hot fox also makes an inline heater. You could use an in tank heat exchanger to get your oil warm, then use that inline heater to give the fuel going into your line an extra boost. BruceM, who posts here and at frybrid, put together a floating pickup to get around this issue. Check out his posts.

[STROKED_NY_023]

Originally Posted by Labhunter

If you did the reservoir thing, what do you use as the reservoir and how hard is it to weld aluminum?? Would the machine shop get another piece of aluminum and fabricate it for the reservoir and then weld it to the tank?

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

aluminum needs special equipment to weld. send a message to vegginpsd, that who i will ask if and when i get around to this. i would think maybe look around for something thats aluminum that would work as a res?

No special equipment needed to weld alum... A tig welder is best, but you can weld it with a mig as well. You have to use alum wire and it needs to be gas shielded. Any welding shop can do it for you. They should also be able to fab up the reservoir for you as well. I would price both options, but in my opinion i would go the reservoir route for the simple fact in that if for some reason the HotFox fails and a new unit was needed, you would again need to have it reworked to fit the tank. Where as a standard unit would fit in the res.

Originally Posted by CharlieC

Rather than welding, I imagine you could tap an outlet on the bottom of the tank to use as your fuel pickup. The same company that makes hot fox also makes an inline heater. You could use an in tank heat exchanger to get your oil warm, then use that inline heater to give the fuel going into your line an extra boost. BruceM, who posts here and at frybrid, put together a floating pickup to get around this issue. Check out his posts.

Not sure i would want a threaded hole on the bottom of may custom aluminum tank. To me that's just asking for a leak!!!! Just my

[Labhunter]

WVO designs has a hot stick (looks and works like a hot fox) that fits my tank just right. It is shorter than the shortest hot fox at 7". My tank is 7 1/4ish" and with a little extra washer material, I think it will work fine. Gonna find out anyway.

If it doesn't work, I'll look at the fab/weld option.