Chainbreaker
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On my #2 spare MEP-002a on M116A2 trailer I knew it needed an onboard auxiliary fuel tank installed but I hadn't gotten around to it. This notion was further reinforced last winter when this unit was brought into action when my #1 generator had a malfunction in the midst of a week long power outage during a really bad power-pole snapping ice storm. It got old really fast hefting full Jerry cans up to trailer height and holding in place to refuel the tank everyday.
So the search was on this summer for an all aluminum fuel tank! While cruising through Craig's List I found a used aluminum 50 gallon Dura Craft "reefer tank" for $60. It had quite a bit of road grime and the cradle brackets and straps were badly rusted. But I figured for $60 it was worth a shot at repurposing this old semitrailer tank. Before I agreed to make the drive to buy it I had the seller check that it was good on the inside and did not have any baffles. If it had baffles it would make it pretty much impossible to pressure wash the inside. The seller said it was shiny new looking inside and had no baffles inside.
So I made the hour drive to pick it up and it checked out, so I brought it home and began work on it. As I power washed it big flakes of rust came off the brackets and straps. I power washed the tank inside and out. The outside road grime, comprised of old sticky diesel and road tar, was impossible to get off. So I took an angle grinder with flap wheel to outside knowing I was going to paint it so swirl marks were not an issue. I used OSPHO acid treatment on the steel brackets and bands to treat the remaining surface rust. I then primed the tank, brackets, bands with two coats of primer sanding between each coat. I put two final coats of Rapco 383 Green on it and installed new rubber on bands and brackets. I purchased all the necessary fittings, hose and a desiccant breather for the vent. After rotating brackets 180 degrees from the original "hanging position", it mounted on the trailer deck nicely leaving lots of breathing room for airflow into genset cooling intake. I now have approximately 170 hours of runtime fuel onboard (including genset day tank).
A couple of nice features with this tank is it has a 2nd draw tube (I plugged it closed) that could be used as return line if using as a "primary tank" along with a fuel gauge and a nice drain sump to collect water and sediment. Anyway, just wanted to let others know that these aluminum Dura Craft reefer tanks make excellent aux tanks for trailers or possibly other applications.
![WP_20171001_008.jpg WP_20171001_008.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/481/481441-306d89231b554f2e71c6335ed3a810af.jpg)
So the search was on this summer for an all aluminum fuel tank! While cruising through Craig's List I found a used aluminum 50 gallon Dura Craft "reefer tank" for $60. It had quite a bit of road grime and the cradle brackets and straps were badly rusted. But I figured for $60 it was worth a shot at repurposing this old semitrailer tank. Before I agreed to make the drive to buy it I had the seller check that it was good on the inside and did not have any baffles. If it had baffles it would make it pretty much impossible to pressure wash the inside. The seller said it was shiny new looking inside and had no baffles inside.
So I made the hour drive to pick it up and it checked out, so I brought it home and began work on it. As I power washed it big flakes of rust came off the brackets and straps. I power washed the tank inside and out. The outside road grime, comprised of old sticky diesel and road tar, was impossible to get off. So I took an angle grinder with flap wheel to outside knowing I was going to paint it so swirl marks were not an issue. I used OSPHO acid treatment on the steel brackets and bands to treat the remaining surface rust. I then primed the tank, brackets, bands with two coats of primer sanding between each coat. I put two final coats of Rapco 383 Green on it and installed new rubber on bands and brackets. I purchased all the necessary fittings, hose and a desiccant breather for the vent. After rotating brackets 180 degrees from the original "hanging position", it mounted on the trailer deck nicely leaving lots of breathing room for airflow into genset cooling intake. I now have approximately 170 hours of runtime fuel onboard (including genset day tank).
A couple of nice features with this tank is it has a 2nd draw tube (I plugged it closed) that could be used as return line if using as a "primary tank" along with a fuel gauge and a nice drain sump to collect water and sediment. Anyway, just wanted to let others know that these aluminum Dura Craft reefer tanks make excellent aux tanks for trailers or possibly other applications.
![WP_20170910_001.jpg WP_20170910_001.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/481/481439-071e2678ef12ee958d1577ff95858fee.jpg)
![WP_20171001_003.jpg WP_20171001_003.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/481/481440-8ef512d169b58e972373379b7e93b2cd.jpg)
![WP_20171001_008.jpg WP_20171001_008.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/481/481441-306d89231b554f2e71c6335ed3a810af.jpg)
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