Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Heater Fuel Tank continued:
With the fuel inlet mounted on the van, time to get the final measurements and order the fuel tank.
There is one thing I hadn't mentioned before and that was the capacity of the tank I was planning on getting. The available length for the tank, shown in the drawing I posted before (click to enlarge), would be up to 47 inches.
I'd previously decided on a 8 inch diameter tank. According to the Coyote Gear web site a 44" long tank is the largest one that would fit in that space. A tank that size will hold 10 gallons.
So I could install a tank up to 10 gallons in size but how big do I really need? I'll be using a Webasto Airtop 2000. The Webasto web page for Airtop 2000 lists fuel consumption as 0.12 - 0.24 liters per hour. That converts to 0.03 - 0.06 gallons per hour. If you take the average of the two you get .045 g/h. Multiply that by 24 hours and you get 1.08 gallons per day. That of course is assuming you're running the heater 24 hours each day.
So using a 1 gallon a day as a rough guideline consider how I plan to use the van. My main use will be for camping. Actually it's how I've already been using the van since I bought it. Most of my camping trips are 3 to 4 days. So add an extra day for good measure and you get a 5 gallon fuel tank. Since the fuel inlet will be at a 30 degree angle the tank can't be filled to the top. So go ahead and order a 6 gallon tank to make up for that lost volume at the top of the tank.
I'd always get to this point in my calculations and then look at the Coyote Gear price list and start this internal monologue.
"Hey look, the 7 gallon tank is the exact same price as a 6 gallon tank. What the heck. Might as well order the 7 gallon. It's a free extra gallon"
"Well the 8 gallon tank is only $20 more than the 7 gallon tank. $20 isn't that much. I might as well get the 8 gallon."
"But you know the 9 gallon tank is only $10 more than 8 gallon tank. $10 is even less than $20. I need to get that bigger tank."
"If I'm getting the 9 gallon I might as well get the biggest tank that can fit. Yeah, I need that 10 gallon tank! And now I can order the internal baffles!!!!"
At this point I'd start grunting like Tim Allen and yelling "More Power!!!" and the cats would scatter. Eventually I'd calm down and realize that I won't need that much fuel and that it would just be extra weight. Then a couple of days later I'd look over my calculations and it would start all over again.
The last decisions were about what extras I wanted on the tank. I went for two 1/4" NPT female bungs. One bung for the fuel outlet hose and the other for the tank vent. I also ordered a Sending Unit Mounting Platform. This is where the sending unit for the fuel gauge will go.
By the way I just checked the Coyote Gear web site while writing this up and found out that they now offer 1/8" bungs and Sending Unit Mounting Platforms already configured. Two things I'd have ordered if they had been available. And I could have gotten a bigger tank for just a few more dollars.
After taking some more measurements under the van here's the drawing for the tank I came up with. It's the same one I emailed to Coyote Gear.
They had a question about the filler neck since I didn't want a gas cap. I explained that it would attached to a 1-1/2" ID fuel hose and that was it. It cost $228
Price breakdown:
Description Unit price Qty Amount
8x30 Base Tank with Brackets $149.00 1 $149.00
3" Diameter Sending unit Platform $26.00 1 $26.00
Extra 1/4NPT (2) Total $14.00 1 $14.00
Custom Filler Pipe 1.5 x 1.5 $20.00 1 $20.00
Subtotal $209.00
Shipping and handling $19.00
Total $228.00 USD
A week and a half later it was delivered.
As you can see they did an excellent job of packing.
It's just how I ordered it.
It comes with these two powder coated mounting brackets.
Almost looks too nice to hide under the van.
continued -
With the fuel inlet mounted on the van, time to get the final measurements and order the fuel tank.
There is one thing I hadn't mentioned before and that was the capacity of the tank I was planning on getting. The available length for the tank, shown in the drawing I posted before (click to enlarge), would be up to 47 inches.
I'd previously decided on a 8 inch diameter tank. According to the Coyote Gear web site a 44" long tank is the largest one that would fit in that space. A tank that size will hold 10 gallons.
So I could install a tank up to 10 gallons in size but how big do I really need? I'll be using a Webasto Airtop 2000. The Webasto web page for Airtop 2000 lists fuel consumption as 0.12 - 0.24 liters per hour. That converts to 0.03 - 0.06 gallons per hour. If you take the average of the two you get .045 g/h. Multiply that by 24 hours and you get 1.08 gallons per day. That of course is assuming you're running the heater 24 hours each day.
So using a 1 gallon a day as a rough guideline consider how I plan to use the van. My main use will be for camping. Actually it's how I've already been using the van since I bought it. Most of my camping trips are 3 to 4 days. So add an extra day for good measure and you get a 5 gallon fuel tank. Since the fuel inlet will be at a 30 degree angle the tank can't be filled to the top. So go ahead and order a 6 gallon tank to make up for that lost volume at the top of the tank.
I'd always get to this point in my calculations and then look at the Coyote Gear price list and start this internal monologue.
"Hey look, the 7 gallon tank is the exact same price as a 6 gallon tank. What the heck. Might as well order the 7 gallon. It's a free extra gallon"
"Well the 8 gallon tank is only $20 more than the 7 gallon tank. $20 isn't that much. I might as well get the 8 gallon."
"But you know the 9 gallon tank is only $10 more than 8 gallon tank. $10 is even less than $20. I need to get that bigger tank."
"If I'm getting the 9 gallon I might as well get the biggest tank that can fit. Yeah, I need that 10 gallon tank! And now I can order the internal baffles!!!!"
At this point I'd start grunting like Tim Allen and yelling "More Power!!!" and the cats would scatter. Eventually I'd calm down and realize that I won't need that much fuel and that it would just be extra weight. Then a couple of days later I'd look over my calculations and it would start all over again.
The last decisions were about what extras I wanted on the tank. I went for two 1/4" NPT female bungs. One bung for the fuel outlet hose and the other for the tank vent. I also ordered a Sending Unit Mounting Platform. This is where the sending unit for the fuel gauge will go.
By the way I just checked the Coyote Gear web site while writing this up and found out that they now offer 1/8" bungs and Sending Unit Mounting Platforms already configured. Two things I'd have ordered if they had been available. And I could have gotten a bigger tank for just a few more dollars.
After taking some more measurements under the van here's the drawing for the tank I came up with. It's the same one I emailed to Coyote Gear.
They had a question about the filler neck since I didn't want a gas cap. I explained that it would attached to a 1-1/2" ID fuel hose and that was it. It cost $228
Price breakdown:
Description Unit price Qty Amount
8x30 Base Tank with Brackets $149.00 1 $149.00
3" Diameter Sending unit Platform $26.00 1 $26.00
Extra 1/4NPT (2) Total $14.00 1 $14.00
Custom Filler Pipe 1.5 x 1.5 $20.00 1 $20.00
Subtotal $209.00
Shipping and handling $19.00
Total $228.00 USD
A week and a half later it was delivered.
As you can see they did an excellent job of packing.
It's just how I ordered it.
It comes with these two powder coated mounting brackets.
Almost looks too nice to hide under the van.
continued -
