What fuel docks remain open until the lake freezes?
I'm looking for Plattsburgh and points north of there, but prefer not to cross the Canadian border, despite being close to it. I'm near Isle La Motte, and hauling 5gal. cans is not practical. Even 30 gal. gas caddies are a pain, and since I don't own a truck, would need a utility trailer.
How "stale" is gas dock fuel likely to be that late in the season?
Are any up there ethanol-free?
Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
Re: Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
OK, yes, I'm replying to a thread I started, that went unanswered...
I called 7 marinas since Friday, all North of Plattsburgh, and all told me that their fuel docks were closed until late April, or early May,2016.
What do people do for fuel, before the lake freezes over? I can't possibly haul enough, even with fuel caddies on wheels, and virtually all gas stations prohibit filling them, unless they are sitting on the ground. There is no way I can wheel a fuel caddy back into the truck once it's full, even with long ramps.
I have not found any home delivery gasoline source in the Chazy area, either by land or by water.
With a heated pilothouse boat, I prefer to be able to boat until ice-fishing season starts.
What's the answer?
Am I the only lakefront owner on this group? 5 gal. cans are totally impractical with my fuel-burn. I've looked at DOT-legal trailer-mounted tanks, and the ones for diesel are relatively affordable, but for gasoline, the price is about 4x as much, and limited to about 100 gals. My site allows gravity-feed, so a pump is not even necessary, but I balk at paying ~$5K for a 100 gal.towable tank.
I could build something fairly cheaply, but it won't be legal...like a residential fuel-oil tank on a cheap Harbor Freight trailer frame.
I called 7 marinas since Friday, all North of Plattsburgh, and all told me that their fuel docks were closed until late April, or early May,2016.
What do people do for fuel, before the lake freezes over? I can't possibly haul enough, even with fuel caddies on wheels, and virtually all gas stations prohibit filling them, unless they are sitting on the ground. There is no way I can wheel a fuel caddy back into the truck once it's full, even with long ramps.
I have not found any home delivery gasoline source in the Chazy area, either by land or by water.
With a heated pilothouse boat, I prefer to be able to boat until ice-fishing season starts.
What's the answer?
Am I the only lakefront owner on this group? 5 gal. cans are totally impractical with my fuel-burn. I've looked at DOT-legal trailer-mounted tanks, and the ones for diesel are relatively affordable, but for gasoline, the price is about 4x as much, and limited to about 100 gals. My site allows gravity-feed, so a pump is not even necessary, but I balk at paying ~$5K for a 100 gal.towable tank.
I could build something fairly cheaply, but it won't be legal...like a residential fuel-oil tank on a cheap Harbor Freight trailer frame.
- Reelax
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5822
- Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:27 pm
- Species: Salmon, steelhead, brown trout
- Location: Fletcher, Vt
Re: Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
How about using the fuel tank on your truck. Siphon it out and gravity feed to boat. You could get a siphon pump cheap and use garden hose to the boat. May take a while but should work.
Re: Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
Small truck, with small gas tank= too many trips.
Also, not enough pitch to get more than 3/4 out by siphon...I used a laser level, and the truck would need ramps in order to empty the tank, so without them, yield would only be about 10 gals, unless I added a pump.
Also, not enough pitch to get more than 3/4 out by siphon...I used a laser level, and the truck would need ramps in order to empty the tank, so without them, yield would only be about 10 gals, unless I added a pump.
-
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:17 am
- Species: if it swims, Iwill fish for it
- Location: Websterville,Alburg
Re: Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
How bout an used side saddle tank from a 10 wheeler or similar truck, I have used them in the past when I was working for a Custom cropping outfit , held 80 gals and never had any problems with filling it at any gas stations. Had one for gas and one for Deisel.
Kevin
Re: Gas Docks open in late Fall/Early Winter?
That sounds like an option, as I assume they are already DOT legal. I believe 108 gals. is maximum, without special permits.
Edit to add: All I can find in this class are DOT-approved for diesel and not gasoline.
DOT violations are subject to enormous fines, and/or legal expenses.
The trailer-mounted ones, with DOT approval, are about 75% cheaper for diesel than the gasoline-approved ones. The risk of getting caught are pretty small, I would guess, but even home-built trailers without a certified tank are going to cost a fortune to defend, and my guess is the gas stations may be "mandated reporters" for violators, or, simply refuse to allow filling non-compliant tanks. DOT-rated gasoline saddle tanks , are virtually non-available.
I have actually seen gas stations shut-off pumps while someone is pumping into a plastic fuel-caddy in the back of a truck, without it sitting on the ground. There are even warning signs on the pumps prohibiting that. With my shoulder problems, a 5 gal. tank is about max. for me filling on the ground, and even if I have 10 of them, that's 3 trips to the gas station.
Edit to add: All I can find in this class are DOT-approved for diesel and not gasoline.
DOT violations are subject to enormous fines, and/or legal expenses.
The trailer-mounted ones, with DOT approval, are about 75% cheaper for diesel than the gasoline-approved ones. The risk of getting caught are pretty small, I would guess, but even home-built trailers without a certified tank are going to cost a fortune to defend, and my guess is the gas stations may be "mandated reporters" for violators, or, simply refuse to allow filling non-compliant tanks. DOT-rated gasoline saddle tanks , are virtually non-available.
I have actually seen gas stations shut-off pumps while someone is pumping into a plastic fuel-caddy in the back of a truck, without it sitting on the ground. There are even warning signs on the pumps prohibiting that. With my shoulder problems, a 5 gal. tank is about max. for me filling on the ground, and even if I have 10 of them, that's 3 trips to the gas station.