Wiring a diesel barrel pump

I moved the diesel barrel to the new shop a week ago and now I want to wire it in the right way. I have it 'farmerized' right now with a plain wire coming out of a hole in the building but it will be done right in the end. There also will be a yard light pole in front of it with a dusk-dawn light up on top. I stuck a fence post in the hole so you can see where the pole will be. The plan is to have a disconnect attached to the outside of the building and flex conduit going from the disconnect to the barrel pump and a separate one to the pole. On the pole the flex conduit will go to a box with a 110 Volt plug for whatever. from the plug-in box a rigid conduit will go up the pole to the light. Another route would be flex conduit from the disconnect to the pole and then flex conduit from the pole to the pump. I like choice #1 better. One question; does the disconnect need to be fused? If so can it be fused right before it goes through the wall to the disconnect? Power will come from an outlet box inside the shop. This probably will never be inspected but I still want to have it up to snuff. Thanks. Jim

Is that a B-vent for some sort of heating appliance coming out of the wall? It seems much too close to the tank and your future fueling area.

I know it"s a Diesel tank and Diesel is not as volatile as gasoline, but I really think the tank should be farther from your building, especially in light of the flammable wood wall right next to it. I"d also get it away from the door if I could do so without too badly compromising convenience in fueling

I would probably place any disconnect means away from the meter/fueling area. You can still meet the "in sight of" criteria for future service needs, but not risk an arcing disconnect switch near where fuel is likely to be spilled.

(This assumes the pump has its own shut-off switch should you need to kill the flow of fuel quickly).

The electrical code has all sorts of special provisions for "hazardous locations". I"m not sure whether a Diesel fuel pump constitutes one of these "hazards", but just from my own experience the proposed installation strikes me as "not as safe as it could be".

If it were mine , the light would get mounted to the side of the building , and the pump would get wired to a switch on the inside of the building. Then you can shut it off and lock the door for extra theft insurance. You should probably use conduit from the building to the pump, but mine looks just like yours and its been there for 20 years. Deluxe

I agree with you

The barrel is between the driving lane and the building. It's sitting there as a matter of convenience and not especially a matter of safety. The grease and oil are right around the corner inside the door. I didn't notice the heater vent till I looked at the pic, Duh! I can lay my hand on the double wall vent pipe when the heater is running, but!!!

The light almost needs to be on a pole to get it high enough to shine on the top of trucks or whatever is parked on the feed floor on the south side of the building. This is the low side of an old cattle shed. We are looking at the southeast corner. The big overhead door is in the tall north wall and it probably will have a light above it attached to the building. The light on the pole will be a 48 watt LED. I'm a little dubious about it so I'll let you know how it works out. It's spendy! Jim

You can get a refraction lens on the LED's that throw the light out a lot farther.

First things first since you said you want it up to snuff.

Iowa like most states uses NFPA 395, Standard for the Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids at Farms and Isolated Sites
To meet this requirement you need to move the tank.

The tank needs to be moved so it is located outside and at least 40 ft. from any buildings, haystacks, grain bins, or other combustible structures.
The tank shall also be located so that any vehicle, equipment, or container that is being filled from the tank is at least 40 ft. from any combustible structures.
If you can not move it to a isolated spot; or you want to hook something permeate to it such as a irrigation motor you can put it closer to a building but you need to follow the more stringent rules of NFPA30; NFPA30A; and NFPA37.

I found this pdf file from Nebraska you might want to read threw because Iowa uses the same rules.

http://www.dps.state.ia.us/fm/inspection/flammable/admin_rules.shtml

661—51.203(101) Storage in isolated areas. NFPA 395, “Standard for the Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids at Farms and Isolated Sites,” 1993 edition, is adopted by reference as the rules governing flammable and combustible liquids on farms and isolated construction projects.
Fire Code NFPA 395

Thanks for posting the rules. Maybe I can call it a supply tank for a heater. LOL. It's also sitting flat on the ground and I knew this was not good but when I moved it there it had finally run empty so I could do it safely but I needed to get it refilled right away because I was in the middle of field work and needed the fuel. So I plopped it there and planned to put it up on blocks next spring or summer or whenever it runs empty again. It also looks like the tank is too close to the lane of traffic, according to the rules.

I know it's too close to the shop. I was more worried about the shop catching fire and setting the tank off than the other way. It's much more likely to happen that way. Like I said I placed it there more as a convenience than for safety. After reading a couple of your posts I started running through my mind where I could locate it 40' away and still have it in a fairly handy location but not in the way of anything and have it accessable for a tractor with wide equipment hooked to it, or a combine with a 40' head. Well, I can't do anything about location right now so it will be where it is but like you say, if I want it done right I'll need to move it. Jim

I did not post the rules to say......
Hey you got it wrong and need to do something now!!

It was more so you could consider the rules and then decide what is best for you and your farm. There is no point in going threw the expense of wiring the tank threw conduit all nice and proper now and then move the tank next summer. So if you decide to move it next summer based on the rules you could make a educated decision to leave the wiring farmerized till you could move it.

Yes the rules work both ways. It is more likely that a spark from working around the shop; shop fire; ect is going to catch the tank on fire than the other way around. That is why the rules are so lax on farm tanks. Space between a ignition source. Calling it a heater supply tank; water heater or grain dryer supply brings in more rules. NFPA31

John I did not take it that you said I should do it right away. Sorry if I made it sound that way. It never hurts to post the rules. Now this got me to thinking. If I had a fire in the shop that set the tank off and a fireman got hurt in the explosion I can see the lawyers's mouths watering. My son's a fireman so I do have a personal interest, not that I shouldn't anyway.

Accidents can happen around a fuel barrel for sure. My neighbor was fueling his Allis 190XT diesel. The fuel tank is behind the cab and my neighbor put the nozzle in the tank and walked away for a minute. In that minute's time his dad got in the 190 and drove away with the nozzle still in the tank. Neighbor came back to see his dad driving across the yard dragging the hose and fuel spraying out of the broken off fitting on the fuel pump. There was no fire, but the yard wasn't dusty there for awhile. Have a good one. Jim

Here it is. I don't like cobbled wiring. Now the birds have a couple of places to roost. LOL When (if) the barrel is moved next summer the flex cable can be taken out of the disconnect and reconnected into a box at the new location. Getting that sucker screwed into the fitting and snaking the wires in under the fuel pump was a bugger. Frozen fingers didn't help matters. I won't have to do that again, thank god. I wanted to go down the wall with the wiring to the light pole and underground to the pole but we're frozen now. The camera lens on the cell phone was a dirty mess. Didn't realize it till I previewed the pic on the compuker.

The LED yard light does a very good job within 20 feet of the pole. I can see to read 30 feet away. Its 18 feet off the ground. I can see to walk 100 feet away but I don't plan to read a book that far away from the light. It does have a refractor lense and it's too bright to look at within 50 feet or so. Jim