Controlled access, consumption records, fill-level alerts and protection against theft and contamination are all available to help farm businesses manage their fuel supplies this harvest.

Farmers Weekly have rounded up some of the options.

See also: Red diesel rule changes: HMRC spells out dos and don’ts

JF Hudson

Data collection and transmitter for the JF Hudson tank monitor © Hudson

A single JF Hudson wireless monitoring system can cover up to four adjacent tanks, sending a text, phone or email warning should there be an untypical change in level – perhaps caused by a leak or a valve being left open – and to guard against overfilling.

The agricultural tank monitoring system (ATMS) has battery electric power, with a solar option available, and uses radar sensors to monitor levels of diesel and other liquids stored on farms, such as slurry, digestate, water and liquid fertiliser.

A cloud-based data store provides convenient access to storage unit information via a mobile phone, tablet or office computer, and is included with the £2,898 battery model and the £3,753 solar version.

SGB

© SGB

Once programmed with parameters such as the tank type, height and volume using a single button, the SGB FA 7 level indicator is battery-powered, so takes just a few minutes to install.

Pressing the button sets the five-digit display scrolling through the contents level in litres, percentage and height from the bottom. The kit is said to be suitable for all tank designs in plastic or steel, up to 3m diameter or height.

PFS Fueltec lists the device at £252 including VAT, with next-day delivery for orders placed before 1pm.

Centre Tank Services

CTS Multi Channel battery and mains-powered alarms © Centre Tank Services

In addition to supplying OEM products, Centre Tank Services produces its own fuel storage kit, including electronic level alarms for diesel tanks.

Simplest is the CTS Economy, a battery-powered, single-channel alarm with a flashing light and audible signal that can be used as an overfill monitor or to signal when the contents has reached a pre-set low level.

This unit, priced £164 with probe, is also available as a £94 bund alarm, indicating the presence of fluid between the inner and outer compartments of a bunded fuel tank.

A multi-channel system with battery or mains power covers all three functions – low level, high level and bund warnings – from £455 with one single and one double probe, and there is also a probe suitable for AdBlue storage.

Afriso

Afriso DTA display unit can be sited up to 20m from the tank © Alfriso

The Afriso DTA 10 hydrostatic fuel tank gauge, listed by Fuel Tank Shop at £338.68 (ex-VAT), is reckoned to be suitable for oils, water and AdBlue in tanks up to 3.5m tall, in addition to straight diesel and biodiesel blends in up to 4m-deep tanks.

It is battery powered, provides a flashing light low percentage warning and has a digital display that shows the litres, percentage and centimetres depth remaining that can be sited up to 20m away.

Afriso recommends protecting the display unit with a weatherproof cover if kept outdoors.

Hytek

Hytek’s OLE C2020 tank gauge provides low- and high-level warnings © Hytek

At £665 on the Fuel Tank Shop website, the Hytek OLE C2020A tank gauge comes in a weatherproof casing and features a backlit digital readout of litres remaining beneath a horizontal percentage scale.

The device has default low (5%) and high (95%) level warnings by means of a flashing “L” or “H” on the display, but users can change these settings and wire in an audible alarm if they wish.

Suitable for tanks no more than 3m deep, this information is calculated from an electronic pressure sensor with a 1in BSPT male fitting.

Kingspan

© Kingspan

Kingspan’s Watchman Flo tank monitor has a 10-entry diesel dispensing log in addition to high and low content level alarms to help avoid over-filling and running out of fuel.

Fitted as part of a diesel tank installation – and available as an option on Kingspan’s range of plastic storage and dispensing tanks – the device also acts as a flowmeter display and provides pump and nozzle control.

Compatibility with a number of different depth measurement probes provides added installation flexibility and current tank status can be viewed via the company’s Watchman Connect online platform and app.

Fuel Tank Shop prices the unit at £420.

Combating water in fuel

If microbial contamination is an issue resulting from condensation in fuel tanks, the absorbent Aquafighter and Tank Dryer products are reckoned to be an effective solution.

Distributed via numerous outlets by Conidia Bioscience, the Aquafighter is designed to remove emulsified water from diesel and biodiesel-blended fuel, as well as any free water present.

It comes in various shapes and sizes and, for tanks ranging from 500-1,000 litres used for refuelling agricultural and earth-moving equipment, Conidia recommends the Finger, Snake or Twin Snake versions.

These give 12 months of use, or there’s the larger Anaconda for 24 months of service.

Centre Tank Services lists these at £42 for the smallest, up to £104 for the largest (ex-VAT).

Cim-Tek Filtration’s sausage-shaped Tank Dryer absorbs water from the bottom of diesel, biodiesel and fuel oil tanks using a super-absorbent polymer that can accumulate up to 40ml per use.

Lowered into the tank so that it lies flat on the bottom, the manufacturer recommends a weekly check and replacement if it becomes swollen, indicating it has taken up free water.

Fuel Tank Shop prices the Tank Dryer at £14.

Ideally, these devices are best used to prevent contamination by employing them from the outset in a new tank, but they can also correct conditions in a tank already in use, lying on the bottom to extract any free water that results from condensation.

Conidia produces a Fuelstat test kit (£103 from CTS) to confirm whether or not microbial activity is present in a storage tank and a Dipstick Indicator (£59) to check for free or emulsified water.

Removing an Aquafighter absorbent ‘snake’ from a storage tank © Conidia Bioscience

Cim-Tek’s water absorbing Tank Dryer © Cim-Tek

Regulating access to fuel

The Piusi Access 85 is a fuel pump control unit that restricts access to authorised personnel only, who are issued with a magnetic key.

It can be fitted on new and existing tank installations and comes with an emergency stop button, adjustable timed delivery and low fill-level protection to avoid running the pump dry.

Centre Tank Services prices the unit at £205, with authorised-user keys £78 each.

From Kingspan via Fuel Tank Shop, the Watchman Access fuel dispensing management unit is for large vehicle fleets, with alerts and data available on a cloud-based platform and mobile app.

The unit can be installed on static or mobile fuel tanks, with RFID cards issued to authorised users or vehicles as a security measure, and to compile an unlimited number of diesel consumption record entries that can be downloaded to business management systems.

Monitoring features include the rate of contents drop (which might indicate a leak) and notifications when the tank contents falls below a selected level.

The unit is available with a number of Kingspan’s plastic diesel storage tanks.

Piusi’s pump regulator (upper unit) allows access only to designated users © Puisi

Kingspan Watchman provides dispensing records and restricted access to fuel © Kingspan

Devices to tackle vehicle fuel theft

Haulage truck operators are having so much trouble with fuel being siphoned from vehicle fuel tanks that anti-siphon devices are becoming commonplace – and some will fit agricultural and construction equipment.

Fuel Defend is produced in a number of variations to suit different trucks and other vehicles, including JCB and John Deere equipment.

It comprises a sleeve housing a gauze basket permanently secured into the neck of the tank, which prevents little more than a very small amount of fuel being sucked out.

There are versions for plastic and steel vehicle tanks, and sizes to fit common neck diameters. The design is said to maintain fast filling rates of up to 100-litres/min.

Examples from the UltraStandard range, manufactured in coated steel, are listed in the Logistics UK online shop at £25-£60, or buyers can pay more for the UltraElite aluminium versions.

Similarly, the Tiss TankSafe is also designed to prevent fuel siphoning or “skimming” by creating a barrier to a pipe beyond the access needed for a filling nozzle.

But it has the added ability to prevent accidental spills and overfilling thanks to a floating ball valve that locks off and isolates the fuel when the tank is filled to approximately 98% capacity.

Kuda Automotive lists the device at a few pence short of £180.

Fuel Defend anti-siphon devices fit a wide range of vehicle fuel tanks © Fuel Defend

Refuelling

Conquip Engineering Group produces the Fuel Eco-Hub as a portable stand-alone refuelling station, with supplies of fuel and AdBlue plus pumping and recording equipment housed in a secure and weatherproof container.

Solar panels on the roof ensure the unit can be situated in any location, with additional security bolts and lockable doors discouraging fuel and equipment theft.

A digital fuel management system records usage on to a mobile device app and stores it online for real-time usage monitoring and reporting.

Portable remote refuelling station from Conquip © Conquip