on-site diesel delivery tank options

We have explored the differences between single wall and double wall tanks before on this blog. But today I want to dive a bit deeper into how a business or person goes about getting a tank for their job. For starters, do you want to buy your own tank or rent? Are there situations where a jobber may loan you a tank for free? What’s a jobber anyway?

Single-wall vs. double-wall tanks

First, let’s refresh quickly on what type of tank you’ll need, single-wall or double-wall. For most applications that are in cities, military bases or large factory settings a double-wall will check all of the boxes environmentally. But, for those looking for a more rural solution or where you have secondary containment a single-wall can be a great option. They’re cheaper, usually have a smaller footprint, and are lighter as well. But, if you’d really like to dive into the differences you can check our our blogpost on Single-Wall vs. Double-Tanks.

where can you find a fuel tank?

Okay, moving on to two of the biggest questions: how do I get one and how much will it cost me? These are two really big considerations that our customers have when they come to us. Most are exploring having an on-site fueling option for the first time and don’t really know where to start. Reaching out to your local fuel distributor or “jobber” is a great place to start. Searching for something like “Diesel delivery near me” will often bring up a few good location options for you. Calling an expert and talking through your needs and tank options is the best bet for those unfamiliar with on-site fueling. Most jobbers, including Whatley Oil, offer tank and equipment programs that range from free use of the tank (for those high volume customers) to tank rentals and even tank purchases. And we can help you talk through what makes the most sense for your use case. 

Purchasing vs. renting a fuel tank

You can also look at purchasing directly from a tank wholesaler or manufacturer. Most of these companies will sell fully kitted out tanks (including pumps, hoses, all relevant plugs and fill caps, etc…) and deliver to your location. Going this route gives you the flexibility to purchase from different fuel wholesalers but also means a much bigger upfront cost. Depending on the size tank you need a good range of pricing is from around $1,500 to $10,000.

One of the perks of working with a fuel supplier/jobber like Whatley Oil is that you get to avoid those big upfront costs, either through our equipment program or a rental program. Tanks are fully equipped and ready to go and you can also depend on us for future equipment needs or maintenance to the tank if you have rented it for us or qualify for our equipment program. Hoses, nozzles, filters and meters are all items that need to be replaced over time and depending on a fuel supplier to do that for you means avoiding those additional costs. 

new tank technology

Tanks often come equipped today with remote monitoring capabilities. This is a huge leap froward from the days of manually sticking tanks and converting the inches of fuel to volume. Instead of you having to act as the monitor a remote system allows your fuel provider to monitor your fuel usage and remaining volume and dispatch a delivery before run out, not after. I can’t stress the importance of this feature enough. For more rural deliveries it’s important to let your provider know well in advance and if you’re already out of fuel this could lead to a multi-day wait while you’re out of fuel. 

If you’re interested in seeing a video walk around of a few different tank options you can check out the Whatley Oil Youtube page for a recent walkthrough of the current tanks in our fleet. Thanks as always for reading and if you have any questions please give us a call, we’d be happy to help answer questions, even if we ultimately don’t end up working together.