Good location for...

[uemjg]

a fuel cell.  I will be supplying my generator's diesel from an external tank and not the bus' own tank.  I was concerned as to a safe place/compartment to mount it. It will be an aluminum cell with straps, vent and rollover valve.

suggestions?

[buswarrior]

Somewhere that it makes sense when you are at the fuel island.

Many jurisdictions, you are at an auto style pump, on one side.

How many times do you want to move the coach to fuel it?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[uemjg]

Would the compartment where my battery bank is located at be ok?

[artvonne]

  I would just run the gen off the main engine fuel tank. Put a pipe in the tank that only goes down to about the halfway point. The gen will shut down long before the tank shuts down the Bus engine. In over 7 years in the Bounder that way I never had a problem. The gen just doesnt use that much fuel.

[buswarrior]

Sure the battery space would work, a bit small, unless you are tearing out the stuff behind there.

I've been involved professionally with coaches with main tank pick-ups for generators used as command vehicles.

The depth that the pick-up sucks wind is difficult to choose, and invariably is never right, either too deep or too shallow.

For instance, when running to Arcadia, I like to top off the tank at the last exit in Georgia, hoping to avoid Florida's higher tax on diesel. My tank is some distance down by the time I get there. If my pick-up is too high... I'm out of choices. I extended my coach's shorter pick up tube by adding some rubber fuel hose to the end of it.
I'll check the tank at the end of the rally and decide how much to splash into the tank, or run for the border.

If ignorant types are involved where its only a job, the fuel pick-up needs to be a little way above the bottom of the tank, so you still have enough to drive for more fuel.

On a command unit deployment, I'd be asking some wicked questions as to why the unit was deployed with the fuel tank anything less than full.

If it is yours, I'd put the fuel pick up to the bottom. Then you have the choice to be stupid, and get punished for being so?

your choice, you've heard it both ways.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[RJ]

Uemjg -

First question: Does your MCI have the aux tank in the front baggage bay, thus giving you 179 gallons of fuel?

If so, seriously consider just running your genset off the dual OEM tanks and install accurate fuel gauges.

If not, second question:  Are you keeping the OEM HVAC operational?

If so, ignore this suggestion.

If not, then here's what a fellow busnut I know did:

He installed his genset tank (about 40 - 50 gallons or so) in the old HVAC compartment, behind the main fuel tank.  What was ingenious, tho, was the way he plumbed the darned thing.  And with no filler neck to the outside anywhere!

Standard pickup and return out of the genset tank for the diesel genset, simple.

As you know, you've got a return line from the engine dumping excess fuel back into the main tank.  What he did was to change that to a "T" fitting, so when the main engine was running, half the return fuel went to the main tank, half went to the genset tank.  At about the 90% full point on the genset tank, he installed an overflow line back into the main coach fuel tank.  (The genset tank was also vented over into the main tank.)  So while running down the road, the genset tank was automatically being refilled, and once full, excess fuel would simply flow back into the main coach fuel tank via the overflow line. 

But here's the slickest part of this setup:  Many busnuts will install a small electric fuel pump in parallel with the main fuel line to the engine compartment to help reprime should they be fuelish enough to run out.  This fellow went a couple steps further.  He plumbed his extra fuel pump into the genset tankwith several 3-way valves, thus giving him the following options that I can remember:

1. Reprime the main coach engine.
2. Reprime the genset engine.
3. Transfer the genset's fuel to the main tank for emergency use.
4. Transfer fuel from the main coach tank to the genset tank for emergency use.  This pickup was installed in such a way that it would always leave about 25 - 30 gallons of fuel in the main tank, enough to get to most fuel stations.

I've often thought this was one of the most interesting genset fuel supply solutions I've ever seen: simple, clever, and effective.

Don't know if this would work for you, but it's worth pondering!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[belfert]

If you're adding a generator tank just to run non-taxed fuel you can apply for a road tax refund on any fuel burned in the generator.  Sean was the one who mentioned this.  I can't remember how he determines how many gallons the generator burned.

This is almost certainly easier than adding a separate tank for the generator.  I thought about a separate tank for the generator, but I realized I don't have the room and it would take years to pay back in tax savings.  I only run maybe 50 gallons a year through my generator so I'm not sure if it is worth trying to get a refund in my case.

[scanzel]

In my Prevost the fuel tank is the 3 bay back with the otr air system which is staying. The gen will go in the drivers side first bay. I don't want to run lines back and try to tap into the existing tank so I purchased a 25 gallon marine fuel tank which will sit in the same area as the gen and also provide fuel for the Proheat system in the next bay.