# Upgrading fuel tank on Platinum 30 SHO



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I cannot put more than 2.4 liters of gas in my 3 liter tank and it runs out of fuel several times while cleaning up after or during heavier snow falls. I would like to replace my fuel tank or somehow increase its size. 

I was thinking of replacing my tank with the 1.45 gallon (5.5 liters) Ariens Pro gas tank.

Any ideas on how to go about increasing fuel capacity?


----------



## Nickpsd (Aug 24, 2015)

I'm interested in this also, I usually have to fill up 2 times to do all the walks driveway etc. I get about 45 mins of run time out of a full tank.


----------



## PixMan (Feb 14, 2015)

Mine is a 414cc motor on a non-SHO Platinum 30 (921029) and my manual states 3.8 quarts US or 3.6 liters for both the 414cc and 291cc motor used in the Platinum 24 (921028) and Deluxe 30 (921032.)

How did you (Town) determine the actual capacity to be the 2.4 liters it really seems to be?

I really think Ariens should step up and give us bigger tanks, the size promised in all the literature of the time. How could they make such a big mistake?


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

PixMan said:


> Mine is a 414cc motor on a non-SHO Platinum 30 (921029) and my manual states 3.8 quarts US or 3.6 liters for both the 414cc and 291cc motor used in the Platinum 24 (921028) and Deluxe 30 (921032.)
> 
> *How did you (Town) determine the actual capacity to be the 2.4 liters it really seems to be?*
> 
> I really think Ariens should step up and give us bigger tanks, the size promised in all the literature of the time. How could they make such a big mistake?


I have a plastic measuring container marked in liters and half liters. I put fuel into the container to the 2.5 liter mark and filled my empty tank. The fuel started to overflow before I was finished and the container still had 1 liter of fuel remaining. This was with the screen removed but the machine level. I have done this several times before and the volume depends on how much of an air gap you feel comfortable with. This last time it overflowed so is definitely overfilled and a bit less than 2.4 liters. Ariens sent a new tank to my dealer who measured it at 3 liters using 3 plastic oil cans filled with gas. The tank measurements were the same as mine. So I don't know how my measurements differ, but I trust mine.

Based on my experience I would not trust the Ariens 3.6 liters spec of your machine as accurate. The depth of my tank is 2.25" at the filler neck at point of overflowing. The bottom of the tank is flat and cannot go lower because of mounting point under tank and governor mechanism just below tank. 

I figure I need a tank that is at least 5" tall and 9" wide and 10" long with an allowance for the oil fill. I intend checking the fuel tank dimensions for the Pro model which appears to be much taller and wider and longer with the oil tube allowance where it needs to be. But my fabrication skills are not a strength.

The other aspect is the engine is very powerful and very thirsty when it gets into deeper and heavier snow, it doesn't bog at all at a good walking pace. And it is only running at 3,500 rpm (in spec) but not up to 3,600 or 3,700 specs. So more power will probably mean more thirst. Another reason for a bigger tank.


----------



## 88racing (Jan 20, 2016)

Hopefully somebody figures something out...


----------



## LET-UT (Jan 5, 2016)

I'd give the good folks at Ariens a call and let them walk through the issue of tank size. If the tank is truly smaller than spec'd, they might have a replacement, or they may have a typo in the owner's manual. They'd be the ones who would most likely know if there's a larger tank that would fit your engine too. Good luck!


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

LET-UT said:


> I'd give the good folks at Ariens a call and let them walk through the issue of tank size. If the tank is truly smaller than spec'd, they might have a replacement, or they may have a typo in the owner's manual. They'd be the ones who would most likely know if there's a larger tank that would fit your engine too. Good luck!


Yes I talked to my dealer and Ariens last year. The tank is what it is and way too small but no replacement. LCT list an optional 3.6 liter tank but not for my machine with the gen 3 414 engine. I believe it fits machines with the oil filler tube on the right side like the gen 2 LCT 414 engine, while mine has a left side oil filler tube. I thought with all the complaints last year that Ariens would up the spec for 2016 models, but it is the same small tank.

There is a rumour of a different engine for the Pro models for 2017 that came up as a reason for the very limited production of the 2016 Pro 32. If that turns out to be true and a LCT engine with the current sized 5.5 liter fuel tank it may fit earlier LCT engines. But that info will not be available until late August probably.


----------



## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

Good thread with good posts, would be nice if Ariens offered to swap out gas tanks but I wouldn't hold my breath. The gas cap on these newer LCT GEN III engine is a design failure as well. The gas tank on the GEN II 414cc engine is definitely larger than the current lower profile design, how much larger I don't know. It also has a much better gas cap, my only issue with that motor was the side terminating oil drain tube next to the tire.


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

The fuel tank has 4 mounting points, two at the side where the electric start solenoid is located and one at the front just above the oil fill tube mounting point. The fourth is located under the tank at the back to the right of the fuel shut off valve and further inboard. It is easy to remove. 

I took off all the carb shielding and then removed the tank to adjust the governor, but it appears that you can remove the tank by itself. Remove the two 10mm headed bolts for the carb heat shielding to the left of the fuel shut off knob (after pulling off the knob first). Remove the two 12mm headed bolts by the solenoid for the electric start and the L shaped cover comes away. Loosen the front 12mm head mounting bolt, and remove the 12mm headed bolt just to the right of the fuel shut off, and I used a magnet to remove it. Then finish loosening the front mounting bolt and remove the bolt. The tank can be lifted up but not removed without removing the hose to the carb.

Adapting another tank to fit those mounts would be beyond my fabricating skills. Attached are some pictures to give you an idea of what is involved. Hopefully Ariens will introduce a larger tank for 2017.


----------



## 88racing (Jan 20, 2016)

Just look at the outgoing location where the fuel shutoff is....the user is losing usable fuel right there(I know they did this so water and debri doesn't fowl the carb) but I've got a plan for more fuel that I just picked up at my ariens dealer this weekend


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

88racing said:


> Just look at the outgoing location where the fuel shutoff is....the user is losing usable fuel right there(I know they did this so water and debri doesn't fowl the carb) but I've got a plan for more fuel that I just picked up at my ariens dealer this weekend


Please share your plan for more fuel.

The inside of the fuel tank is flat, so the fuel shutoff is mounted at the lowest point of the tank. The apparent lower portion of the tank to the side shown in my pic is just a nicely shaped support for the side mounting.


----------



## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Flat-out replacing the tank sounds somewhat difficult, since ideally you'd want to find something with compatible mounts, and a similar-enough shape that it would fit, while also being larger capacity. 

But, just curious, is there any way to add a second tank, at basically the same height? Picture a simple plastic Tecumseh gas tank, add a T-fitting to connect it in with the existing tank, preferably with a shutoff after the fuel lines join. 

If you could get a tank with a simple mounting setup, maybe like a rectangular tank, perhaps you could fabricate some sort of basic mount for it? 

If you added an additional tank, then that tank's capacity would be less critical, as it would be above and beyond what you had already.


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

RedOctobyr said:


> Flat-out replacing the tank sounds somewhat difficult, since ideally you'd want to find something with compatible mounts, and a similar-enough shape that it would fit, while also being larger capacity.
> 
> But, just curious, is there any way to add a second tank, at basically the same height? Picture a simple plastic Tecumseh gas tank, add a T-fitting to connect it in with the existing tank, preferably with a shutoff after the fuel lines join.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your observations. 

I would not want a fuel tank mounted on the handles and there is not much room around the chassis. A small auxiliary tank could be mounted off the existing tank location by the solenoid. I would see a problem with fuel heights though. The fuel level in the auxiliary could not be higher than existing tank fuel level (even on a side grade) or fuel would run out of the air bleed in main tank.

There is the idea of a replacement standard plastic tank of 6" or so height (instead of 2" height) sitting on top of the existing 4 mounts and tied down with straps to the top tank mount and the tank low side mount. The bottom of the tank would be hidden but the look may still be ugly.

Thanks for your help.


----------



## 88racing (Jan 20, 2016)

Town said:


> Please share your plan for more fuel.
> 
> The inside of the fuel tank is flat, so the fuel shutoff is mounted at the lowest point of the tank. The apparent lower portion of the tank to the side shown in my pic is just a nicely shaped support for the side mounting.


Ok that's part of the lower tank support...my bad

My idea is to get a tank from a different engine mfg and mount it on there...so far it looks like I'll have to get that mfg's tank shroud too along with their fuel shut off and making a bracket for the starter side...I'm going to wait until the snow season is done here and while I'm recovering from knee surgery. So give me a month or two and I'll have it done.


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

88racing said:


> ............................
> 
> My idea is to get a tank from a different engine mfg and mount it on there...so far it looks like I'll have to get that mfg's tank shroud too along with their fuel shut off and making a bracket for the starter side...I'm going to wait until the snow season is done here and while I'm recovering from knee surgery. So give me a month or two and I'll have it done.


Great, I did not get any help from the two dealers' tech heads I discussed this issue with. If there is anything I can help you with in terms of measurements or other then let me know.

RedOctobyr suggested a Techumseh plastic tank. The one fitted to my old Craftsman is 1 US gallon (3.78 liters). I can get measurements from that.

Good luck.


----------



## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Town said:


> I would see a problem with fuel heights though. The fuel level in the auxiliary could not be higher than existing tank fuel level (even on a side grade) or fuel would run out of the air bleed in main tank.


Absolutely, that's why I said you'd need to mount them at similar heights. Ideally with their caps at the same height. 

Now, if you wanted a second tank, but absolutely could not put them at the same height, there could be other (clumsier) options. 

If you could find a 3-way fuel valve, you could potentially isolate one tank from the other. With a valve that could connect either tank A to the output, *or* tank B to the output (ensuring that tank A was never connected directly to tank B), you could get by with the tanks at different heights. 

But they would have to be filled individually. And you'd have to manually change the valve over between the two tanks during operation. It would be more cumbersome in actual use, vs two tanks joined in parallel. But in some scenarios, perhaps that could be worth it. 

I am seeing listings for fuel tank selector valves, that might be a useful search term if looking for suitable valves. 



> There is the idea of a replacement standard plastic tank of 6" or so height (instead of 2" height) sitting on top of the existing 4 mounts and tied down with straps to the top tank mount and the tank low side mount. The bottom of the tank would be hidden but the look may still be ugly.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


If you could find a big tank that mounted the same way, that would be awesome. But I'm guessing that a larger-capacity solution is likely going to a look a bit odd regardless. But hey, it's a machine built to work, not to be in beauty pageants!


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I think a 6 quart (5.7 liter) tank would suit me. I think that would be just enough fuel capacity for the clearing I do at one time and make for very easy re-fills, and acceptable looks.

B&S has a model 291488 black steel rectangular tank that is 6 quarts and measures 6.2" high by 5.45" wide and 10.75" long that will easily fit in the space available. The filler neck sits above the tank with a metal old style cap screwed on. The tank is held in place by two straps. The fuel fitting is unclear but appears to be a boss under the tank. So an L fitting there could lead to a suitable fuel shutoff valve (3 way to allow for draining fuel tank) in the current position.

The space for the existing tank is about 11" by 9.5" with the corner taken out to clear the oil tube. Seems easy to fabricate a flat metal base to attach to existing mounts and then use straps to secure the tank to the base.


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I bought and installed the B&S fuel tank fitted to the Ariens Pro. It is spec'd at a gallon and a half (about 5.7 liters).


----------



## PixMan (Feb 14, 2015)

Town said:


> I bought and installed the B&S fuel tank fitted to the Ariens Pro. It is spec'd at a gallon and a half (about 5.7 liters).


Pictures please!!


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

PixMan said:


> Pictures please!!


I just have the draft mock-up pictures of the tank in place. I had to raise the tank in the final version to give clearance to remove the oil fill cap, which is now easier than stock to grip and undo. 

The tank is BR 799782 and comes with the cap and installed fuel take-off fitting and a spare take-off fitting. The cap is easy to install and remove. There is no screen in the tank opening but there is a screen in the fuel take-off fitting.

If you are interested I will get pictures of the new mounting brackets and how the tank looks in place. I am unsure about the beauty covers so I did not buy any. It is intended to be functional but avoid icing of carb and any linkage so I hope the beauty covers do not have an impact. One thing I noticed is the governor linkage to the carb cannot be replaced with the tank in place so it is a good job it was easy to remove in final trim.


----------



## nhplat24 (Jan 6, 2021)

See Also, the "fuel-tank" post:








Fuel Tank


Newer Ariens What are we going to do with these small fuel tanks.4" of snow and ran out of fuel. 24" platinum.First time using it.Thats crazy.Anybody modify the tank yet.




www.snowblowerforum.com


----------

