Alaska Daily Drivers: Hydro Blue 80A and Bright White JTR

[chorky]

Oh man what an install. It could have been worse but I'm a little disappointed in the overall design considering the price of the tank. It looks like they have changed a couple things from the initial design, like the filler neck and how the aux tank pumps into the main tank. And no more 2 different filler necks, just the one that splits. That's kinda nice actually although you can't choose which tank to fill.

I'm at a crossroads honestly after reading your experience. Do you think you could take a few more photos? I"m really curious how the tank is secured, especially up front since I have aftermarket skid plates. Also curious to see if you have any leak issues or how the exhaust sounds with the changes. And what is the ICV and why would overfilling break it?? The whole point is to let the pump auto-shutoff happen, it sounds like you have to monitor the pump and stop prior to the auto shut-off?

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[Turnswrench]

Oh man what an install. It could have been worse but I'm a little disappointed in the overall design considering the price of the tank. It looks like they have changed a couple things from the initial design, like the filler neck and how the aux tank pumps into the main tank. And no more 2 different filler necks, just the one that splits. That's kinda nice actually although you can't choose which tank to fill.

I'm at a crossroads honestly after reading your experience. Do you think you could take a few more photos? I"m really curious how the tank is secured, especially up front since I have aftermarket skid plates. Also curious to see if you have any leak issues or how the exhaust sounds with the changes. And what is the ICV and why would overfilling break it?? The whole point is to let the pump auto-shutoff happen, it sounds like you have to monitor the pump and stop prior to the auto shut-off?

I'd be happy to get some pics for you. I'll get them after work. The install definitely could have been worse, for sure. I paid more for the tank than the Black Friday sale price they have now, plus getting it to Alaska. The current pricing isn't so bad, when you are in it for $2,500, it kind of hurts the heart.

I'm also exciting to check for leaks. There's a 70mph wind and blizzard-like conditions expected today, so I may not make it to the gas station, we'll see if the weather they are predicting actually happens.

The ICV is an inline check valve that prevents the fuel from sloshing back up the fill tube. As you fill the tank, it allows the fuel to flow into the tank but not back out. I think it could break if you overfill since it's so cheap with a very light duty spring in the check valve. I don't think you need to stop fueling up, just don't overfill once the pump clicks.

 

[chorky]

I'd be happy to get some pics for you. I'll get them after work. The install definitely could have been worse, for sure. I paid more for the tank than the Black Friday sale price they have now, plus getting it to Alaska. The current pricing isn't so bad, when you are in it for $2,500, it kind of hurts the heart.

I'm also exciting to check for leaks. There's a 70mph wind and blizzard-like conditions expected today, so I may not make it to the gas station, we'll see if the weather they are predicting actually happens.

The ICV is an inline check valve that prevents the fuel from sloshing back up the fill tube. As you fill the tank, it allows the fuel to flow into the tank but not back out. I think it could break if you overfill since it's so cheap with a very light duty spring in the check valve. I don't think you need to stop fueling up, just don't overfill once the pump clicks.

Oh gotcha that makes sense..... Although it would be a major pain if it did break. I usually do a few more pumps after initial shutoff so maybe I shouldn't lol. Does the entire system use the factory charcoal canister? The original version had you install a second canister just for the aux tank. Maybe that was revised as well...

More pictures would be awesome if you can get around to it. I really want a longer fuel range option but I'm torn with this one since install seems more complicated than I initially imagined. I'm also curious, if you can tell, if the aux tank would have to be removed in order to remove the drive shaft and/pr transfer case. I'm expecting mine to leak again and that would be a concern if removing the aux tank was necessary for removal of the x-fer.

We must be getting a storm shortly after you. Last week was all overcast, icky, and foggy, but today is bright blue sky and sunny - usually happens right before a system moves in.

 

[Turnswrench]

Oh gotcha that makes sense..... Although it would be a major pain if it did break. I usually do a few more pumps after initial shutoff so maybe I shouldn't lol. Does the entire system use the factory charcoal canister? The original version had you install a second canister just for the aux tank. Maybe that was revised as well...

More pictures would be awesome if you can get around to it. I really want a longer fuel range option but I'm torn with this one since install seems more complicated than I initially imagined. I'm also curious, if you can tell, if the aux tank would have to be removed in order to remove the drive shaft and/pr transfer case. I'm expecting mine to leak again and that would be a concern if removing the aux tank was necessary for removal of the x-fer.

We must be getting a storm shortly after you. Last week was all overcast, icky, and foggy, but today is bright blue sky and sunny - usually happens right before a system moves in.

It does use the factory charcoal canister for both tanks. You would not need to remove the aux tank to service the transfer case or driveshaft, which is a win! If you need to do something with the exhaust, however, that puppy needs to come down. More pics to come! We'll let you know how bad the weather is so you can prepare ?

 

[Turnswrench]

@chorky

See if these help. Sorry they're not better, happy to take specific requests ?

 

[chorky]

Oh that doesn't look too bad. More clearance in there than I thought actually. How much do you think the tank itself without fuel weighed when putting it in? I think they spec it out at 80 lbs but curious if thats accurate. It sure will be nice having all that extra fuel!

 

[Turnswrench]

Oh that doesn't look too bad. More clearance in there than I thought actually. How much do you think the tank itself without fuel weighed when putting it in? I think they spec it out at 80 lbs but curious if thats accurate. It sure will be nice having all that extra fuel!

If it's 80lbs, I'd be amazed. I am not great at estimating this. Maybe the entire pallet it came on with the whole kit was 80lbs.

 

[Turnswrench]

Happy to report no drone from the modified exhaust around town. Haven't been on highway yet. Also... So far so good!

 

[Turnswrench]

It's been over 24 hours since I checked on the tank. The Jeep is just sitting in the garage full of fuel, but that's not a bad thing in this case ? the fuel is still in the tank. I hope that means no leaks in the tank itself!

 

[chorky]

Bet it feels good having all that extra fuel!

 

[Turnswrench]

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[4xjeepr]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[chorky]

So have you used the aux to refill the main yet? Got a few questions for ya.

How long does it take to refill half and/or full tank from aux to main?

Can you refill while driving or does the small aux tank pump take forever to do that?

Is there room somewhere to put a pre-filter or even post filter from the aux tank to the main tank in case of contamination?

 

[Turnswrench]

So have you used the aux to refill the main yet? Got a few questions for ya.

How long does it take to refill half and/or full tank from aux to main?

Can you refill while driving or does the small aux tank pump take forever to do that?

Is there room somewhere to put a pre-filter or even post filter from the aux tank to the main tank in case of contamination?

I have not driven the blue Jeep since we came back from Valdez Halloween weekend. I have not driven the white Jeep since I filled both tanks. Since we both work from home and have no friends or family in the entire state, we don't do too much travel outside of exploring. We may leave the house this weekend for errands and supply replenishment. I'm out of wire spools for the garage. The weather hasn't been too great, so we've been home bodies.

With that said, I have not tried to fill the main tank with the aux tank yet. You can transfer fuel over from the aux to the main while driving. The transfer rate is about 10 gallons per hour. The transfer pump comes with a pre-filter, but I can certainly see space to add an additional one before that one in the system.

 

[chorky]

The transfer rate is about 10 gallons per hour.

Oof. that's pretty slow. I guess you have to fill while driving or you'd be sitting a while. I wonder if filling while driving will throw the computer off for its total remaining range estimation.

Any idea how much power that pump draws? I wonder if a higher flow pump could be put in it's place.

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