On a civil or mining-support site, diesel logistics is part of the schedule. Excavators idle when they're not fuelled, and the cost of a stopped 30-tonne machine waiting on a service truck is measured per minute, not per litre. This guide covers how to spec, deploy and run portable diesel tanks on Australian civil and mining sites — what works, what fails, and the spec choices that matter when the tank is part of your daily plant strategy.
Sizing for site throughput
Small civil crew (2–4 plant items, single shift). A 400L tank on the back of the foreman's ute covers most days. Refill at the depot overnight.
Mid-sized site (5–10 plant items, multiple shifts). A 1000L tank with hose reel on a site trailer is the standard. 56 LPM flow fills an excavator's 400 L tank in about 7 minutes.
Mining support / large earthworks. Multiple 1,000 L portables, or move to a full service truck with bulk pod. The 1000L Joey is commonly used as the secondary or remote-area portable alongside a bigger fixed installation.
Rule of thumb: portable tank capacity should cover at least one shift of your highest-consumption machine without a refill. Anything less and you're hauling fuel mid-shift.
Hose reels and one-operator refuelling
The single biggest workflow improvement on a site tank is the hose reel. A 10 m reel lets one operator park the tank centrally and refuel multiple machines without moving the tank — no reversing, no spotter, no risk of nudging a tank into a trench wall.
Joey's 1000L tank ships with a 10 m hose reel as standard for exactly this reason. Add the digital flow-read bowser and you've got litre-accurate per-machine fuel records for client reporting.
For smaller tanks, the 4 m direct hose is fine — just plan tank position so you can reach every machine in the work zone.
Theft prevention on remote sites
Diesel theft from remote site tanks is a real and persistent cost. The basics:
Pad-lockable filling cap — every Joey tank ships with one. Use it.
Secondary lock on the pump. A simple steel cover or lockable pump housing stops opportunistic siphoning.
Position the tank in line of sight of the site office or under CCTV coverage if you have it.
Track litres in vs litres out. The digital flow-read bowser logs every transfer. A 30 L overnight discrepancy is the early warning that something's going on.
Move the tank inside the compound at night for high-risk sites — a 1,000 L tank on a trailer is a 5-minute move.
Bulk supply planning
On a multi-month project, set up a bulk diesel supply contract early. Most fuel suppliers will deliver site quantities (1,000–10,000 L drops) with 24–48 hours' notice and pricing that's $0.05–$0.15/L below cardlock rates.
Sequence the deliveries against your earthworks program. Heavy excavation weeks need more frequent drops; finishing trades less so. Your tank fleet should be sized so a delivery delay of 48 hours doesn't stop plant.
Keep the 1000L tank's hose reel set up as the operating tank and use a separate bulk delivery to refill it from the supplier's tanker — don't try to refuel directly from a tanker into machines.
Compliance and site documentation
Civil and mining sites operate under principal contractor SWMS and site-specific environmental management plans. Portable diesel tanks usually need to be listed as plant, with a bunding plan and a spill response procedure attached.
Joey doesn't issue regulatory certification — your site engineer and your principal contractor own that documentation. What we provide is the equipment, the spec sheet, and the build details you need to fill out your SWMS.
Confirm with your principal contractor before site mobilisation: their site EMP almost always specifies bunding requirements, signage, and fire extinguisher placement near fuel storage.
Frequently asked questions
Spec a site tank that doesn't stop work
Tell us how many machines and what your daily burn is — we'll spec the tank, options and freight to fit your program. Call 0468 462 047.
