Escape From Tarkov Fuel: Where To Find, Use, Craft

Escape From Tarkov Fuel: Where To Find, Use, Craft
Images via Battlestate Games

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

16th Aug 2022 16:33

Getting your hands on some Escape From Tarkov fuel is going to be one of the most important things you can do in order to progress some quests and make lots of money. The Hideout in Escape From Tarkov is central to the out of raid experience, but most of it needs to be powered, for which you'll need some fuel. So, if you're wanting to know where to find some Escape From Tarkov fuel, and then what to do with it once you've got it, then make sure to keep on reading.

Escape From Tarkov Fuel Types

Escape From Tarkov Fuel types
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There are currently two different types of Escape From Tarkov fuel containers in the game, and they both have different properties, sizes, and ways of using them. Check out the table below for the full details on the two fuel containers:

Name Capacity Power Time Stash Size
Expeditionary fuel tank 60 12:37:53 2x2
Metal fuel tank 100 21:03:09 2x3

While it might immediately seem that the Metal Fuel Tank is the better choice of the two, there are a couple of different factors that are taken in to play that don't make it so obvious. All in all though, both Escape From Tarkov fuel tanks are extremely useful tools that you will want to be looking for whenever possible, so make sure to keep your eyes out in the locations detailed down below.

How To Use Escape From Tarkov Fuel

Escape From Tarkov Fuel how to use
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The primary use of the Escape From Tarkov fuel containers is to power your hideout through the Generator module. This will allow you to run actions in various other Hideout modules like the Bitcoin Farm, Workbench, Medstation and more, meaning that you're going to want to have the power on as much as possible to have a fully efficient Hideout.

To use the Escape From Tarkov fuel, just click on the Generator module and hit the drop down next to one of the empty slots. Then, select whatever fuel you want to insert and it will be ready to go. All you need to do now is turn on the Generator by pressing the power button on the left-hand side, and it will start using up the fuel.

Remember to preserve your Escape From Tarkov fuel by turning off the generator whenever you're not crafting anything, as you don't want to be burning money away unnecessarily. Also note that your generator will continue running even if you quit the game, but Escape From Tarkov does handily give you a little warning before quitting, reminding you if your Generator is still on.

The higher level your Generator is, the more Escape From Tarkov fuel you can store within it, so you're going to want to check out the Escape From Tarkov Hideout items list to see what items you need to save.

Escape From Tarkov Fuel: Where To Find

Escape From Tarkov Fuel where to find
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Getting your hands on some Escape From Tarkov fuel can be quite a tricky task though, as it is a fairly rare item drop in raid, and can get quite expensive outside of it. Here are the main ways you can get your hands on some Escape From Tarkov fuel:

The best way out of those found above is always going to be finding it in raid, as it will mean that you avoid paying the potentially extortionate price otherwise. Of course, the benefits of buying it directly come from the speed of access, but if you're clever with your raids you should hopefully have it there ready to be used anyway.

Where To Find Escape From Tarkov Fuel In Raid

Finding Escape From Tarkov fuel containers in raid can be broadly split into two camps: the general loot spots, and specific high chance locations. While you're always going to have a chance of stumbling upon a tank when regularly looting, there are some places you can go to give yourself a much better chance of finding one. For reference though, here are the general loot locations where you'll be able to find Escape From Tarkov fuel:

  • Caches
  • Dead scavs
  • Sports bags
  • Technical supply crates

The main map you'll want to head to if you're looking for Escape From Tarkov fuel though is definitely the Escape From Tarkov Interchange map. The two main spots you'll want to frequent on Interchange are the Oli and Goshan shops. In particular, you'll want to look on the shelves on the bathroom/showroom side of Oli and then the back walls and behind Goshan.

In addition to this, you can also find fuel in The National shop, and on the barrels by the Hole in the Wall extract. We have found much more consistent success in Oli and Goshan though, so keep your eyes peeled.

The next best map for you to venture on is Reserve, which has quite a few spots that you can hit up. Depending on where you spawn, the K buildings are a great place to start, as fuel can be found anywhere here - just make sure to watch out for Glukhar. There is also a container by the Heating Pipe scav extract, which can be found just north of the K buildings that can spawn some fuel for you to pick up.

Furthermore, around the set of fuel tanks next to the garage is also a great place to look, and it is a relatively quiet spot that can be good if you want to avoid people. If you're in the mood for a bit of danger though, searching the Queen building, and the connector between King and White Pawn could also do you well. 

While a bit less reliable than the previous two maps, you can also get fuel on the Escape From Tarkov Customs and Escape From Tarkov Woods maps, but don't bother running these maps solely for the purpose of finding the item.

In Customs you'll find it around the Construction area or on the bed in Dorms 110 which also spawns flash drives if you've done the Escape From Tarkov What's on the Flash Drive quest. On Woods though, your best bets are at the ZB-014/016 bunkers, but they're historically not the most reliable for loot - looking at you, 60-rounders.

Escape From Tarkov Fuel Barters, Crafts, And Traders

Escape From Tarkov Fuel barters, crafts, traders
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If you've not had much luck when looking for some fuel and need it as soon as possible, there are a couple of barters, one craft, and one sale from the Traders which are there to help you out. They are mostly confined to Trader LL2 and above though, so you're in a bit of a pickle if you're below level 15.

 

Check out the table below for all the ways you can get Escape From Tarkov fuel tanks from Traders and crafts:

Fuel Type Trader (Loyalty Level) Transaction Type Cost
Metal fuel tank Jaeger (LL1) Barter 12x Classic matches, 5x Hunting matches
Metal fuel tank Prapor (LL2) Barter 2x Propane tank, 2x Fuel conditioner
Metal fuel tank Skier (LL3) Barter 6x Pevko Light beer
Metal fuel tank Jaeger (LL2) Sale 166,824 Roubles
Expeditionary fuel tank Therapist (LL2) Barter 1x Superwater, 1x Pineapple juice
Expeditionary fuel tank Lavatory (L2) Craft 1x Tube, 10x Zibbo lighter, 10x Crickent lighter

It all depends on what time during the wipe you are able to pick them all up, but the barters for the Metal fuel tank really aren't too bad. The Propane/Conditioner and Pevko barters will generally cost you about 120,000 Roubles if buying everything from the flea market which is quite a bit under the Jaeger cost. Unless you have a lot of them lying around, we wouldn't recommend touching the Matches barter, as it will cost you quite a bit more. 

On the expeditionary side of things, the Superwater barter doesn't really make sense from both a cost perspective and a usage one. It will cost more when buying directly from the flea, and if you're generating them from the Water collector, you're either going to have the Booze generator to make Moonshine, or you could just sell them on the flea to break even.

Should You Buy Escape From Tarkov Fuel On The Flea Market?

Escape From Tarkov Fuel flea market
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The question of whether you should buy Escape From Tarkov fuel tanks on the flea market comes down to factors like the time in wipe, and the availability of other methods. If you have managed to get to the flea very early on in the wipe, then you are absolutely going to want to pick them up there as they will be far below the Jaeger LL2 price. They will slowly climb up though, and eventually sit right above the price you would pay from Jaeger. In that case, buy from Jaeger if you can, or do one of the barters, as that will generally save you money in the long run.

As Expeditionary fuel tanks cannot be bought from Traders though, and the singular barter is very limiting, buying from the flea market is really going to be your only option. 

Escape From Tarkov Fuel: What To Do After It Has Run Out

Escape From Tarkov Fuel run out
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The story of your Escape From Tarkov fuel is not over when it has run out though, as there are a lot of things you can actually do with it once you've left it empty. In general, unless you've got an abundance, and literally have no space to store it, you're always going to want to use the fuel that you find, so selling it full on the flea market isn't an avenue we're looking at. You can always attempt to sell it empty on the flea market at full price to fool someone looking to snatch a deal up, but that is both unlikely to happen, and rather mean. You can sell empty on the flea for about a quarter of the original price though, if you don't want to take any of the other routes.

The main use of your Escape From Tarkov fuel after it's been depleted though will be through crafts and barters. As is always the case with depletable items in Tarkov, crafts and barters don't care how full the item is, so you can use otherwise useless items to make a profit. 

Here are all of the barters and crafts you can do with your empty Escape From Tarkov fuel tanks:

Fuel type Process Items Needed End Product Time
Metal fuel tank Craft (Lavatory L2) 1x MScissors, 2x Metal fuel tank, 5x Screw nut, 5x Bolts, 2x MParts 1x Grenade case 16h40m
Metal fuel tank Craft (Workbench L2) 1x MScissors, 1x MultiTool, 1x Metal fuel tank, 1x Kite 120x Flechette ammo 2h5m
Expeditionary fuel tank Craft (Lavatory L2) 1x MScissors, 2x Expeditionary fuel tank, 4x Bolts, 4x Screw nuts 1x Magazine case 4hr52m
Expeditionary fuel tank Barter (Jaeger LL4) 5x Pistol case, 5x Expeditionary fuel tank 1x Weapon case Instant

In general, you're going to want to be going for the Grenade case and Magazine case crafts, as they provide the best value, but it is not a bad idea to use it for the others if those suit you best at the time.

Expeditionary Or Metal Fuel Tank?

Escape From Tarkov Fuel expeditionary or metal
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While it may have seemed otherwise from a face value point of view, the better value of the two Escape From Tarkov fuel types is actually the Expeditionary fuel tank, purely due to what you can do with it after it is used.

Unless you cannot be bothered to go through the effort of crafting and reselling - especially at a rather consistent rate, then the longer use time of the Metal fuel tank is actually what lets it down. Faster usage, and a much faster efficient craft at the end means that you can flip the Expeditionary fuel tanks at a much quicker speed, making you more money in the long run and negating the price-to-performance ratio in no time.

An Expeditionary fuel tank on the flea market at the current time of writing will set you back roughly 119,000 Roubles, and can be used for 12 and a half hours. You'll need two of them for the Magazine case craft, so that's 240,000ish Roubles and a 24-hour turnaround. Then, with just a 5 hour craft time, you can make back almost as much money as you've put in by selling off the Magazine case. 

So, that's everything you need to know about the Escape From Tarkov fuel tanks, including where to find them, how to use them, and then also some tips of making money with them after use. If you're wanting to find out the best Escape From Tarkov ammo type to spend your money on though, check out our extensive guide for all the details.

Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.

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