Tarkov | Hideout Side Hustle #7 | Fuel Tanks Start to Matter After You Empty Them

For the first article in this series, click here:
How the VPO-136 Changed the Way I See the Workbench

As I kept playing Tarkov, Stash Level 3 was finally starting to come into view.
And then, all of a sudden, I found myself needing money.

The problem was, I could not always set aside enough time to go on proper raids.
So while absentmindedly looking through the Hideout, I had a sudden thought:

Wait… couldn’t this be turned into a business?

When I actually tried it, my funds — which had been sitting at around 8 million roubles — reached 10 million in a single day without going on a single raid.

This series began with that simple realization.

Let me say this first:
this is not a “here’s the perfect money-making method” kind of article.

The more people learn about a method like this, the more downward pressure it will naturally put on prices.
So this is not meant to say, “Do this and you will definitely make money.”

What I want to say instead is that the way you look at the Hideout can completely change how you build up your funds.

The Final Entry Is About Fuel Tanks

For the seventh entry in this series, I want to talk about Fuel Tanks.

So far, I have looked at many different things that can be done inside the Hideout.

The VPO-136 turning into Weapon Parts.
Toilet paper leading to Sausage.
Partly used medical items becoming materials for other medical items.
Piles of Meds.
SJ-6.
The Defibrillator.

All of these were about moving materials through the Hideout and turning them into something that could be sold.

And for the final entry, I ended up looking at Fuel Tanks.

Fuel Tanks are used to run the Generator.
In other words, they are the fuel that allows the Hideout itself to function.

At first glance, fuel is simply a cost.

You burn it.
It runs out.
Then you need to buy or find more.

If you are trying to make money through the Hideout, you naturally have to think about that fuel cost.

But one of the interesting things about Tarkov is that it does not end there.

A Fuel Tank can still have a role even after it has been emptied.

I Used to Think Fuel Was Just a Running Cost

At first, I saw Fuel Tanks in a very simple way.

They were consumables for running the Generator.
They were a necessary cost for using the Hideout.
Once they were empty, they were finished.

That was how I understood them.

And honestly, once you start crafting in the Hideout, fuel becomes something you think about a lot.

Is this craft still profitable after fuel cost?

Should I keep the Generator running right now?

Am I actually making money, or is the fuel cost eating the profit?

Those are the kinds of questions that start coming up.

So in the beginning, Fuel Tanks felt more like something that reduced my profit.

But as I looked more carefully through the Hideout crafts, that perspective started to change.

The Blue Fuel Tank Leads to Magazine Cases

There are two main types of Fuel Tanks.

The blue one is the Expeditionary fuel tank.
I usually think of it simply as the blue tank.

The blue tank can be used as fuel for the Generator.
But even after it becomes empty, it still has a use as a crafting material.

One clear example is the Magazine case.

This changed the way I saw it.

When you use a blue tank as fuel, the fuel inside disappears.
But the empty tank itself does not disappear.
And that empty tank can be used to craft a Magazine case.

So the blue tank has two stages.

It runs the Generator as fuel.
Then, after it is empty, it becomes material for a Magazine case.

That is a big difference.

Magazine Cases Can Be Sold Directly

A Magazine case can be sold on its own.

Of course, the actual value depends on the market.
But as an outlet for empty Fuel Tanks, it is very easy to understand.

You use fuel to run the Generator.
An empty tank remains.
You turn that empty tank into a Magazine case.
Then you sell the Magazine case.

When I think about it that way, the fuel cost starts to look a little different.

Of course, fuel does not become free.
If I bought the Fuel Tank, that purchase price is still a cost.
The other materials for the craft also cost money.

Even so, the fact that the empty tank has an outlet changes the feeling of fuel.

It is not simply burned and gone.
After being used as fuel, it can still be used again as a crafting material.

That idea was very interesting to me.

Magazine Cases Also Lead Toward the Junk Box

Magazine cases are not only something you can sell.

They can also become materials for the Lucky Scav Junk box.

This is no longer just a simple money-making topic.
It becomes connected to stash management and Hideout progression.

If I sell a Magazine case directly, it turns into cash.
But if I keep it, I can also see it as a material for a Lucky Scav Junk box.

And the Lucky Scav Junk box is also connected to the Scav Case later on.

So the blue tank can be seen as part of a longer chain.

Blue Fuel Tank
→ Use it as fuel
→ It becomes an empty tank
→ It becomes a Magazine case
→ Sell it, or move toward a Junk box
→ Eventually, the Scav Case comes into view

At this point, the blue tank is no longer just fuel.

It is fuel for the Generator, an entrance into case crafting, and part of a longer Hideout progression line.

The Metal Fuel Tank Leads to Grenade Cases

On the other hand, there is also the gray Metal fuel tank.

This one has more fuel capacity than the blue tank, so as fuel, it can keep the Generator running for longer.

But the metal tank also has an outlet after it becomes empty.

One clear example is the Grenade case.

Grenade cases can often trade at fairly high prices.
So after using the metal tank as fuel, I can also look at the empty tank as material for a Grenade case.

Again, this changes the way fuel looks.

The metal tank is:

fuel that keeps the Generator running for a long time
and also
material that can lead to a Grenade case after it is empty.

So neither the blue tank nor the metal tank is simply finished once the fuel is gone.

Each of them has somewhere to go after becoming empty.

Thinking About Fuel Cost Includes the Empty Tank

The important point here is that I should not look only at the purchase price of the Fuel Tank.

Fuel is necessary to run the Generator.
So if I only look at the cost of buying it, it naturally feels like an expense.

But once I include the value of the empty tank, the way I calculate things changes.

The blue tank can lead to Magazine cases.
The metal tank can lead to Grenade cases.

Of course, whether that is actually profitable depends on the market at the time.
Case prices change.
The prices of the additional materials change.
Crafting time also matters.

So I am not trying to say:

Empty tanks should always be turned into cases.

That is not the point.

The important point is this:

Fuel does not simply end when it is used. It is better to think about the empty tank too.

Just having that perspective makes the cost of running the Generator feel a little lighter.

I Started Getting Used to Running the Generator

After spending more time with the Hideout, I realized that I was slowly getting used to running the Generator.

At first, I could not stop worrying about the fuel going down.

Should I turn the Generator on now?

Is this craft really worth it?

Am I wasting fuel?

Those thoughts were always there.

But once I started using the Workbench, Nutrition Unit, and Med Station more actively, I realized that I could make many different things while the Generator was running.

Weapon Parts from the VPO-136 route.
Sausage.
Medical items.
SJ-6.
The Defibrillator.

Once multiple stations can run at the same time, the fuel is no longer being burned for just one craft.

It starts to feel like the cost of running the entire Hideout.

And once I also see the outlets for empty Fuel Tanks, that cost starts to feel different again.

Fuel Tanks Were a Good Place to End This Series

This series began with a very small realization.

I noticed that a VPO-136 could be turned into an AKM, and then into Weapon Parts.

That was where it started.

After that, I looked at toilet paper, partly used medical items, Piles of Meds, SJ-6, and the Defibrillator.

Through all of that, the Hideout stopped looking like a simple crafting menu.

It started to look like a place where I think about where materials should go.

And once I reached Fuel Tanks, I ended up facing the Generator itself and the cost of running the Hideout.

That felt like a natural place for the series to come together.

Because everything I had written about so far was based on running the Generator and keeping the Hideout active.

The Workbench, Nutrition Unit, and Med Station were all about using the Hideout to convert materials.

The foundation underneath all of that was the Generator.
And Fuel Tanks are what make the Generator run.

So ending with Fuel Tanks feels quite natural to me.

Beyond This, the Bitcoin Farm Comes Into View

And once I reach this point, the next thing that comes into view is the Bitcoin Farm.

When the Bitcoin Farm starts running seriously, the meaning of the Hideout changes again.

Up to this point, my Hideout money-making has mostly followed this pattern:

prepare materials
craft something
sell the finished product

Make something small, sell something small, and repeat.

But once the Bitcoin Farm is running, keeping the Generator active itself starts to become part of the income structure.

In other words, the Hideout begins to move from:

a place where I craft items to sell

toward:

a place that produces income by staying active.

Of course, building the Bitcoin Farm also requires money and materials.
GPUs are needed too.
There is still preparation before reaching that stage.

But once the way I saw Fuel Tanks changed, I felt like that next stage had started to come into view.

This Series Was a Run-Up to the Bitcoin Farm

Looking back, I think this Hideout Side Hustle series was really a run-up to the point where the Bitcoin Farm starts operating seriously.

Stash Level 3 was finally coming into view, and I suddenly needed a large amount of money.
But I could not always go on raids.
So I looked through the Hideout and started searching for things I could craft, sell, hold, or convert.

The VPO-136.
Toilet paper.
Partly used medical items.
Piles of Meds.
SJ-6.
The Defibrillator.
Fuel Tanks.

None of them were methods that would change everything with a single craft.

But they were enough to slowly build funds.

More importantly, they changed the way I looked at the Hideout.

Loot is not always something I sell immediately.
Partly used items can still have another destination.
Valuable materials may be worth holding for a larger craft.
Even fuel does not simply end after being burned.
Empty tanks can still have a next step.

All of those small realizations point toward the Bitcoin Farm.

Hideout Side Hustle Ends Here for Now

So with this article, I would like to bring the Hideout Side Hustle series to a close for now.

Once the Bitcoin Farm starts running seriously, Hideout management enters a different stage.

At that point, the question is no longer only:

What should I craft and sell?

It becomes more about:

How should I think about keeping the Generator running?

That feels like a different topic from what this series has been about.

So for this series, I wanted to write about the stage before reaching that point.

How can I build up funds through the Hideout before the Bitcoin Farm becomes the main engine?
How can I make progress even during times when I cannot go on raids?

If this series managed to record that process, then I think it has done what it needed to do.

Final Thoughts

Tarkov is not only a game about going into raids and winning gunfights.

At least for me, there is also a lot of enjoyment in looking at my stash, checking the Hideout, watching the market, and asking myself:

Should I sell this?
Should I keep this?
Can this become another material?
Is this something I should use later rather than now?

Writing this series reminded me of that.

Of course, I mainly play PvE, and I am not a hardcore efficiency player.
There may be mistakes, and there are probably better ways to do many of these things.

But for someone like me, who wonders:

What should I even look at in the Hideout?
Is there something I can do even when I cannot go on raids?
Stash Level 3 is getting close, but I do not have enough money yet.

I hope this series was at least somewhat useful.

Thank you very much for reading this far.

If this interests you, I would be very happy if you followed or turned on notifications.
And if you have your own way of seeing certain materials in the Hideout, I would love to hear about it.

Note: I also talk about the background behind this series, as well as what I am actually thinking during play, in the streams I do on Twitch almost every day.
Some things are harder to fully convey in writing alone, so watching the streams may help give a better feel for the atmosphere.
Past stream archives are also available on my YouTube channel, so if you are interested, please feel free to check those out as well.
▶ YouTube: B.K. Gaming
▶ Twitch: kaz_the_minotaur