Bulk gasoline/fuel at home

[Mark W.]

The only safe and acceptable way to store gasoline long term is in 55 gallon drums.

Must be ethanol free

Fill drums to 95%

Treat with PRI-G, better than Stabil or Seafoam

Re-treat it every 12 months

Storage in basement is good as long as the drums are tightly sealed

Use clean ~oil drums, not the drums for $10 on CL that had veggie oil in it. $25 for motor oil drum from bulk oil distributor.

HOW on earth is storing 50+ gallons of gasoline inside your house SAFE????

 

[Cortes]

HOW on earth is storing 50+ gallons of gasoline inside your house SAFE????

Didn't have time to write a book with all the details and appropriate hedge words to boot.

Sealed drums is the ~safest way to store gasoline. Keep them cool and out of the sun. Without free vapors and a source of ignition gasoline can't ignite.

Safety is relative. If he wants to store a sealed drum of gas in his basement, that is much safer for example than storing a plastic 5 gallon jug of gas in his garage. Place catches fire, notify the FD for their safety, then run away fast. Storing large quantities of gas is a code violation most places. See, there's lots more words that can be written about this. Bottom line, you make your decisions and decide what risks are appropriate for you and your family.

Best thing is to apply common sense. Make sense?

 

[ATCclears]

Thanks for all the input on this topic.

Mark W, I have acreage and hence any fuel storage would be in a shed or at least away from the house.

Peter

 

[Uberdillo]

The only safe and acceptable way to store gasoline long term is in 55 gallon drums.
Didn't have time to write a book with all the details and appropriate hedge words to boot.

How about a brochure instead? I'd buy it, as well as the book. Why the 55 gallon drum?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I have a 125 gallon aviation fuel tank with a guage, and a salvaged hose and pump handle I just happened to see at a gas station in their dumpster. I don't dumpster dive but the dumpster was full and it was right there

My plan will be to transport (10) 5 gallon cans from the gas station at a time and keep it filled once we build our new rural home.. then fill all 10 cans as well.. that will be a minimum of 175 gallons available, and 50 gallons to transport at need

I'm a stone mason and will build a nice locking stone house for all that in the driveway just outside the basement parking bay

 

[Cortes]

How about a brochure instead? I'd buy it, as well as the book. Why the 55 gallon drum?

Witty. Witty you are indeed.

I spent a lot of time researching this years ago. The only information I could trust out there was from Chevron, and that is how they recommend gasoline be stored for any length of time. The 95% fill is their number, it allows enough room for expansion but not too much air that water can condense out of.

Better yet, get fancy and purge the drum with nitrogen after it is filled and you will get zero condensation. A drum is tough enough you can leave it out in the sun. It may bulge but not leak. Not recommended but still safe.

Best location for storage is a cool and secure place away from other stuff. I wouldn't sweat putting it in a basement but I would never fill it or open it in an enclosed area like that.

As I mentioned earlier, lots of info, so little time to share it.

Hope this is useful.

BTW, use PRI-G for gas and PRI-D for diesel. Do not bother storing any fuel blended with a bio component as it will ~not last. For diesel buy unblended home heating oil or kerosene. For gas go to a marina or other station that sells off-road fuel and ask for non-ethanol blended fuel.

 

[Coalforge]

A bit off the gasoline thread but might be useful info.

Homes with oil heat have a tank for furnace oil. Furnace fuel oil will work in a diesel if the need arises. It is dyed so you DO NOT want to get caught using it in any ordinary situation.

 

[Cortes]

Home heating oil is just off road diesel. As in diesel with the red dye added. The thing you really have to be wary of is that for example in Southern Oregon, the only diesel of any color available, either on road or off road, is B15, it has a 15% bio component blended in. The reason for that is the pipeline operator that supplies the tank farm in Eugene where all the diesel south of there comes from, only ships B15. In the Portland area, there is lots of marine fuel sold. You can't put B15 in a boat because it is only good for about six months and a lot of boats don't turn their fuel that fast. Even with fuel polishing systems, there is no way to prevent the bio component in the B15 from turning rancid. So unblended home heating oil is available in the Portland area as well as unblended diesel at the boat docks.

So if you are comtemplating storing fuel, don't store blended fuel. It won't last.

 

[Thebastidge]

Chevron probably recommends storage in 55 gallon drums rather than a dedicated fuel tank because they simply don't imagine most people have space and access. A 55 gallon drum is better than a portable gas can, but not as good as a dedicated fuel tank with proper relief valves stored in a safe place like a dedicated shed.

The larger the tank, the more stable the fuel is, as well. Gasoline in small amounts will go bad faster than in large amounts, even with all moisture locked out.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Also stock up on PRIG (Or PRID for diesel) fuel stabilizer if you are not rotating it. That stuff can even activate fuel that has gone bad.. essential survival item

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Hands down, no doubt about it...
The very best on the market.
<broken link removed>

I used to sell it, have several cases of each and use it in my garage queen bikes and cobra, and will use it for prep as well

 

[Cortes]

Chevron probably recommends storage in 55 gallon drums rather than a dedicated fuel tank because they simply don't imagine most people have space and access. A 55 gallon drum is better than a portable gas can, but not as good as a dedicated fuel tank with proper relief valves stored in a safe place like a dedicated shed.

The larger the tank, the more stable the fuel is, as well. Gasoline in small amounts will go bad faster than in large amounts, even with all moisture locked out.

I was going to reply with a link to the Chevron article so you could read it and formulate your own opinion of their recommendations, but they have taken it down.

I agree that your recommendation is better with one exception. The problem with vented storage is that as the tank breathes it takes in humid outside air. Then as the air in the top of the tank cools, it forms condensation in the tank.

For long term storage of motor fuel, you can't beat a sealed 55 gallon drum properly handled. If you really want to get tricky, purge the headspace with CO2 or better, Nitrogen. Or Argon.

 

[Thebastidge]

True; I wasn't really responding properly to the idea of SEALED drums- but relief valves and vents are not the same thing. A relief valve lets out pressure, not necessarily letting the outside pressure equalize back IN to the container. With a properly designed storage tank, it'll stand up to the few PSI of external pressure after swelling and purging the air out. This will never even equal the air pressure at sea level (roughly 15 PSI) unless you use mechanical means to vacuum it out. At most you should see perhaps 5 PSI due to heating and swelling, but less if the tank is kept in a place with an even temperature and topped off to eliminate headspace.

The more completely full the container, the less air there is to to swell and cause this respiration we're talking about.. Vapors are very compressible, liquids much less so. If you had a method to truly seal a drum, it would be adequate, leave as little headspace as possible (CO2 or O2, either one is going to expand and contract with heat) and keep the temperature as even as possible.

Once you start using the fuel, all bets are off on keeping moisture out, because you'll have to let outside air in. This is the same with a drum or a dedicated tank, but a dedicated tank on a stand has other advantages- gravity feed, adding a pump with nozzle, etc.

I would rather have a large quantity of fuel on hand that gets rotated on a regular basis than a couple drums of gasoline sealed away that I have to man-handle about to be able to use. Personal preference. And given that my F150 has dual 16-point-something gallon tanks, and goes through them pretty quickly, a couple drums of gasoline won't really last all that long anyway.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Store all fuel outside the home in a shed.. the only reason I have even primers and powder inside is I have a Diebold US postal service surplus, 1340 lb safe that is near bulletproof and fireproof. Got it at auction

One stray shot in a firefight with a stick home and your home will go up like a torch

 

[CounterOfBeans]

I used to sell it, have several cases of each and use it in my garage queen bikes and cobra, and will use it for prep as well

Hey Blitz,

You say you "used to" sell PRI, so do you know what other brick-n-mortar locations sell PRI in the Portland area? What's a fair price to expect to pay, say for a 32 ounce'er or even a gallon? Thanks

 

[CounterOfBeans]

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

Awesome resource Redcap. Been looking for a site like that. Thanks.

 

[Classic]

Just a reminder make sure it is ethanol free gas!! We have been toying with that idea ourself here.

True dat bro! Ethanol is a magnet for water, it will pull any moisture from the air. Funny thing is that the local stations to my place charge a premium for ethanol free gas even though ethanol adds to the cost!

 

[CoastRange57]

The fact that anybody even considers or mentions storing any fuel in your basement is the most stupid and insane idea I have ever heard. Enough said there. 8 years in the fire department taught me that at least. Good bye home, life, and insurance.

The basic premise behind on site storage on the farm, commercial site or other site was that a bulk delivery of fuel would achieve some major cost savings, as well as providing ease of refueling. Regulations now require double wall tanks, properly installed and wired. Farms are about the only ones utilizing this now days, and achieve any price reduction based upon bulk purchases usually 3000 gallons or more, where you used to get breaks at 500 gallons and in between. Under 3000 gallons you are going to pay retail.

Construction companies usually have one service truck coming to the job site each night to fuel trucks. Commercial fleets like Waste Management have mobile refueling trucks that come to the yards to refuel. When I had my construction business, we had 3 pickups with 110 gallon fuel tanks that we refueled off of, and filled those at the commercial cardlocks every other day, or every day. My son in law runs two logging sites and has 3 pickups with tanks and runs 20K of diesel through them every month.

The handling and movement / transfer of fuels is an exact science that needs to be done properly with the right equipment and procedures. Long term storage in a business situation is no longer cost effective, daily refueling of needed amounts is the rule. Trying to effectively store any amount of fuel over a pickup 110 gallon tank is not going to work. 55 gallon drums are a great idea, how are you going to fill them ?? Put them in your pickup and fill them at the gas station ?? They won' fill them.

I hauled millions of gallons of gas and diesel around Oregon in solo and truck and trailer combinations, and managed not to blow myself or anybody else up, but I have seen some pretty stupid things done as well.

 

[CoastRange57]

So if you are comtemplating storing fuel, don't store blended fuel. It won't last.

And if you run that crap blended diesel fuel, make sure you have extra, as in more than one fuel filters. I made the mistake of putting that blended crap in my Freightliner with 400 Cummins one time in a cold February week, I was in Portland and needed fuel, and between Portland to Forest Grove to Medford, I changed the fuel filter 3 times.

I think I have posted this before, but the ethanol fuels played hell with a lot of my small engines. I started running a 50:1 synthetic 2 cycle blend in ALL my small gas engines and really eliminated a lot of problems with high cylinder head temps, excessive detonation, carb mixtures and about every other problem. It did not help the fuel line degradation, we replaced all fuel lines every year, sometimes twice a year.

 

[The Heretic]

Diesel can last for a very long time. Diesel engines are inherently more forgiving of quality of the fuel, for one thing. Diesel stabilizer is really an anti-bacterial agent to keep bacteria from metabolizing the diesel fuel.

I know this is a very old (3 years) post, but no, diesel engines are not forgiving of poor quality fuel. Even the slightest contamination in the fuel can wreak havoc on the fuel injection system which has clearances in the millionths of an inch, requires a certain amount of lubricity, and will corrode if there is any moisture in the fuel.

This is why diesel fuel tanks and diesel engines have serious fuel filters, including water separators.

That said, diesel fuel does not degrade as fast as gasoline with regards to it cetane (the diesel equivalent of octane), but a bit of moisture can and will cause bacteria to grow on the interface layer between the fuel and the water, which is why you need to use a fuel additive with a biocide in storage tanks.