storage of gasoline

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Another lurker here,

Up here in northern michigan we have a lot of electrical outages due to the many storms we have had this year, I have a generator to keep the house going, My question is, Whats a good way to store gasoline in large quantities? Right now I just keep a five gallon can in the pole barn. By the way we are new to homesteading so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-- ron bulinda (rvbulinda@yahoo.com), June 03, 2001

Answers

Hiya Ron,, where in Mich?? U>P ?? IM over by Ludington. I store gas in five gallon "jerry cans",, just make sure you use a stableizer, sta=bil, or fuel saver,, or something like that. I just picked up a used fuel oil tank, for storing deisel into this year. Figure Ill wait till prices drop some,, then filll it up.

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), June 03, 2001.

Hi Ron, Stan is right, get some Stabil, auto parts and discount stores sell it, says the ratio to use per gallon on the can. We purchase a fuel tank at a time (125 gallons) for use here on the farm, and it lasts for at least a year, or more before we have it filled again, gas stays just fine! The Stabil will keep the gas good at least five years, maybe more.

Diesel stays good indefinitly, just keep the water out, and the tank as full as possible to prevent condensation.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), June 03, 2001.


Another lurker here.

Hi stan, We are about 21 miles northwest of houghton lake, In a little town called moorestown, It's an old logging town, We have twenty acres and have been working it for about five years. It was an old christmas tree farm, a solid 20 acres of scotch pines, gave 10 of it to one of my sons, Too much for us to handle at our age, starting to sound like ol Hoot. Thanks for the info.

-- ron bulinda (rvbulinda@yahoo.com), June 03, 2001.


If electricity is such a problem then is a gas generator the solution. Do you have natural gas or LP, then convert your generator to a more stable gas platform. As for storage of gas, how much do you need to store? How effecent is your generator? Will 5 gallons last long? I know thats only a couple of days on my generator. As for storeing it in the pole barn what else is in the barn? I see several people suggest stablizing your gas. Why waste the money on stablizer. Every couple of months pour the gas into your vehicle and refill the jug with fresh gas. If its only one can its not much of an issue.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), June 03, 2001.

Ron - I would recommend checking out your local regulations. Where we live (So Cal) we have have to have the tank up off the ground and a well built around it, in case of spills or leaks. We poured a cement pad and then put a wall of cinder (sp?) blocks around it and that was okay with the county.

-- jennifer (schwabauer@aol.com), June 03, 2001.


Gary, we stabilize our gasoline because we by a years worth at a time, usually 100 gallons or so, and we prefer to buy it when the price is the lowest, 1.39 a gallon is way better than 1.79 a gallon!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), June 03, 2001.

For Y2K we stored up on everything we thought might be in short supply. One was gas for a very effecent vehicle and desiel for the tractor. Remember storing any amount of gas above what would be reasonable, and reasonable is defined by your insurance company not you, voids all your insurance. Also breaks lots of other laws. We built a seperate building several hundred feet away from anything elas to store it in. Used good 55 gal drums and installed check valves so the pressure could stay equalized. Treated the gas and desiel with Staybil, I think that is spelled wrong, and it was fine. We just used up the last of it about three months ago with no problem. But after keeping careful records found our storage plans were not really good. March of 2000 we had a filter stop up on the tractor and it could not be cleaned had to be replaced. No mater how much fuel we had if we had not been able to replace the filter no go. Two months later the water pump went, again with out replacement no go. If someone else advises us and we believe we are going to go back to the dark ages we will not stock up on fuel. Mabey horse and buggy parts but no more fuel. Remember one pint of gas ignited correctly has the explosive force of five sticks of 80% dynamite. Your lawnmower gas can is scary enough.

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), June 03, 2001.

Hi Ron, No matter how much gas or for how long you will store it, always use a stabilizer according to directions. Remember that what a stabilizer does is forms a protective film on top of the gas to keep your gas fresh. So anytime you shake or bump the gas can, you break that seal and releases the freshness. So if you store gas, store it in the amount that you will use in one time. Don't store it all in one big canister and use a little at a time. If your generator or any small engines only hold 1/2 gal. or 1 gal. then store it in canisters for that amount.

-- Russell Hays (rhays@sstelco.com), June 04, 2001.

I stored 165 gallons of gas for Y2K in 55 gallon drums. I thought about "stabil" but quickly gave up on that idea when I saw the price. I used up the gas recently in my car after more than a year in storage with no problem. I used a $35 drum pump and short piece of garden hose to get the gas from the drum to a five gallon can or into the car. Put a 2x4 under one edge of the drum so that any rain water that gets on it will drain off the side and not get sucked into your gas. The pressure in a big half filled drum changes with the temperature and can create a suction that will suck water in if there is standing water around the bung. I got my drums from the local bulk fuel supplier for $35 each (like new) and returned them recently for a $25/each deposit.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), June 04, 2001.

One other note: I filled the drums over time with a couple of five gallons cans which I filled every time I went to the gas station. Rolling around a full drum of deisel doesn't worry me because it is not very volatile, but gasoline makes me nervous!

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), June 04, 2001.


I have 2-350 gallon tanks, one for gas the other diesel. I filled the diesel up in December of 1999 and I am still using it,(in my tractor) I have about 100 gallons left. The gasoline is for our 2 pickup trucks, mower, DR Powerwagon, tillers, chainsaws and such. Our generator is use seldom but always ready to go, I keep Sta-Bil in that tank and the other small equipment. Both of my bulk tanks have filters with plastic bowls with drain plugs so you can see and drain water out of. I change the filter elements once a year. I use the gas all the time and go through a tank about every 3 months. I also have a 55 gallon drum of Kerosene, when it was outside in the weather I had mine propped up on a 2x4 but also used a pice of 1/2" hemp rope clamped to the rim and hanging over the side, that wicked away the water from the winter rains. There is a paste availbe from fule suppliers called Color-Code, you spread it on a stick and put it in your tank, if there is water in it, the paste changes color from Gold to Red, it is well worth the $5.00 and last for years.

-- hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), June 05, 2001.

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