For a couple years I have been thinking of storing gas in a plastic drum for use in the tractor and mowers and such. There are plenty of plastic drums around here, I would think fuel put up in one of these with Stabil would keep for a while. Would not be a problem to build a rack to hold it horizontal with the large bung up for filling. When the storm hit, I had 25 gallons in cans and 18 gallons in the old Allis-Chalmers for use in the generator and for use in the truck if needed. Never did loose power but I gave 10 gallons to my neighbor to run a pump and loaned the generator and another 10 gallons to my sons friend when they lost power. Not sure how many gallons the plastic drums hold but would be nice to have a little extra. Gasoline got hard to find because of the flooding and another 20 or 30 gallons would be comforting. I don't know what plastic type or code will stand up to gasoline. I looked on the gas cans but no number or code. I would appreciate any input.
Gasoline Storage
- Thread starter LongPoint
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
I've used poly drums before, but never put them on their sides, so I don't know how that would work. They are prone to cracking under stress and sunlight. I know of one 30-gallon blue one that lasted about three years with Diesel in it before the bottom split, it was stored on its side. The longest I've stored gasoline in a white 55-gallon drum, upright, was about a year. I think your best bet would be source an aluminum saddle tank from a truck salvage yard, they have 1/2" or 3/4" pipe bungs welded in the bottom of the ends where you could easily plumb in an in-line filter head and valve. Wix PN 24746 is a good part to use for a filter head and it accepts either the 24850 or 24851 spin-on filters. Coastal fuel lasts about two weeks without some serious help from stabilizers, so be sure and dose it appropriately and even then don't count on it lasting more than six months at the most.
I would heed Ian's advice here on both the tank and the length of time to store gasoline. It would require frequent turn over by continually using it in vehicles and refilling the storage tank(s). When I put in the back up generator I installed a 500 gallon propane tank specifically to avoid the hassle of storing gas.
fiver
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't store anything but ethanol free fuel.
and I definitely wouldn't put regular 10% ethanol gas in a plastic drum.
a slip tank for a pickup, an old fuel tank stripped off a wrecked 18 wheeler [aluminum] or a steel barrel on a stand is what I would use.
if a steel barrel is used I would buy a fuel tank re-line kit and coat the inside of the drum then paint the outside.
I would also plumb in a filter.
I keep our 4 wheelers full of the ethanol free premium and siphon out a half gallon or so at a time for the lawn mower throughout the year then re-fill them each fall.
they get started 1-2 times a year and maybe rode some during the deer hunt. [they haven't been registered in 2 years]
my biggest worry is the battery's going dead.
and I definitely wouldn't put regular 10% ethanol gas in a plastic drum.
a slip tank for a pickup, an old fuel tank stripped off a wrecked 18 wheeler [aluminum] or a steel barrel on a stand is what I would use.
if a steel barrel is used I would buy a fuel tank re-line kit and coat the inside of the drum then paint the outside.
I would also plumb in a filter.
I keep our 4 wheelers full of the ethanol free premium and siphon out a half gallon or so at a time for the lawn mower throughout the year then re-fill them each fall.
they get started 1-2 times a year and maybe rode some during the deer hunt. [they haven't been registered in 2 years]
my biggest worry is the battery's going dead.
blackthorn
Active Member
Around here, old tanks from system replaced oil furnaces are easily found and are often free for the removal. These can easily be put on a stand and plumbed for easy access to the gas.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Around here folks use aluminum tanks that were made to hold anhydrous ammonia that was originally used for fertilizer. Out of date propane tanks are the second choice.
smokeywolf
Well-Known Member
Started last year replacing all the plastic cans with steel Justrite cans. Need to clean out an old GI 5 gallon I have, reline it and put it back into service. The plastic cans are too fragile and are, in my opinion, a short term throw-away solution to a long term need.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Speaking as a small engine/general mechanic type of guy, I would follow the advice to avoid plastic drums. That goes 100x if ethanol bearing fuels are involved. The saddle tank or furnace oil tank sounds about right to me. But I would stay away from Sta-Bil. I know a lot of people use it and think it works, but my experience has not been at all favorable. In fact I think the stuff is pure trash, but that's just me. I'd get at least a mid grade fuel, talk to a fuel supplier about additives to make it last longer (I don't think they actually exist) and go from there. IIRC, if you really want to do it right, you have to get Av gas or something like that. Common pump gas is not designed for storage of more than a few weeks at best. You can hit some of the "Doomer/Prepper" type boards like Frugal Squirrels for more info. I agree with the idea of rotating the supply.
One more thing. I don't know how it is in your area, but here if you have a fuel tank, gas or diesel, and it leaks the DEC Spill Response is all over you. More than one neighbor has had their furnace fuel oil/kerosene tank have a leg collapse and bust the line and leak out 100 gal of so. The clean up always runs in the tens of thousands. I've known farmers that buy their fuel in 5 gallon steel cans just to avoid the risk...lots and lots and lots of 5 gallon cans. The latest thing is to have a poured concrete containment structure built, sort of a "cee-ment pond" type of thing. If there is a leak the fuel isn't going anywhere.
One more thing. I don't know how it is in your area, but here if you have a fuel tank, gas or diesel, and it leaks the DEC Spill Response is all over you. More than one neighbor has had their furnace fuel oil/kerosene tank have a leg collapse and bust the line and leak out 100 gal of so. The clean up always runs in the tens of thousands. I've known farmers that buy their fuel in 5 gallon steel cans just to avoid the risk...lots and lots and lots of 5 gallon cans. The latest thing is to have a poured concrete containment structure built, sort of a "cee-ment pond" type of thing. If there is a leak the fuel isn't going anywhere.
Ian
Notorious member
Nope, not just you. Sta-Bil has made our shop more money than any other single liquid product. What it does is bind with the varnishes in fuel and settle out to the low points of a fuel system (like the bottom of a carburetor bowl where the main jets are, bottom of fuel filters, pick-up screens, etc.). The sludge is very much like Permatex 3H aviation form-a-gasket, nothing will dissolve it and it's extremely sticky, gooey, and nearly impossible to clean out. When poured directly into a vehicle's fuel tank, I've seen it ruin fuel injectors and cause intake valves to stick in their guides. It simply does murder to gas generator fuel systems.
I use and recommend a product called Phase Out for gasoline, especially for use in small engine fuel containing ethanol.
smokeywolf
Well-Known Member
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I find this all very interesting. I have the same plastic 1.5 gallon gas can for the lawn mower for 20+ years. Just the last two years have I found a source of non-alcohol fuel. Added a measure of Sta-Bil every fall to however much was left in the can. Run the mower out of fuel every fall. I do find small dots of brown stuff in the screen of the funnel in the spring, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.
Around here it is awful tough to get ethanol free fuel. Premium is generally ethanol free but is also 50 cents a gallon more. Must be all the corn grown around here. Interesting to get out of the corn belt and see how much more ethanol blends cost.
Ian
Notorious member
I wish they'd just stick to making tortillas and booze out of it instead of motor fuel. Ethanol fuel is a farce, it's been well-proven that it takes one gallon of #2 diesel fuel to create one gallon of ethanol, and if you look at the BTUs per gallon, the efficiency is a large negative, meaning that even if the tractors, combines, trucks, and distilleries ran on ethanol, the process isn't sustainable.
Raising food prices too. All that corn could be animal feed. Nebraska loves the revenue from ethanol production and the farmers love a stable corn price.
Brazil does well with ethanol fuel but they use sugar cane. Far better return on investment. If only we were a tropical nation with that kind of open spaces.
Brazil does well with ethanol fuel but they use sugar cane. Far better return on investment. If only we were a tropical nation with that kind of open spaces.
358156 hp
At large, whereabouts unknown.
Try Caseys General Store. They do have actual "No alcohol" fuel, and its clearly marked on the pumps. Some local companies (like U-Stop) charge more for a fuel they claim is alcohol free, but it does have alcohol, the last I knew. My daughter in law used to manage one of their locations, and kept me in the loop when the changes were made. I haven't bought fuel there since.
