Storing Gasoline

[Ant Man]

Hello All!

I'm new here and apologize if this thread is out of place.

I need to solve a problem regarding gasoline storage and do not have safe ways to store gasoline at or near my home.

Can other members here provide creative solutions to safely collect and store gasoline?

I've been a little hasty, but have 15 gallons on hand (not exactly safe, but not indoors) without any fuel stabilizer added to it. The gasoline is about 1 month old and it's in normal plastic gas cans. Is this gasoline good to use?

Fuel stabilizers are definitely something about which I need to learn more.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you all!

 

[Proud Prepper]

Your gas is good for at least 6 months if stored in a cool place, in sealed cans. Add stabilizer and you can store 2-5 years, there's all sorts of variables.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

The federal Govt just change the rules of ethanol, it could be more than 10%.
Storage times could be changing.
Ethanol problems cause me to switch all my small motor stuff over to battery power. Chainsaw, blower, trimmer, push mower,etc etc. They have served me well
Only thing i still run on gas- chipper, tiller, backup to the backup Gen. Primary Gen I prefer to run on propane.
Be flexible in your fuels.

 

[Illini Warrior]

this is where a general location in your profile is helpful >>>>

if you live North - you need to be aware of the fuel formulation change between winter and summer blends - any fuel storage needs to be geared to this roughly 6 month period swing ....

 

[M0del_31]

Everything I have runs on gasoline except the John Deere. Here’s how I do it. I built a 48”x18” by about 84” tall fuel storage box concreted into the ground. It’s way away from any houses and stays in the shade in all but the early morning hours. I keep some regular pump gasoline in there and about every 6-9 months I put it all into my gas super duty truck. It always has room for 15-20 gallons. The sob loses gas just sitting there shutoff. It must have some kind of quantum inversion field that absorbs gas. With it, I single handedly kept the oil and gas industry afloat during the Trump administration. Anyway, it doesn’t take long to rotate all the stored gas through the truck or mowers and refill the cans. I put a sealable vent at the top of every can and fabbed up a siphon hose screw on cap. Set the can on the toolbox, poke the hose into the gas port on the truck, open the valve and slightly squeeze the can. It siphons all but the dregs and no spills, not a drop. No stabilizer, has some ethanol. It runs fine in mowers, generators, log splitter, trucks, cars, everything. I shutoff the gas and drain the carbs (not the mowers) after ever use and have no problems. I may get shorter run times on the generator with the older gas but it’s hard to say. Rotation is a great way to practice your preps

 

[MNwr786]

Ever since I watched a youtube video comparing the effects of different fuel additives (most of which rusted the fuel tanks), I have been wanting to try my own idea...

Around here, there are countless trees covered in oak moss, a lichen containing large amounts of substituted resorcinols (essentially one half of a THC molecule, but that's a topic for a different thread) that have powerful antioxidant properties. And it just happens that these molecules are very similar to those used in jet fuel antioxidant additives One of these days, I plan to do a side by side comparison with gas and gas that has oak moss stuffed in the can. I have a funnel with a screen fine enough to catch water, so I figure if I don't crush the moss too bad it should be easily filtered out. I wonder what the results will be

BTW, idling your generator with no load will foul your engine way faster than polymerized fuel will, not saying the latter is ok though. There is serious logic behind that statement "burn the carbon out of it!" so don't be afraid to rev that engine up and make her work once in a while. The important part is letting a motor warm up first so the head gaskets don't blow!

 

[Arcticdude]

I recommend storing only non-ethanol premium gasoline. It'll last a lot longer than ethanol gasoline. I keep a 300 gallon tank of non-ethanol premium at home, along with 400 gallons of off-road diesel. My truck holds another 100 gallons of gasoline and I've got about 10, 5 gallon plastic cans that I keep around the place. Plus 1,000 gallons of propane.

 

[DrHenley]

BTW, idling your generator with no load will foul your engine way faster than polymerized fuel will, not saying the latter is ok though. There is serious logic behind that statement "burn the carbon out of it!" so don't be afraid to rev that engine up and make her work once in a while. The important part is letting a motor warm up first so the head gaskets don't blow!

I had to blow out the carbon in my grandmother's car every once in a while. She drove very slow and never very far and her car would start losing power and be hard to crank. She's call me over to fix it and I'd take it to the Interstate and let it rip. Then it would run like new again.

 

[JimCosta]

We store gasoline in 50 gallon drums. (Metal and plastic)

We tilt the drums a little so the cap is on the higher end in case the gasket is old.

We add double the amount of stabilizer giving us 3 years storage here in the South.

When time to recycle a bottle of Heat (water remover) is thrown in the back seat just in case.

A hand cranked pump is used. The last inch on the bottom is discarded as it probably contains water.

 

[Ant Man]

Wow! Thank you all for the information.

I recommend storing only non-ethanol premium gasoline. It'll last a lot longer than ethanol gasoline. I keep a 300 gallon tank of non-ethanol premium at home, along with 400 gallons of off-road diesel. My truck holds another 100 gallons of gasoline and I've got about 10, 5 gallon plastic cans that I keep around the place. Plus 1,000 gallons of propane.

It is my understanding that the 90 octane fuel ethanol-free.

I have 87 octane, but can easily use up that fuel and purchase the correct octane rating.

Does anyone store gasoline underground (eg., in a covered hole)?

I need to figure out a way to store gasoline away from my home. However, I doubt the solution will, ultimately, be a a safe one.

 

[M0del_31]

Wow! Thank you all for the information.



It is my understanding that the 90 octane fuel ethanol-free.

I have 87 octane, but can easily use up that fuel and purchase the correct octane rating.

Does anyone store gasoline underground (eg., in a covered hole)?

I need to figure out a way to store gasoline away from my home. However, I doubt the solution will, ultimately, be a a safe one.

What will you use the gasoline for? Cars, trucks, generators, mowers, saws? Propane is safer to store but it depends on your application. Around here, octane rating has nothing to do with whether the gas is contaminated with ethanol.
If it’s free of ethanol, they brag about it with a advertisement.

 

[DrHenley]

Ethanol is in there to raise the octane. But you can only raise it so much with 10% ethanol, to get it higher you have to use more expensive methods.

 

[JimCosta]

I need to figure out a way to store gasoline away from my home. However, I doubt the solution will, ultimately, be a a safe one.

Why: Safety or theft? Are you in a home or complex? What quantity? What are your concerns and parameters?

 

[Ant Man]

What will you use the gasoline for? Cars, trucks, generators, mowers, saws? Propane is safer to store but it depends on your application. Around here, octane rating has nothing to do with whether the gas is contaminated with ethanol.
If it’s free of ethanol, they brag about it with a advertisement.

Sorry just getting back to this. I will use it in my 2021 Corolla.

 

[Ant Man]

Why: Safety or theft? Are you in a home or complex? What quantity? What are your concerns and parameters?

Safety. I have 15 gallons, but need to just use it up and figure out a completely different direction. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[ban1985]

I still had 3 Army tin canisters with 20 liters of gasoline each (no diesel) in stock that was now without stabilizers 10 years in the canisters. I have the last 4 weeks my car fueled with it (year of construction 2006) and had so far no problems with it.
I always fill the canisters very full and then they stay closed, apparently that does not make the gasoline.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I rotated my stored gas into the vehicle and got fresh with stabil in 2 weeks ago.

 

[Arcticdude]

I keep at least 400 gallons of off-road diesel and 300+ gallons of non ethanol premium at home. I refill the fuel tanks at least twice a year. Most of the diesel goes in to the backup generator. Thats why I'm looking at adding to my solar system. I figured 4 additional solar panels will pay for themselves in less than 2 years on the fuel savings.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Because I rely on my 1k propane tank, 5 other small ones for my main back up, I keep 15g of diesel and 10g of gas around. It’s 6 months of diesel and over a years worth of gas.
I have been thinking of more fireproof storage system than in my shed next to house or the old chicken coop next to the barn.
Anyone have suggestions?

 

[Schattentarn]

I try always to add stabilizer to stored gas. If you are running it through anything with a carburator the stabilizer added means no extensive draining is necessary before storage--just run it dry. Also, OP, everyone in rural America stores gasoline. People from the cities always react badly to this until they live in the country for a year or so and then they understand.