Storing Gasoline or Diesel Fuel: Nothing Goes Without The Hose!

Gasoline storage With Hurricanes pounding the East coast I thought I’d check on my generator. It was fine and I cranked it up and ran it for a while. I then thought about my supply of fuel. I’m sure many people don’t store much fuel. They may have a 5 gallon can or maybe even two for weed-eaters and lawnmowers. I have done a lot of research into gasoline storage because I feel I need 100 gallons or so for my generator and other equipment to be worth anything to me. If my generator will only run for 1 or 2 tanks, I’m not sure it was worth the investment. Not only that, gasoline is a very valuable commodity and can be used for a multitude of applications. May I say at the beginning of this blog, ensure that you learn and practice safe handling of all fuel products. Also, learn the laws of storing fuel where you live. Know the hazards of handling fuel and the personal protection equipment you should use. Learn about grounding and static electricity. Learn all these things BEFORE you start to store fuel. Fuel is dangerous and can cause health problems with prolonged exposure. All companies will provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS) on their products. You can access these via the internet. I would suggest you do this so that you have the information you need to responsibly handle and store fuel. As they say in real estate, the 3 most important things are location, location, location. The same goes for safely storing fuel. Make sure there is plenty of ventilation wherever you decide to store fuel. Also, ensure there is no flame near this storage. A pilot light for a water heater located in a garage would make that location dangerous. Near barbeque grills or patio-type fire places would obviously be off limits. In a shed not attached to your home would be good as long as there is ventilation. Fuel fumes are notorious for hanging around enclosed areas. Plastic or poly-anything containers are permeable and eventually you may lose fuel. Not necessarily to leaks, but just by the fuel evaporating. Metal containers are better, but they have their drawbacks. They can rust and depending on their quality, leak. Also, metal conducts electricity as poly ethylene does not. But, plastic does tend to get promote static electricity. You can ground a poly drum by putting a ground wire inside the drum through the top. Simply put a hole in the top, caulk around the wire, and connect it to a ground rod pounded into the ground. Ensure the ground wire goes all the way to the bottom of the drum. This will dissipate any static that may build up. Simply ground yourself (touch the rod) whenever you work with that drum. Some will advise against plastic drum storage but my experience is that you can use them safely and that the loss is minimal. There are 3 precautions that will delay deterioration of gasoline: 1. Fill containers about 95% full. 2. Cap containers tightly. 3. Store containers out of direct sunlight where the temperature stays below 80 degrees F most of the time. The first 2 actions reduce evaporation of gas during storage and reduce exposure to air and water. The 5% air space allows room for gas to expand if temperatures rise. I have stored gasoline successfully for up to 4 years stabilized. I stabilize all my fuel because I never know when I will use it. I’ve never used anything but Sta-Bil only because that’s all I’ve found available where I live. So I have no experience with anything else but I’d like to try Pri-G because of the claims of the product. I have also worked in the fuel industry for many years and know fuel characteristics. Fuel is subject to the supplier standards, carrier tanks, and retail tanks. Any one of these can add contaminants in your fuel. Filtering is imperative. If you use a drum pump you can install an in-line fuel filter to filter out contaminants. And finally, I put a small micron screen in the fill spout of whatever I am filling up. I will also check for water with water-finding paste on occasion. I keep my drums covered and tightly sealed to combat moisture. Water is heavier than fuel so it will fall to the lowest point of the container the fuel is in. It can be drained or pumped out. Storing fuel can make a large difference in a survival situation. There is one more aspect I’d like to address concerning fuel storage. That is security. If your tank, drums, or containers are stored away from your home as they should be, are they secured? They should be secured from thieves and for safety. That could be a lock on the building they are stored in, or a lock on the pump attached. Most drums or containers for fuel are not lockable so you may have to devise your own type of locking system. Maybe camouflage would be a better security device. Hiding where your fuel storage is may even be better than locking it up. A combination of both would secure your fuel storage quite nicely. Remember the importance of rotating your fuel stock and making sure it is as fresh as possible. Keep records of when it was put in storage and when it was treated to help you to rotate it. Motorized tools, generators, and vehicles run off of fuel. It’s necessary for these items to be of use to you in a survival situation to have fuel. Storing fuel is important but must be done safely and wisely and efficiently. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn