How to store Gasoline / Fuel

[Goderator]

I would be very interested, as I am sure others are as well, in what the best way to store gasoline is?

Does one grade of gas store any better than another?

What should be added to keep the gas for longer? I've heard of Stabil before, what else works and where can one get it?

What kind of containers should one use for short term (a few months) vs long term storage?

[Arizona Highlander]

Don’t know much, but here goes:

I’m currently storing 40 gallons of gasoline in 5 gallon plastic gascans (Wal-mart specials, about $4.69 each). It’s all stored way out in the far end of my property (I live on 4 acres) so if it ever goes up in flames, I won’t lose anything except for the gas and a few trees. I keep the plastic gascans in Rubbermaid storage bins to protect the gas from the direct sunlight, and the storage bins themselves are under shade trees, to help shield them from excessive summer heat.

I treat the gas with Sta-bil gas stabilizer (also available at Wal-mart) the same day I buy it. Sta-bil claims that treated gasoline is good for one year of storage life (two years, if you use double the amount). Since I routinely rotate my gas out annually, I haven’t tried the double-dose method, but at the end of one year, the treated gas I’ve stored still smells okay and burns fine in my pickup truck. So, I’m very happy with my Sta-bil treated gasoline storage method.

I’ve just been using the cheapest 87-octane gas, and it’s been okay for me.

Metal containers would be, I think, theoretically superior to the plastic ones I use - but they’re also much more expensive. I had four of the 5-gallon “Jerry Cans” years ago, but the rubber gaskets deteriorated over time and I never could find replacements. In the end, I finally had to throw all four of those expensive metal Jerry Cans away because they’re completely useless without the correct rubber gaskets. So, I switched to the cheapo plastic gas cans, and they’ve worked fine for me.

Were I to do it over again, however, I’d convert everything I own to diesel (diesel pickup truck, diesel generator, and maybe a diesel farm tractor). Diesel stores better than gasoline (you still need to add an anti-fungus additive, though) and it is MUCH safer to store. Maybe I’ll make the changeover in the future.

[BRONZE]

Well I can tell you about my gas storage.


I have an old jeep scrambler and I had stored the jeep with gas in it for 2 years. I would put sta-bil in it about every 6 months. After 2 years the jeep ran fine.

I have heard of others storing gas for longer with repeated applications of sta-bil and pri-g.

Most say Pri-G and D is the best, but haven't had any problem using sta-bil.

[Ryder]

Pri-G and D work well.

Downside of storing gas in plastic containers is that you will get some evaporation. Some of the more volatile stuff they put in gas will eventually pass right through plastic cans.

A quick fix for new gaskets for metal jerry cans is Auto grade silicone. Go to the local auto parts store and pick some up. They are catagorized by color, orange will work for this.

Clean the cap area where the old gasket was. Run a thick bead around edge. Smooth somewhat with finger and let dry.

[lmsc07ct]

For me metal cans work the best, at the racectrack I find a few 5-gallon powermist racegas containers just thrown out every week. They have a plastic spout, and no hope of finding a nozzle to fit it, but I use a funnel and it seems to minimize spillage. I add double the amount of sta-bil, store in a cool dry place, and rotate out the gas just short of one year. If it's still racing season, I use the gas in the hauler and generator that week, pick up new cans at the track's trash pile, then refill on the way back to the shop. Truck runs fine on one year old stuff, never let it get past one year. The 5 gallon containers are easy to use/move, the only problem is the plastic spout thingy sometimes will develop a crack or pinhole. I've started using duct tape over the top of the spout (it's the kind that pushes down to sit flush with the top of the can) in an X as a backup, to minimize evaporation.

Had a 55 gallon steel drum full of racing gas one year, it was a pain in the arse to use, very awkward, can never move it with just one person, and taking it with you? Forget it. You can toss a couple of 5gal containers in the back of your truck and GO! quickly. Plus you need a pump to get it out, then you usually put it in another container anyway. The cat's pooper would be a large quantity of MFC's with a couple of nozzles and spare gaskets. Storing the gas is one thing, getting it into the vehicles is another.

[delectric]

I've gotten five years of results, via this method...

ALWAYS USE METAL CONTAINER... plastic is permiable and allows solutable gases to bleed thru.

PRI-G or STABIL only once and seal metal container tight.

KEEP IT IN A COOL and OR A SHADED PLACE>>> NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT

FILL IT TO THE TOP, LIQUIDS DO NOT EXPAND, GASES DO.

Storage is storage, if you want to transport it, get a smaller can, make it a metal can. WHY.... metal cans last longer if you take care of them, plastic will breakdown in a couple of years and you will be without.

[dakdak]

A friend of mine, now deceased, lived with his wife and youngest child in Montana. They had good results with that same "all diesel" idea for liquid fuel. They had a diesel auto ( a Benz with a LOT of miles on it), a diesel home heating unit, (2) 200 gallon storage tanks (ostensibly for those long winters) and diesel back-up generator. They also had a fireplace in the living room and one in the master bedroom. They had a big wood stove in the kitchen in addition to an electric stove/oven combo. He also told me he could strain the #2 diesel fuel oil he bought for the heating unit and use it in their auto.

They felt confident they could make it off grid as far as heating and cooking fuels as well as fuel for the car were concerned even in a COLD winter. I also heard from him a couple of years before he died that they moved up to (2) 500 gallon diesel fuel storage tanks instead of (2) 200 gallon models.