Pop wrote:
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in
message
...
: Pop wrote:
: Hi,
:
: What do you folk do for gasoline storage for your generators?
:
: I am in far northern NY with harsh winters and occasional
: multi-day power outages with frequent outages of several
hours in
: the winter. Worst one so far was during the Ice Storm of
'98 - 5
: days without power.
:
: Here's my solution, but I don't like it:
: I simply keep about 30-35 gallons of gas on hand beginning
: about late November through February. They're all in proper
: containers, stored outdoors, in a small open "locker" I made
for
: the purpose, painted red, highly visible from the
road/driveway
: for emergency vehicles, and clearly labelled as gasoline
storage,
: no smoking, all that good stuff. But that's a LOT of gas
sitting
: around in separate containers, some of the plastic, which I
know
: I should get rid of. That locker is about ten feet from the
: garage and near a storage shed behind them, with a wooden
gate
: into the area. Theft is not a problem - very rural, motion
: lites, siren, and someone is home near 24/7, etc..
:
: I wanted a farm tank wiht a pump, but was refused; have to be
a
: business.
: Have two cars, which hold plenty of fuel, but ... no way to
get
: the gas out of them. Siphoning is impossible these days.
:
: My next generator's going to be a diesel! I know how to pump
: fuel oil from my furnaces! But what about right now?
:
: TIA,
:
: Pop
:
:
:
: Do it like most small time farmers/ranchers. Fill
: a 55 gallon drum, that you can roll or raise to a
: convenient height (drum horizontal). You can even
: build a cage with an inner sliding part that
: you raise a foot at a time with a hydraulic car jack.
:
: The drum would have a locking tap on the downside
: opening with the other opening up. Whenever you
: want gas you unscrew the top opening to allow air
: to enter, then fill whatever you want from the
: tap. Add a hose and get the barrel high enough
: and you can fill the vehicles. Probably want to
: use up all the extra gas and empty the empty the
: barrel once a year.
:
: All those proper containers are a hazard. Much
: better and safer to store a large amount
: altogether in an air tight container.

Hmm, I like that actually, if it's allowable here; think I'll
check that out further.

Couple questions:
Why do you say the several containers are a hazard? I don't
want several containers, but curious why they're more hazardous
than a drum?
How do you control moisture inside the tank? Wouldn't it have
to be kep mostly full year 'round to keep moisture from becoming
a problem?
Still thinking about moistu How would one know the drum
they are getting wasn't going to rust inside? Outside you paint
& care for, but regular 55 gal drums are relatively thin metal,
are they not?
If it were you, where would you source the drum from? I have
a few in the cellar that i keep drinking water in, that stay fine
inside, but ... dunno what would happen if they contained
gasoline.

I don't see any problem with gas getting stale; as long as it's
kept in closed containers it'll last 6 months easy, and right now
in the spring I just start using up the winter gas in the lawn
tractor, weed eater, etc etc etc.. So that part doesn't worry me
too much; it's fairly easy to keep a turn-over going. Especially
if I could easily dump it into the car too.

Hmm, I'll bet a propane tank would work too, wouldn't it? Maybe
even two of them. Certainly no problem with tank
expansion/collapse in the changeing temps and all that - and they
could even be lightly pressurized with moisture-free (well,
filtered anyway) compressed air, to act as a pump of sorts. I
keep envisioning a drum collapsing after a heat wave followed by
a few cold nights g. Well, that pressurizing might not be
practical, but the rest bears some thinking about.

Thanks - helps to discuss things with others. Sort of like
brainstorming; brings out new thoughts.

Pop



They are hazardous because you have more chances
of spills from splits, stumbling over them, vapor
release, etc.

You don't need to control moisture inside. If it
really worries you a can of gas drier in or better
yet about 8 ounces of ethanol (from the paint
store) in a full tank. It won't rust inside when
full of gas. But the best insurance is to have a
new or nearly new barrel with no evidence of rust.
If that still worries you put a filter on the
outflow or use a built in filter at the tap. The
barrel may rust through but not for a long time
like 20 years.

No, 55 gallon drums are heavy metal. I used one
for compost half buried in the ground and later
switched to one standing up in the open (easier to
dump over to empty). The first lasted about 15
years but the bottom rusted out because I had
poked holes in it for drainage. The second which
stand in my garden (and gets sprayed at least
every 3rd day throughout the summer)is still going
strong (bottom rusty because it has holes poked in
it and solid except for the bottom. I bought the
second at least 10 years ago from a farm woman who
had used it for many years on a wagon to spray
insecticide. Now if they can stand holding
compost year round, gasoline storage is not going
to affect them much. My father store gas in one
for probably 25 years, unfortunately, the last
placement was under a cedar tree standing upright.
He only got gas out in an emergency so water and
snow would fill the top rim, leaves would fall on
the top and decompose, and then daily temperature
changes would cause the barrel to contract and
pull the mess from the top through the threads of
the fill screws. What was pulled through was so
fine you couldn't see it, but it plugged one of
those sintered bronze gas filters. You are not
going to rust out a good steel barrel.

I have no idea what the cost of a new one is
(check any gas and oil company), but the best bet
for a decent price is to buy a standard oil barrel
from someone or some company that uses a lot of
oil--diesel, lub oil, hydraulic fluid, cutting
fluid, and whatever comes in barrels. Check
garages, heavy equipment dealers and repair
places, lub shops, farmers.

Check what the gas company URLs say. Gas remains
fresh for at least 1 year if stored properly.

Yep other tanks are possible, but they will be a
lot more expensive, especially for the little
amount of gas you want to store.

Sealed gas tanks worked ok for my dad with
temperatures ranging from -40 to 87 degrees. The
end walls would bulge, but they never leaked. If
a drum is full of gas it can collapse. Actually
it won't collapse if you have 4 or 5 gallons in
it. and the temp difference between hot days
followed by cold night isn't significant. If you
are really worried, when winter comes, open the
top screw to equalize the pressure and then close
tight, but there is no need for that, just taking
some gas out every month eliminates any possible
problem.