Long term storage of kerosene and diesel fuel & potable H2O

[evan price]

I am wanting to increase my storage capacity of fuels.
I already have a 55-gallon drum of Kerosene and three 5-gallon kerosene polymer 'cans' used for topping off the heaters and lanterns. They 5-gal cans are getting old and one of them the handle broke off today. I only have one 6-gallon Diesel fuel can for the tractor and I'd like to add to that.

Since the .gov in its wisdom outlawed the ordinary screw-top kerosene can I am considering buying some of the 5-gallon square HDPE jugs used for transporting car-wash soap. They are only available around here in natural whitish color and I would prefer an opaque to keep light out.

They also have 15-gallon closed-head barrels which are typically blue or natural and made from HDPE. They are food grade previously used for soda syrup and juice concentrate. I was figuring wash them out for potable water, add some powdered bleach and seal. Or I could use some of them for fuels, provided I spray paint them a contrasting color so as not to confuse anyone with potable water barrels.

Thoughts?

I don't need hundreds of gallons, I want some extra for just in case.

[Jered]

Atlantic British has metal jerry cans.

Remember, federal law prohibits their use to store fuel, so don't do it.

I certainly would never do such a thing.

[Netpackrat]

http://deutscheoptik.com/Militaria-Tool ... -FOUR.html

Edit to add: I posted the above link to an aviation group I'm a member of, which so far has resulted in the sale of at least 20 fuel cans that I'm aware of. A guy who lives in Platinum, AK ordered a set, and while they didn't quite honor the free shipping, they only added $4.25 total additional shipping charge to his order. In order to get anything to the village of Platinum, all freight must first get to Anchorage. Then it gets on a 737-200 and flown to a hub "city" (I can't remember which, probably Bethel), then loaded on a Cessna 207 and flown to Platinum. That they only added so little in the way of additional shipping charges is no less than a total miracle.

If I hadn't already bought a bunch of the NATO cans back in 2008, I would be buying some from these guys now. The ones I have appear to be the exact same thing as these, except mine are red instead of green and not marked with the stupid "not for fuel use" to bypass the EPA's ban on fuel cans that work. They are outstanding cans and I have used them a lot. Far superior to the US made metal cans with the threaded closures, of which I also have a few. I keep the crappy US ones out that the cabin filled with stabilized fuel, so that I only have to mess with them once a year when I rotate out the fuel. AlaskaTRX and I actually had to use that fuel to get home once and we were happy to have it. Combination of the road conditions being much worse than expected, and the last gas station on the way out ended up being closed that month.

[Yogimus]

Distilled water is good for YEARS. just tastes a bit funky. Diesel needs stabilizer.

[Netpackrat]

Distilled water is good for YEARS. just tastes a bit funky. Diesel needs stabilizer.

Don't drink distilled water, I am told it will do bad things to you.

[Yogimus]

Distilled water is good for YEARS. just tastes a bit funky. Diesel needs stabilizer.

Don't drink distilled water, I am told it will do bad things to you.

It will wash out electrolytes. Only an issue if you subsist PURELY on distilled water.

[Termite]

Sears sells 5 gal Blitz cans, the new CARB compliant ones. Lowe's does too. In red, blue, and yellow.

They don't pour worth a shit. However, you can turn them into an "old style" vented can that will pour well using an Ezpour spout and one of these vents, available on Ebay.
Rotopax also sells new "old style" spouts: LINKY

Instead of kerosene for your heaters and lanterns, consider using Jet A instead. It burns cleaner, with less oder & residue. It's nothing more than a high grade kerosene. It's probably cheaper than kerosene(unless you're buying kerosene by the barrel straight from a distributer). And it's available from many FBOs at local airports.

For storing gasoline, Sta-Bil is your friend. Follow the label directions.
For storing diesel, use a good biocide.

[Netpackrat]

Sears sells 5 gal Blitz cans, the new CARB compliant ones. Lowe's does too. In red, blue, and yellow.

They don't pour worth a shit. However, you can turn them into an "old style" vented can that will pour well using an Ezpour spout and one of these vents, available on Ebay.
Rotopax also sells new "old style" spouts: LINKY

That's one way to do it. I like my way better:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/jerr ... a-1025877/

If I were to do any more, I would add a twist that a friend came up with. He made a slight counterbore into the hole for the vent tube, to allow the braze material to wick better and make a stronger joint. No problems yet with mine coming loose however.

Instead of kerosene for your heaters and lanterns, consider using Jet A instead. It burns cleaner, with less oder & residue. It's nothing more than a high grade kerosene. It's probably cheaper than kerosene(unless you're buying kerosene by the barrel straight from a distributer). And it's available from many FBOs at local airports.

Yeah, one of our task cards calls for sumping nearly a gallon from each airplane once a week. I usually leave that job to the guy on our shift who has a diesel pickup truck, because I don't like smelling like jet fuel if I can help it.

For storing gasoline, Sta-Bil is your friend. Follow the label directions.
For storing diesel, use a good biocide.

Sta-bil is okay, and available nearly everywhere. If you can get PRI-G, it's a better product, and it's more highly concentrated, so it goes a lot further. Adding another dose at the year mark is supposed to buy you another year of storage (and apparently the year after that, and so on). I don't think Sta-bil makes that claim.

[Yogimus]

Please keep in mind that gasoline will eat through non rated containers with a vengeance.

[Termite]

Possibly even non-highway gasoline.

Good luck finding that. Maybe at a big marina.

Around here, our local farm co-ops and fuel distributors quit carrying it because DOT and DOTD(Louisiana) was hassling them so much about it. To get the road tax back for offroad use, you file for it on the 1040 long form.