# Any reason these wont work for gas storage?



## DENALI (Mar 25, 2008)

Local guy has a bunch for $10 each. They are 275 gallon. Thinking about getting enough to store 1000 gallons of gas to use this summer when the prices go back up. Thanks in advance for your opinions


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

Light will make gas go bad in a shourt time. Other than that it would make a fine thing to store gas in.


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## DENALI (Mar 25, 2008)

Old Vet said:


> Light will make gas go bad in a shourt time. Other than that it would make a fine thing to store gas in.


I figured i would stash them in the shed to keep them out of the light. 
Any other opinions appreciated.


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## bnlfan (Jul 15, 2006)

Be sure to use fuel stablizer. I can't tell you how many times we have to drain a fuel tank and clean the carb. on a piece of equipment because the unit stored it without draining the fuel.

If only I had a use for all the old diesel, 2 cycle, and gasoline we drain. :0)


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## momanto (Jan 14, 2005)

Some Guy I Know Had 100 Gals. Of Jet Fuel Stored In One.

Those Look Real Clean. I Can Get Them For Free That Are Food Grade. 

They Are A Multitude Of Uses For Me. Water Storage Right At The Top. Can Take Them Out Of The Cage And Cut Them In Half.....for Whatever....or Cut Them However.....we Used Chainsaw.

Texican Had A Good Thread On This A While Back.

Mom


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2008)

I wish I could find some of those!


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## DENALI (Mar 25, 2008)

momanto said:


> Texican Had A Good Thread On This A While Back.
> 
> Mom



I couldnt find a thread from him on it do you by chance have a link?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I use one of those for my cistern. I bought it for $50 from a neighbor. $10 is a terrific deal!


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

One potential problem is that the oil companies make winter fuel "thinner" than summer fuel. They adjust the winter fuel to a lighter blend of hydrocarbons that vaporize faster at the colder temperatures of wintertime. The idea is that the thinner blend helps engines start better in the colder temperatures. Summer fuel is made correspondingly thicker to prevent excessive evaporation in summer heat. If you keep winter fuel in storage till summer, you'll probably loose as significant amount to evaporation, and could also have problems like vapor lock.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

The one I have, had a cutting oil stored in it, so I can't imagine it not being good for diesel... for gas? probably safe too. Like you, I'd store it in the barn, or under shade.

I've got two barrels of red diesel stored here on the farm. In an emergency, and fuel wasn't available, I'd not hesitate to use it in any diesel engine.... things get that bad, doubt if anyone would actually care... I'd love to get my UBC filled with diesel. Would also probably be red diesel.

No matter if it's diesel of gas, I'd probably rotate my stock... and with gas, definitely put the stabilizer in...


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i looked at my gas can once to see what type of plastic it was and it said "HDPE". that is pretty common stuff and it surprised me. i thought you needed something special for gas.


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## Karenrbw (Aug 17, 2004)

I have always been told that you could only store gasoline in approved containers.


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

I wouldn't waste my time and money, the gas can and will go bad and cause you aggravation and money loss. my neighbor did it with just 55gal. and then we spent time getting his tractor running. His tractor is an old Ford 8N that will run on about anything and the old gas with stabilizer still gave him problems and the loss of all of that gas.


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## stranger (Feb 24, 2008)

I would just put them in the shade at least 50 ft apart in case of a fire., or throw one of those cheap green tarps over them


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## Shadow (Jan 11, 2006)

We had some fuel a neighbor had when he moved and could not carry it with him. It was less that 4 months old had stabalizer in it and stored in a controled inviorment. We tried some in a old lawn mower seemed to work ok tried some in the old car it did ok but seemed off some how tried it a couple of times and then put half a tank in with a half a tank of new gas. used it up and did it again. My mechanic said it had water that probably condensed in it. Wrecker and new fuel pump over $450. 
We have a seperate storage building for storage of fuel, oil, and other infalmeables, 1000 feet away from all other buildings and down wind. If you have stored fuel and not approved by code you have no insurence and in case of a fire the fire dept will just back off and keep it from spreading. Not worth it in my book. In the fuel storage there is 50 galleons of gas, 100 of diesel and all the oil, grease nothing else of importance if it catches fire we just let it burn. call the fire dept just incase it becomes a grass fire. But storing large amounts of fuel makes little sense.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

DENALI said:


> Local guy has a bunch for $10 each. They are 275 gallon. Thinking about getting enough to store 1000 gallons of gas to use this summer when the prices go back up. Thanks in advance for your opinions


Will work and Is SAFE are two different things. 1000 gallons is a lot of fuel to store. Transferring it safely is going to be an issue. What is the tanks your looking at made of? Will they hold gas or will it eat away the materials. Will whatever that was int he tanks before react to the gas. You can never get a chemical tank 100% clean. How you going to get 1000 gallons into those thanks. NO!!! bulk dealer is going to deliver fuel and put it in non-approved containers and 1000 is a lot of 5 gallon fill ups. No gas stations should allow you to fill one of those at a station. How will you contain any spills? Might check your home insurance also MANY have fuel storage limits some a low as 10 gallons outside of a vehicle. Way to much gas to store a mange in non approved containers.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Gary in ohio said:


> What is the tanks your looking at made of?


If they are the same as mine they're high density polyethylene (HDPE). Gasoline does not adversely affect HDPE.


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Picked up metal drums today, some for a smoker, some for feed troughs, a couple for fuel storage. One had contained kero, one contained 'motorsport' fuel. I don't figure I have a problem with original use drums. I'll transfer with a..........transfer pump. Can't speak for anyone else, but I probably go through 25-30 gal a week so I'm not too concerned with it sitting long enough to go bad. It may not be worth the effort for some folks, might be too scary for others but for me having a backup of fuel is as prudent as having extra food or clothing put aside. I get callous on my hands from working and doing, not from wringing them together.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

This will give you an idea of how I use one of those HDPE tanks as a cistern. I fill it with a garden hose from my next door neighbor's system. I have it in a shed that's attached to the house with the water heater, so the house & water heater heat keep the pipes from freezing (with any luck!). I only need to fill the tank about once per month. This is what it looks like.










I pressurize the water system with a pump intended for use in a boat. 

http://www.jabsco.com/products/mari...r_max_19_and_29_copy_31x95/iid_2560/index.htm

It runs on 12-volt current. The pump comes on whenever the pressure drops below 50 psi, and can deliver up to 3 gallons per minute. You can see the small black pump on the floor below. I paid about $100 for it new at eBay, and I've been using it for a year now without any problems.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

Where Can I get These tanks ? Id love them for fuel storage and what a dream to find a clean food grade one...................


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## L.A. (Nov 15, 2007)

Never seen these. What was the original use ?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Actually, $10 is a steal for those containers. Used and refurbished tanks like those typically sell in the $100 to $150 range, and are about $300 new. The product is normally called a 275 gallon IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) Tote Tank. You can read more about them and compare prices by searching for those keywords at Google.

[ame]http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4SKPB_enUS260US260&q=275+gallon+ibc+tote+tank[/ame]


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## knight88 (Nov 17, 2006)

The cages the tank is in is worth much more than $10, Many uses there...


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## Rocky Fields (Jan 24, 2007)

Hey.

You could probably fill a bunch of 5 gallon gas jugs and transfer fuel to bulk tank at home. I think there may be a limit to how much gas you can buy at once and I know most stations would stop you from filling one if they saw what you're doing. Around 2200 pounds of weight for the gas and a major hazard to transport. We runout the gas from the previous fall during spring in our gas tractors and have no problems with blending or lack of stabilizer.

RF


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## darpa21 (Mar 21, 2016)

Watch the entire video at 
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr564/index.htm
before attempting this. It is quite eye opening!


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Nevada addressed the last concern I had which is pressure. If you're going to store that much gas I'd use an industrial stabilizer like PRI-G instead of the consumer stuff. Re-apply per directions if you store the gasoline for a longer period.

I'd also consider buying recreational gasoline which does not have ethanol. That would eliminate the issue with water absorption. Make sure you keep the plugs tight to keep air infiltration to a minimum. Air contains moisture.

The recreational gas will cost more but it's worth it for long term storage. Use the www.pure-gas.org site to find a dealer. Marinas will also have it.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Don't think I'd put $600 worth of fuel in a $10 container. Further, I wouldn't want that much fuel around unless I was a large user like a farmer, etc. It's also a huge potential explosive and / or pollutant and a very tempting theft target. Probably illegal to store in that manner also?

They make some real nice, large capacity fuel tanks on skids, with a built in pump, dispenser, etc. You can pick these up used, pretty cheap at farm and equipment auctions. Would be a much better alternative in my opinion.


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## JoePa (Mar 14, 2013)

Years ago I had Agway deliver gas to my place - they provided me with a large tank that was used to store the gas - the tank had a hand pump and hose with nozzle - then they replaced the metal storage tank with one made out of fiber glass because the metal tanks could develop a leak after years of service - I don't think I would feel safe with storing a lot of gas in a plastic container - now I don't use much gas and keep about 50 gallons in 5 gallon containers to with I put in a stabilizer


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

You can buy those off Craig's list or Ebay. The local dairy supply uses them to contain the soap and other chemicals used to clean the milking machinery. They sold me one for the $50 they charge the farmers as a core charge. The local dog food plant gets ingredients in them. They give away empties to employees but there is a long line.

The actual plastic container is rather flimsy. I doubt they would good for anything without the metal cage.


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## rininger85 (Feb 29, 2016)

search craigslist for "IBC tote". They go for about $40-50 (or more) a piece here... I was able to get a free one from a buddy who works at a commercial greenhouse and he said he might have a couple others if I need them. I plan to use them as my fish tanks for my greenhouse aquaponics system, but they are used for a number of different things... we use them at work for storing motor oil (both clean and used), anti-freeze (again both clean and used).


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Darren said:


> If you're going to store that much gas I'd use an industrial stabilizer like PRI-G instead of the consumer stuff. Re-apply per directions if you store the gasoline for a longer period.


I'll second PRI products (-G for gasoline, -D for diesel fuel). I regularly store 5-6 55gal drums of gasoline for up to 4 years between rotation, and 10 drums of diesel. Make no mistake...."Stabil" isn't even in the same league with PRI when it comes to fuel preservation.

For those that don't understand the need, when the day comes you can't buy it at any price, you will understand why.

I've considering using IBC totes, but the problem I see with them is weight.....275gal x 7.5lb/gal = over a ton....not something the front loader on my tractor will pick up. 55gal drums are much easier for me. I built some special pallets for them:











I keep these sealed drums in a cool, covered location to minimize pressure problems from temperature extremes.

Our main source of storage is the 'gas station' shed. I have a 300gal gasoline tank + a 250gal diesel tank that gravity feed a hose to fill whatever. When these tanks need filling, I'll pump out about 1/2 tank of 55gal drum storage, then fill the rest with fresh fuel, and treat with another dose of PRI. Then refill the drums with fresh fuel/PRI and return to storage.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

ladycat said:


> I wish I could find some of those!


 Why LC, I got several---one is even a chicken coop I bought at a auction.


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