How long can gas be stored in a plastic jerry can?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aawara Chowdhury
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A

Aawara Chowdhury

Sorry - not a Volvo-specific question. I'm just making plans for
this hurricane season's evacuations. Lots of people ran out of gas
last year, because the pump owners went away too, so I decided to
purchase two 10-gallon plastic jerry cans for gas.

How long can I store gas in them? I'll probably have 87 octane gas
in them.

They'll be stored in a relatively cool area of my garage.

Thanks,
AC
 
Sorry - not a Volvo-specific question. I'm just making plans for
this hurricane season's evacuations. Lots of people ran out of gas
last year, because the pump owners went away too, so I decided to
purchase two 10-gallon plastic jerry cans for gas.

How long can I store gas in them? I'll probably have 87 octane gas
in them.

They'll be stored in a relatively cool area of my garage.

Thanks,
AC
--
Click to expand...

I believe it begins to go 'off' after about three months.

That said, I've used fuel that's six months old without any problems.

David
 
David said:
I believe it begins to go 'off' after about three months.

That said, I've used fuel that's six months old without any problems.
Click to expand...


Old fuel tends to loose the most volatile components. This will make
cold starting difficult. I'd probably use the fuel after a year or so,
diluting one jerry can on a tankfull.
 
In <[email protected]>,
David Balfour said:
I believe it begins to go 'off' after about three months.

That said, I've used fuel that's six months old without any problems.

David
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll plan on filling my car with the stored gas once a month.

AC
 
Aawara said:
Thanks! I'll plan on filling my car with the stored gas once a month.

AC
--
Click to expand...

Or, go to a motorcycle store and buy fuel stabilizer. I use this in
gasoline that I use for my lawnmower and snow blower. I also add it to
the tank on my bike when it starts to get cold. After the stuff has
been sitting in my garage for a year, I pour the remainder in the car
and fill the can up again, and there is no change in the way the car
runs.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
 
Aawara Chowdhury said:
Sorry - not a Volvo-specific question. I'm just making plans for
this hurricane season's evacuations. Lots of people ran out of gas
last year, because the pump owners went away too, so I decided to
purchase two 10-gallon plastic jerry cans for gas.

How long can I store gas in them? I'll probably have 87 octane gas
in them.

They'll be stored in a relatively cool area of my garage.
Click to expand...

The gas for the lawnmower works fine over the winter. I know a car is
different, but tis is an emergency should nature get excited!

I think the key is to buy some glass marbles or some other inert device to
raise the fuel level in the can to the filler neck to eliminate air from the
mix, and then simply use the fuel come October.

PLEASE if there is an emergency bear in mind that you have 2 big bombs, 20
gal of fuel is a hell of a lot of energy. keep the cans out of the sun, and
the marbles or whatever, by keeping the fuel to the top of the container
will help minimize the extremely flammable atomized fuel and fumes mixture.

A further word of caution - don't fill from the cans in case of emergency in
a easily visible location - the entire area will be populated with upset
folks. Pull to a secluded spot for the xfer of fuel to the tank, and be
very very very careful - for example the cell phone - cigarette lighter
charger thing might cause a tiny spark...
 
Aawara said:
Sorry - not a Volvo-specific question. I'm just making plans for
this hurricane season's evacuations. Lots of people ran out of gas
last year, because the pump owners went away too, so I decided to
purchase two 10-gallon plastic jerry cans for gas.

How long can I store gas in them? I'll probably have 87 octane gas
in them.

They'll be stored in a relatively cool area of my garage.

Thanks,
AC
Click to expand...


It gradually starts to go stale, but I've used gas that was a couple
years old and it works, it probably isn't the best idea but it'll get
you along in a pinch.
 
James Sweet said:
It gradually starts to go stale, but I've used gas that was a couple years
old and it works, it probably isn't the best idea but it'll get you along
in a pinch.
Click to expand...

Do not store petrol (gasoline) in plastic containers. Doing so is just too
dangerous. Only steel containers will do, and even they have to be of a
recognised design.
Now make my day - tell me you are storing the jerrycans inside a garage
which is integral to your house :-). If either guess is correct, it is
possibly worth pointing that a single spark could make history of you, your
family and your house.
If you haven't done so already, discuss with your local fire department what
they think of you storing a 20 gallon unexploded bomb in two plastic
containers in your garage.
For your own safety, PLEASE dispose of the contents of the containers as
quickly and safely as possible, and then get rid of the containers
themselves. And bear in mind that even when they are empty, there will be
sufficient fume inside the containers to singe your eyebrows (and then
some).

With concern

Bill
 
Bill said:
Do not store petrol (gasoline) in plastic containers. Doing so is just too
dangerous. Only steel containers will do, and even they have to be of a
recognised design.
Now make my day - tell me you are storing the jerrycans inside a garage
which is integral to your house :-). If either guess is correct, it is
possibly worth pointing that a single spark could make history of you, your
family and your house.
If you haven't done so already, discuss with your local fire department what
they think of you storing a 20 gallon unexploded bomb in two plastic
containers in your garage.
For your own safety, PLEASE dispose of the contents of the containers as
quickly and safely as possible, and then get rid of the containers
themselves. And bear in mind that even when they are empty, there will be
sufficient fume inside the containers to singe your eyebrows (and then
some).

With concern

Bill
Click to expand...

Huh? It's very common to store gasoline in plastic jugs, in fact I don't
remember the last time I even saw a metal gas can for sale though I'm
sure they can be bought somewhere still. You just need to make sure
everything is sealed and don't place them near a gas fired water heater
or furnace.
 
Bill said:
Do not store petrol (gasoline) in plastic containers. Doing so is just too
dangerous. Only steel containers will do, and even they have to be of a
recognised design.
Click to expand...

So according to you, standards approval of plastic fuel containers doesn't
make them safe?
Now make my day - tell me you are storing the jerrycans inside a garage
which is integral to your house :-). If either guess is correct, it is
possibly worth pointing that a single spark could make history of you, your
family and your house.
Click to expand...

I guess that you'd freak if someone was storing about 100L of LPG (propane)
in an approved automotive tank in a garden shed. :-)

Come to think of it, the 10L standards approved plastic petrol container in
the same shed is far more dangerous.

What's more, LPG doesn't go stale like petrol. I've recently used some in
my cars that was probably over 5 years old. I wouldn't even think about
using 5 year old petrol!

Must be time to convert my mower (10.5HP Briggs and Stratton motor) to LPG.
:-)
 
athol said:
So according to you, standards approval of plastic fuel containers doesn't
make them safe?


I guess that you'd freak if someone was storing about 100L of LPG
(propane)
in an approved automotive tank in a garden shed. :-)

Come to think of it, the 10L standards approved plastic petrol container
in
the same shed is far more dangerous.

What's more, LPG doesn't go stale like petrol. I've recently used some in
my cars that was probably over 5 years old. I wouldn't even think about
using 5 year old petrol!

Must be time to convert my mower (10.5HP Briggs and Stratton motor) to
LPG.
:-)

--
Athol
<http://cust.idl.com.au/athol> Linux Registered User # 254000
The state of infrastructure in New South Wales is a disgrace.
I'm a Libran Engineer. I don't argue, I discuss.
Click to expand...


It may just be the difference between other countries' standards and the
UK's. But for the UK legal position see:

http://www.major-hazards.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/petroleum/faqs.htm

Maybe I am a wimp, but there is absolutely no way you would get me to store
20 gallons of petrol in plastic containers in my garage - I like living too
much :-)

As for the LPG issue, I can't comment - is that available in plastic
containers where you are? All propane in the UK is sold in (very robust)
steel containers, as far as I know.

Bill
 
Bill said:
Maybe I am a wimp, but there is absolutely no way you would get me to
store 20 gallons of petrol in plastic containers in my garage - I like
living too much :-)
Click to expand...
Oddly, I'm learning some Volvo fuel tanks are just that: 20 gallon plastic
containers. See Don B's post on April 23 under the subject "Help: Fuel leak
under the tank of my '95 940 nonturbo"... maybe you already have a 20 gallon
plastic container of petrol in your garage!

Mike
 
Bill said:
As for the LPG issue, I can't comment - is that available in plastic
containers where you are? All propane in the UK is sold in (very robust)
steel containers, as far as I know.
Click to expand...

will a transparent gfrp container do?
 
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