Storing Diesel

[riph72]

Hello all,

(Not sure this is the right forum, but can't see one more suitable)

Anyway, I fancy buying a jerry can for storing diesel, Halfords do the proper metal ones and also plastic ones which are stated as being for water. Is there any reason why this couldn't be used for diesel?

Regards,

Richard.

[sebulbus]

Some plastics are disolved by petrol products, so you can only test it and find out.

[gregozedobe]

Here in Oz there are special plastic storage containers for petroleum products. It is illegal (for good reasons) to put fuel in any other sort of plastic container.

Also, if you intend to store diesel for lengthy periods it might be worth researching additives to stop the fuel going "bad" over time (biocides and something else, can't remember what).

And on the off chance you are intending to try for maximum possible distance on one tankful and needed a jerry can of diesel to fill up after you had run your tank dry, can I gently suggest that it might not be a good idea (not good for your engine, also not good to carry around fuels in loosew containers in cars, even though diesel is a lot less flammable than petrol)

[_ZS_]

Buy the steel "gerry can". They're worth the investment. A gerry can will outlast you, and the only thing that ever goes wrong is the rubber seal after maybe 10 years of use - 50p gets you a new seal.

Don't pay any more than £10 for one though. Halford's is not the place to buy one. Go to a local agricultural or horse supplies place, they'll have them for about a tenner.

I bought two "Paddy Hopkirk" gerry cans about 10 years ago, used them for petrol for years, and ow I'm using them for diesel. Never had a leak, despite them doing laps of my boot and the back of Dad's pickup. I use them for fuel for the lawnmowers/tractor at my parent's house.

Edited 22 November, 2008 by _ZS_

[PumpeDuse]

plus don't forget if you smoke, not to smoke near the stored fuel.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Anyway, I fancy buying a jerry can for storing diesel,

Why? (just curious)

Halfords do the proper metal ones and also plastic ones which are stated as being for water. Is there any reason why this couldn't be used for diesel?

If you buy a plastic container make sure it is specifically for fuel.

Also remember that there is law that you may not store any more than a specific amount of fuel in your garage (not sure how much, maybe 20 litres), also unwise to carry more than an 'emergency use' 5 litres in the car.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Here in Oz there are special plastic storage containers for petroleum products. It is illegal (for good reasons) to put fuel in any other sort of plastic container.

Similar regs here in UK.

Also, if you intend to store diesel for lengthy periods it might be worth researching additives to stop the fuel going "bad" over time (biocides and something else, can't remember what).

And on the off chance you are intending to try for maximum possible distance on one tankful and needed a jerry can of diesel to fill up after you had run your tank dry, can I gently suggest that it might not be a good idea (not good for your engine, also not good to carry around fuels in loosew containers in cars, even though diesel is a lot less flammable than petrol)

All very sound advice.

[JJJ66]

Also remember that there is law that you may not store any more than a specific amount of fuel in your garage (not sure how much, maybe 20 litres), also unwise to carry more than an 'emergency use' 5 litres in the car.

Slightly bizarrely, this would only seem to apply to petrol. According to Chemicals: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) "The limit [for petrol] is a maximum of two suitable metal containers each of a maximum capacity of ten litres or two plastic containers (which have to be of an approved design) each of a maximum capacity of five litres. These limits also apply to any containers kept in a vehicle parked in the garage or on the driveway (but not to the internal fuel tank of the vehicle). Under no circumstances should the petrol containers be stored in the home itself." although http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/Kent/factsheets/FS40NEW%20nov07%20petrolhome.pdf does confirm that a configuration of 1 x 10 litre metal + 2 x 5 litre plastic is allowable).

However that first document from the Health & Safety Executive does have a section further down which states "How should I store diesel and what quantity am I allowed? There are no specific legal requirements on how to store diesel or the quantity allowed either in workplaces or domestic premises. It is not, from a health and safety point of view, a particularly hazardous substance within the meaning of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 - its vapour flash point is too high. This means that its vapour will not ignite at normal room temperatures."It does then go on to give a general list of issues to take into account and point out that there are separate environmental hazards to continue.

[riph72]

Thanks to JJJ66 for pointing out the legal side of things. For the record and in response to a few earlier posts, I was aware of the law regarding storing fuel.

Basically, there's a limit to the amount of petrol you can store and it ain't much. You can store as much diesel as you like though, because it's flash point is so much higher it's not considered dangerous at room temperature.

[riph72]

By the way, I ordered 4 plastic jerry cans in the end, I won't be moving the fuel around much so am not too worried about the durability.

They are sold for storing fuel, so hopefully the plastic type will be suitable!

[bahnstormer vrs]

By the way, I ordered 4 plastic jerry cans in the end, I won't be moving the fuel around much so am not too worried about the durability.

They are sold for storing fuel, so hopefully the plastic type will be suitable!

Well done; but we are all still curious to know why?

[richardjh]

yup, so am i. are that far from a filling station? or do you know something we dont

i live in the south east of england and and an old boss always used to carry a gallon of petrol in his car 'for emergencies'. the car always stunk! i always wondered how you could forget that long to fill a car in england given the concentration of garages.

"oh look that little filling pump symbol has come on again. i will continue to drive another 40-50 miles...."

[veloplus]

The Canadian company 'Scepter' make plastic jerrycans for the US Services and other countries. You can buy their 20 litre cans from Classic car restoration, kit cars and motorcycle restoration tools and equipment - Frost Auto, however, they cost £39.50 (inc VAT), added to which a dedicated nozzle is another £19.50 (inc VAT)! They are lighter than metal cans and virtually indestructible. A downside is the fact you cannot use the very useful Polarn pump (saves you lifting the can) to transfer fuel into the vehicle.

Instead of the above, I have a late ex-MoD 20 litre jerrycan and a new Wavian 20 litre jerrycan. Ex-MoD cans cost around £15-20 from Army surplus outlets, while the Wavian cans are available direct (Wavian Associates - Steel Jerrycans, Jerry cans) for around £20 (less if you buy more than one can). The Wavian cans have a rod which prevents inadvertent opening of the cap. They are also available in different sizes (5, 10 & 20 litresa) and colours (green, black, red & yellow).

In my Octy II I carry a empty metal 10 litre can. On longer trips I fill the can to give some 'just in case' fuel. This is useful if travelling on the continent, particularly in remote regions. I use the larger cans for trackdays to stave the thirst of my Subaru!

[riph72]

Well done; but we are all still curious to know why?

Heh heh, it's simple really. Whenever we have panic buying for whatever reason, the pumps run dry and there are queues everywhere. Most of the time the panic buying is completely irrational and it only lasts a day or so. But if you are close to the end of your current tank and suddenly can't get fuel, it can be a right pain in the ar*e.

Therefore, I made a decision last time to buy some cans to store a good tank's worth of diesel. Therefore, next time there's a scare and everyone starts panic buying, I'll just ride out the spike on my own supply.

This won't get me past a major event like the fuel blockades, but it will mean I won't have a problem when people just panic buy for a day or two with no need.

I'll have approx 80 litres of fuel, the tank on my car is 60 litres, so should be enough to tide me over for a few days... Hopefully I'll never need it of course!

[riph72]

I got these by the way:

WHOLESALE 4 X 20L JERRY CANS + POURING SPROUTS uPVC BLK on eBay, also, Automotive, Wholesale Job Lots (end time 13-Dec-08 18:00:00 GMT)

[Td-eye]

Heh heh, it's simple really. Whenever we have panic buying for whatever reason, the pumps run dry and there are queues everywhere. Most of the time the panic buying is completely irrational and it only lasts a day or so. But if you are close to the end of your current tank and suddenly can't get fuel, it can be a right pain in the ar*e.

Therefore, I made a decision last time to buy some cans to store a good tank's worth of diesel. Therefore, next time there's a scare and everyone starts panic buying, I'll just ride out the spike on my own supply.

This won't get me past a major event like the fuel blockades, but it will mean I won't have a problem when people just panic buy for a day or two with no need.

I'll have approx 80 litres of fuel, the tank on my car is 60 litres, so should be enough to tide me over for a few days... Hopefully I'll never need it of course!

Yeah, I'm actually with you on that.

With two diesel cars in our house I've got myself a wee stockpile of diesel for exactly the same reasons but I've also got myself a 6Kva diesel generator to feed should at any point we face power cuts at sometime in the future ?

This is perhaps not us unlikely as it may seem given that we rely to a great extent on gas fired and nuclear power stations for our electricity here in the U.K. and we are now actually importing most of our gas (we are at the end of the European pipe line so we rely heavily on other countries not to shut the supply off). We also import some of our electricity and are again dependent on other countries for this. Many of our existing nuclear power stations are also now nearing the end of their lives (lack of investment by successive governments and a fear of nuclear energy) and the contract to build new nuclear stations has just been given to the French (madness) to build for us and likely to take about ten years to come on line.

Probably not this winter now due to the "credit crunch" and people and industry cutting back on energy usage but sooner or later in my opinion it wouldn't take much for some form of limited power cuts to occur in the U.K. so I'll keep my wee diesel stockpile topped up.... just in case !

Edited 23 November, 2008 by Td-eye

[_ZS_]

TD-eye, what genny do you have?

I'm thinking of one myself, something reasonably hefty to run two houses, preferably something with a Perkins on it.

[dstev2000]

I was planning on one of these in the back garden but I would imagine the NIMBYs would grumble.

On top of that, my spare gallon of diesel would not go too far

[riph72]

I was planning on one of these in the back garden but I would imagine the NIMBYs would grumble.

On top of that, my spare gallon of diesel would not go too far

LOL! I'd be fairly unhappy if my neighbour bought one

[Stelvio]

This looks interesting and obviously doesn't take up much space compared to a conventional container until you need to fill it. Worth carrying just in case? www.flatcan.co.uk

[Td-eye]

TD-eye, what genny do you have?

I'm thinking of one myself, something reasonably hefty to run two houses, preferably something with a Perkins on it.

Stephill SE6000D reasonably silent with a single cylinder Yanmar engine.

It's not the sort of thing I would chose for a permanent "off grid" supply but as a backup it's adequate for my needs & runs my house, lights, fridge, freezers, tv's, computers, central heating pump, kettle etc & it's fine for everyday living so long as I don't get too power greedy. To run two houses I reckon you'd need something a bit more powerful though & if going for long term use, I'd certainly choose a multi cylinder Lister/Perkins type 1500rpm diesel rather than a single cylinder 3000rpm one.

Edited 24 November, 2008 by Td-eye

[_ZS_]

Thanks for that Td-eye. I actually have a spare Perkin AD3.152 lying in the shed (off a MF), should be easily converted to run a decent genset. Just keeping my eye out for a suitable generator.