Gasoline storage

[rugerx]

Hi all, new to the board.

Living on the Texas coast I finally bought a generator after the Ike nightmare last year.

I have 10 five gallon gas cans in my supply shed. I was thinking now would be a good time to fill them up at $2.39 a gallon, vs. the $3-4 a gallon if a storm hits the gulf.
I figure fill up now, and if no storm, celebrate and use the gas in my truck.
If I fill these and use Sta-bil, will this work aok? I do not want to gum up my generator or vehicle with degraded gasoline. I have never used Sta-bil and wasn't sure how well it really works.

Thanks for any input.

[DanKellFla]

Sta-bil will keep it good for about a year. But, keeping all that gas in a shed can be dangerous. Make sure it is well ventilated. Personally, I keep 10 gallons in my garage durring the season and use it in my lawnmower. When I think a storm may be coming (within 2 days), I just get up early and fill up my other gas cans.

Don't forget to change your oil after the first 5 hours of generator use. That is very important.

[rugerx]

Thanks for the info Dan. I actually changed my oil after 1 hour.

A friend told me I wouldn't believe the amount of particulate and assembly junk that come come out with the first oil change.
He was right, it was filthy. I loaded it up with some dino castrol 10w30 for the first set of long runs. Once its good and broken in I will most likely make the switch to synthetic.

[Dionne]

I fill my gas cans when the first storm enters the GOM. I don't use an additive. I hold the fuel......like last year, until November. Then I use the fuel. The emergency fuel is stored in 5 gallon plastic jugs and kept in a fire safe closet....(as required)... in my shop. I also keep additional fuel here at home that rotates all the time.

My personal experience is that if the vessel holding the gasoline is properly full....you can easily store for 3-4 months.

[NCECOM]

I'm in the marine business, and we are experiencing severe problems with gas containing ethanol that is stored.

The alcohol begins to seperate and you wind up with high concentrations, causing engine problems.
According to the motor manufacturers, this can begin to occur in as little as 3-4 weeks.

The use of a product like Stabil, blended for ethanol, greatly enhances the useful life of the fuel.

[Strings]

Excellent input about ETHANOL... getting dang near impossible to find ethanol-free petrol in Broward County.

[Strings]

UPDATE: In Pompano Beach, FL (Broward County) Ethanol-free or "recreational" gasoline can be pumped at the SUNOCO station on Sample Rd., just west of SR7/US441.

[Rocketman]

Bumping an old but important thread.

In addition to what has been mentioned, I use 5-gallon diesel cans. They're yellow instead of red. After Katrina with the theft of gasoline and generators going on, someone told me about the diesel can trick. Thieves, if thinking the cans contain diesel, are less likely to try to steal them.

The only caveats are (1) you have to be the one in control of these cans so someone else doesn't erroneously dump gasoline into a diesel generator or diesel powered vehicle, and (2) a lot more diesel gens are out there these days, so the little trick may not be as slick as it used to be.

As an aside, I'd like to mention the alternative of using propane to power your generator. For about 200 bucks, I have converted my larger 5600W gen over to a Tri-fuel kit that also will run on natural gas. if you can gather up several smaller 20lb tanks or a couple larger ones and fill them now, you'll be set for a few days or even longer, depending on how much you use it and how long.

Propane is not as efficient as gasoline. From what I've gleaned from the web for example, 5 gallons of gasoline will run a gen for 6 hours where a gen running on propane will run for 5hrs, all other things being equal. But to me, the storage advantage outweighs the efficiency of gasoline. All of this may be different for you and your needs/applications.

steve

[WeatherGuesser]

^^ Problem is storing it and getting it after things get messed up from a storm. If you run out, you're out until the roads clear enough for the delivery trucks to get through.

Diesel is usually more accessible, especially in rural areas. Most farmers have 500 or 1,000 gallon tanks on their property for farm equipment.

In smaller quantities, diesel is also easier to get and transport and will last longer. Five gallons of diesel will outlast a 20lb propane bottle.

If you use LP for heat in cold areas, a generator will deplete your supply rather quickly.

[stormtrooper]

storing gas sounds smart, but if you think about it, in a midst of a disaster don't you think it's kind of dangerous?

But I guess if you put it somewhere safe then its fine?