Kerosene Storage

VERN in IL · #1 01/30/10, 01:26 PM

I would like to store(long term and PORTABLE storage) around 25 gallons of K-1 Kerosene(for oil lamps) I was looking around...

I can get those Eagle 5 gallon safety cans for about the same price as I can get those prefilled 5 gallon Kerosene tanks at the hardware store.

(as seen in this picture) http://images.lowes.com/product/conv...57738513md.jpg

The "prebottled" Kerosene is going for $41 for a 5 gallon tank. This is REALLY economical rather than buying 5 Eagle safety cans and then filling them.

But my Question is how durable are these prefilled units? Do you think they would last 20 year storage in a back of a truck with a camper shell on it? I am concerned about rust and ease of pour. I know the Eagle cans are very durable, and I have a small stash of gasoline stored in them.

Win07_351 · #2 01/30/10, 02:27 PM

I buy Kerosene at the filling station at (most recent price) $3.99/gal. I have various blue plastic 5 gal. kero. buckets. This is the red dye type, not the clear K1

I'm not familiar with the 5 gal. prebottled type, so I can't really comment on them.

I don't think I'd really want to store kero for 20 years. Maybe enough for a couple/few. (I use it mostly in kerosene heaters).

kreig · #3 01/30/10, 04:03 PM

I have a pretty efficient house and heat it full time with a kerosene heater.My climate is pretty much the same as yours here in central Ohio. It took a little looking but I found an oil supplier in the phone book that sells 55 gallon drum of K-1 clear kerosene for around 4 dollars a gallon. You can put fuel extender in it and as long as you add some more ever year or two it will be good for years. I use PRI-D which is made for diesel but works great for kerosene. The folks at PRI are very nice to talk to if you ever have any questions.If you store it long term your big concern will be water from condensation. This can be avoided by keeping your long term storage cans full. You can also get a funnel that seperates the water from the fuel as you pour it.

Darren · #4 01/30/10, 11:08 PM

FWIW, I accidentally ended up with 500 gal. of kerosene when I bought a 2000 gal skid mounted tank. Most of it I later transferred and stored in a 400 gal. vented lube oil tank for a couple of years. The kerosene was probably about 10 years old when it finally got used. It's still clear. No stabilizer was used. Most of it went through a garage heater that was setup to burn diesel with no problem.

Unless you're in an area where biologic growth is common in stored fuel oils, you shouldn't have a contamination problem.

FWIW, I've got a bunch of Coleman fuel in metal cans that's over ten years old and doing fine.

I'd buy the plastic containers and use them for storing Kerosene taking precautions to keep them out of direct sunlight. They make paint that will stick to the plastic. If the containers will be exposed to light for a long time, paint them to prevent UV deterioration.

david_r · #5 01/31/10, 02:09 AM

FWIW, the guy at the place I get my kero said the 5 gallon metal cans suck for pouring.

VERN in IL · #6 01/31/10, 07:12 AM

Quote:

I'd buy the plastic containers and use them for storing Kerosene taking precautions to keep them out of direct sunlight. They make paint that will stick to the plastic. If the containers will be exposed to light for a long time, paint them to prevent UV deterioration.

Will they hold up long term? Remember I am storing these containers in a back of a pickup truck, so the bottoms will be sliding around on metal, I got a 8, 5 gallon jugs of gasoline(stabilized) that must be rotated every 2 years, and I've noticed with the plastic jugs, there is SOME static electricity buildup.

Also with the plastic gas jugs, they show signs of wear from "expansion and contraction" and wear on the bottom from sliding around(I slide them in and out)

Gary in ohio · #7 01/31/10, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VERN in IL

I would like to store(long term and PORTABLE storage) around 25 gallons of K-1 Kerosene(for oil lamps) I was looking around...

I can get those Eagle 5 gallon safety cans for about the same price as I can get those prefilled 5 gallon Kerosene tanks at the hardware store.

(as seen in this picture) http://images.lowes.com/product/conv...57738513md.jpg

The "prebottled" Kerosene is going for $41 for a 5 gallon tank. This is REALLY economical rather than buying 5 Eagle safety cans and then filling them.

But my Question is how durable are these prefilled units? Do you think they would last 20 year storage in a back of a truck with a camper shell on it? I am concerned about rust and ease of pour. I know the Eagle cans are very durable, and I have a small stash of gasoline stored in them.

Like most things you dont store you rotate.. Kero, Diesel, fuel oil is only going to last a few years even with stabilizers. The $41 prefilled is about the same price as buying your own cans and filling them yourself. The advantage plastic.. THe last thing I want is some COLD metal can when I am pouring. You can get plast ones with handles on the top and side making pouring much easier.

YOu might also check and see what you can get a 55 gal barrel full of kero for. Might be cheaper in the long run, but you need to rethink the long term storeage idea.

suitcase_sally · #8 01/31/10, 09:36 AM

Those plastic 5 gallon cans fit very nicely in a milk crate. Eliminates the wear on the bottom of the can. Tether the cans to the rails of the truck or to each other.

fantasymaker · #9 01/31/10, 09:44 AM

Why would youwant to haul kerosene around in the back of a truck for 2o years?

**Cabin Fever** · #10 01/31/10, 10:03 AM

I'm confused. Are you asking whether you can store kerosene for 20 years or whether the "prefilled containers" will last 20 years?

VERN in IL · #11 01/31/10, 04:25 PM

The containers are the issue here, I cannot justify a 55 gal drum, the kerosene is only used for lighting, not heat, and the truck is a junk truck, it is on blocks, not going anywhere.

The Ideal is portability while maintaining a decent reserve, obviously a 55 gallon drum is not very portable, should I need to move in an emergency situation I need options, 25 gallons, in 5 gallon containers give me greater options, and I like that.

I am NOT the type that "hunkers down" having all my eggs at my house for the government to come and steal. I would like to maintain some quick mobility to be able to get out of Dodge!

I like the ideal earlier about painting the cans, that would make them more discrete, may do that. I figured about 25 gallons of kerosene should be plenty for lamp lighting for me AND whoever else needs fuel.