Fuel storage questions

[bigtoy]

I am going to be storing some diesel in 55 gal drums inside my garage. How long can I safely store this fuel? I plan on adding some power service (gray bottle), is there any other additives I should add? These are nice clean barrels. I will use a filter on the pump. I purchase the fuel from the local truck stop so it should be nice and fresh. Diesel is running about 2. 84/gal. Gas is been increasing daily to it's current 3. 32/gal. I hate these high fuel prices, but I am enjoying diesel being cheaper for a change! The last time diesel was cheaper than gas was after katrina, but it wasn't long before gas retreated, and diesel shot up to 3. 49/gal.

 

[TRLRTRSH]

Fuel storage

Until the first fire, in all seriousness why would you store that much diesel in your garage? even though it is not as flamable as gasoline. Seems to me if you are going to burn the diesel you are storing instead of paying at the pump, when your 55gal drums are empty you gotta pay the current price anyway to fill them up again.

If you live within a city limit, there may be a city or county code about storing that much fuel in your garage, might want to check with your local fire marshal.

Anyway for my limited knowledge I think not much more than a year at the most.

 

[bigtoy]

People used to have(some still do)275 gal. home heating oil tanks in their basements, as far as it being in my garage is their risk? yes, but go out into your garage and look around and see if you see anything that isn't quite up to snuff fire danger wise. I am more nervous about the natural gas that comes into my house than anything. Even if I didn't have natural gas service it could still follow a tile line inside. I have heard that if that happens a lot of times the smell added to the gas gets leached out and you don't even know its happening until BOOM!

 

[Joe G.]

Anyway for my limited knowledge I think not much more than a year at the most.

Why not???

 

[SAndreasen]

i store 300 gallons of fuel in my garage i buy it in december and january when its cheap. i also have an old gas boy pump with a 7 micron filter . i usually double treat with stanadyne blue bottle this seems to work pretty good for me i am just using my last tank of two dollar disel rite now. my fuel is always clean the only thing i may change is the stanadyne as the ulsd that i buy has alredy casued the injection pump on my 4020 to start leaking#@$%!#@$%! after only a hundred hours of use#@$%! anybody know of something that works to curtail the ill effects of ulsd ?

 

[TRLRTRSH]

Fuel Storage

Just a few minutes of on-line search..... :-laf



BP

FUEL NEWS LONG TERM STORAGE OF DIESEL Issued : February 7, 2002 ADF1402 Supersedes : February 14, 2000 Page 1 of 3 BP Australia Limited A. C. N. 004 085 616 Marketing Technical Services STORAGE LIFE

Under normal storage conditions diesel fuel can be expected to stay in a useable condition for:

• 12 months or longer at an ambient of 20ºC.

• 6-12 months at an ambient temperature higher than 30ºC.



As diesel gets older a fine sediment and gum forms in the diesel brought about by the reaction of diesel components with oxygen from the air. The fine sediment and gum will block fuel filters, leading to fuel starvation and the engine stopping. Frequent filter changes are then required to keep the engine going. The gums and sediments do not burn in the engine very well and can lead to carbon and soot deposits on injectors and other combustion surfaces.

The expected life of a diesel fuel is indicated by the oxidation stability test ASTM D2276. The test measures how much gum and sediment will be deposited after keeping the fuel at 120°C in the presence of oxygen for 16 hours. It roughly corresponds to one year storage at 25°C. A result of less than 20mg/L of sediment and gum after the test is considered acceptable for normal diesel.

ACCELERATED AGEING

The ageing process can be accelerated by the following conditions:-

• Contact with zinc, copper or metal alloys containing them. These metals will quickly react with diesel fuel to form unstable compounds.

• The presence of water. Water allows the growth of fungus and bacteria, these produce natural by-products such as organic acids which make the fuel unstable.

• Exposure to high temperatures.

• Exposure to dust and dirt which contain trace elements that can destabilise the fuel, such as copper and zinc.

• Fuel composition. Some components in diesel fuel naturally age quickly.



PROLONGING THE STORAGE LIFE

Prolonging the storage life is achieved by removing or controlling the conditions described in the previous section. Important measures to take are as follows:



FAQ



How long can I store diesel fuel?

If you keep it clean, cool and dry, diesel fuel can be stored 6 months to 1 year without significant quality degradation. Storage for longer periods can be accomplished through use of periodic filtrations and addition of fuel stabilizers and biocides.

 

[Joe G.]

I knew about the fungus because I bought a fish boat that had 1000 gallons of fuel in it. The boat had been for sale over a year before I bought it. The algae in the fuel made us go through fuel filters by the case before we got that cleaned up. We killed the algae right away, but it took a while to filter out the dead algae. I have had some fuel for quite a while (over six months) at different times that I dosed with biocide that was ok. Didn't know about the sediment and gum formation. Maybe a 671 Detroit doesn't care about that stuff. Thanks for looking that up.

 

[Champane Flight]

Fuel wholesaler

Call your local dealer, have them deliver a 500 gallon above ground tank, fill it at their price and most of the time the tank is free. . Plus you get a safe tank, with a way to measure the fuel you use. .

 

[bigtoy]

thanks for the replies!

 

[KnightR]

My case tractors all have in line filters, one, two, and final. I use to drain the diesel every year. Than start with fresh. Now that their old, I don't, and they never have ran better. Other than my neighbors thinking the country side is on fire (smoke) I've had no problems. Yet.