Oil & Fuel Store diesel in plastic?

[oldboyscout]

Is it okay to store diesel in a food grade blue plastic barrel?

 

[KYDan]

Is it okay to store diesel in a food grade blue plastic barrel?

I assume that you are speaking of the heavyweight (about 1/4" thick sidewall) barrels? If so, yes, the barrel will work for you. I suggest you use some sort of wobble type pump that you can install a water separating fuel filter on. The threaded bung hole on the top of the barrel may not support the pump enogh to prevent it from eventually breaking the area around it from the top though. The key here is to prevent moisture in your fuel, your equipment fuel filter should have water separating capacity which will help, but if you can't use a source filter then I would suggest retrofitting a drainable fuel strainer on the equipment.

 

[wedge40]

Wait for it!!!!

Wait for it!!!!

:laughing::laughing:

Wedge

 

[Sutol]

I store diesel and petrol in plastic containers, no chance of sparks

My car has a plastic diesel tank

 

[LBrown59]

Wait for it!!!!:laughing:

:confused2: .....

 

[Wayne_H]

I store diesel and petrol in plastic containers, no chance of sparks

My car has a plastic diesel tank

Well.... Not really true. Be real cautious if you leave you plastic gas tank in the back of your trunk or truck when you fill it with petrol. The static electricity caused by the gas flow build up a charge and can ignite the gas.

I'm sure it is not a problem with diesel since that is a bit harder to ignite.

Wayne

 

[boomer1025]

Is it okay to store diesel in a food grade blue plastic barrel?

Check the bottom of the barrel and see if it's marked HDPE. If it is you should be good, HDPE is the same plastic they use to make plastic gas cans.

 

[dynasim]

I'm in the minority, but I think storing diesel in plastic containers is not a good idea, and the larger the container, the worse the risk.

Plastic melts. If you have even a small fire in a storage area, the plastic vessel will fail, draining the liquid onto the floor, creating a huge fire.

In a metal drum, anything short of a plasma cutter or blow torch will simply heat the material in the drum till it boils, then will vaporize it. As soon as the external flame is removed, the contained material will stop boiling/burning (assuming the drum is vented in some way, so it doesn't rupture in the fire).

If you ever see the results of a failed-by-fire diesel plastic storage vessel, you will remember it. It is spectacular, in a car wreck sort of way.

Chris

 

[whiskywizard]

I'm in the minority, but I think storing diesel in plastic containers is not a good idea, and the larger the container, the worse the risk.

Plastic melts. If you have even a small fire in a storage area, the plastic vessel will fail, draining the liquid onto the floor, creating a huge fire.

In a metal drum, anything short of a plasma cutter or blow torch will simply heat the material in the drum till it boils, then will vaporize it. As soon as the external flame is removed, the contained material will stop boiling/burning (assuming the drum is vented in some way, so it doesn't rupture in the fire).

If you ever see the results of a failed-by-fire diesel plastic storage vessel, you will remember it. It is spectacular, in a car wreck sort of way.

Chris

I'm ok with plastic, as long as it's in decent condition with a lid that fits.

No matter what, a fire amid your fuel cans is pretty bad juju.

I wouldn't count on anybody's storage drum being vented, and if it's not, stand back and enjoy the BLEVE
Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[dynasim]

One can have a pretty significant fire with metal cans, and the fuel in the cans will be contained for a long time, even if they aren't vented. Diesel doesn't BLEVE in sort of way typically discussed, classically.

I have personally seen a 5 gallon plastic diesel container melt through in a very small fire, at which time it torched a wide area. There is a huge difference in risk between plastic containers and metal containers. I can't imagine what the sudden release of 55 gallons of fuel would do.

I have also seen smaller steel drums(30 gallon) not fail in bigger events, though they had motor oil in them.

When I had the need for this sort of thing(quite a while ago), I used 55 gallon metal oil storage drums, with lockable vented bung stoppers. The stoppers were about 5$, and purchaseable at any farm store

It is odd to me, though, that you can't buy small metal fuel containers, and believe their absence flows from the stupidity of standards writers(mainly epa sourced). Again, I could be wrong.

As I said, I am clearly in the minority.

Chris

 

[pat32rf]

Could be that the people in control just got tired of metal containers that were leaking, dented, rusty, etc.
I was taught just to keep my fuel containers out of the more valuable buildings.....and don't keep them all together..

 

[Willl]

:confused2: .....

Is that your 'I have know idea what your talking about' look ?

 

[300UGUY]

Could be that the people in control just got tired of metal containers that were leaking, dented, rusty, etc.
I was taught just to keep my fuel containers out of the more valuable buildings.....and don't keep them all together..

Every metal gas can I ever had rusted out. My plastic ones have lasted 20 years +.

 

[MikeD74T]

Wait for it!!!! Wait for it!!!! :laughing::laughing: Wedge

:confused2: .....

Now that's funny !!!! :laughing: MikeD74T

 

[oldballs]

Every metal gas can I ever had rusted out. My plastic ones have lasted 20 years +.

Au contraire...my 5 gallon 1970's model jerry cans (have 4) are only slightly rusted on the inside, scratched but not dented and still working great. So are the 2 1/2gallon galvanized ones. However, I do keep the gasoline fairly fresh in them and use a funnel with a stainless screen when adding to vehicles. The 2 1/2 gal cans are even older, and work better than the new plastic models on small engines and gas/oil mixes. So there!

 

[CurlyDave]

...I was taught just to keep my fuel containers out of the more valuable buildings.....and don't keep them all together..

I have been given the same advice, but I have been re-thinking that lately. Someone (I suspect a neighbor teen) has recently tried to break into my pump house. While I don't store fuel there, nor anything else of value, if a bad guy breaks into a shed where I do have fuel, the temptation to play arsonist with the main house could be too high.

I think I will keep the fuel in the main garage, where I have cars with full tanks anyway, which is more secure from a break-in than a shed. Once they have a gas can, they don't have to actually break into the house to torch it.

 

[ishiboo]

I'm ok with plastic, as long as it's in decent condition with a lid that fits.

No matter what, a fire amid your fuel cans is pretty bad juju.

I wouldn't count on anybody's storage drum being vented, and if it's not, stand back and enjoy the BLEVE
Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Must be BOC whisky, right?

I completely agree, and I've used 55 gallon blue HDPE for a while for storing diesel. I have a small covered area out back I store some 5gal gasoline cans and a drum of diesel. I had heard that the blue drums get soft with diesel, but I have not seen any problems in several years of doing this with the same drum.

I won't store anything larger than the 5 gallon cans in my barn for safety sake. 5 gallons of fuel is plenty to make an uncontrollable fire, but you can typically get away. 55 gallons of fuel which spreads and ignites will make a widespread inferno I don't want to be near!

 

[firemanpat2910]

Dave, your responce had me thinking.
1. you need a bigger dog
2. car tanks are vented, tested and tested. I see very few issues with car tanks leaking gas or fumes.
3 By pump house I would assume covered, air tight, insulated, possibly with arc's from contactor points. Not Ideal storage places.
4 Main garage as in attached to house? A solid No NO in my book.
5. storing flamables in the pump house, wich is the source water to put out a fire ? probably not a great idea.
6 open pole barn style building, keeping tanks, cans,bottles, whatever. shaded and out of the rain is the best reccomendation I have.
7 with prices as high as they are who can keep that much on hand anyhow
8 with prices this high they would probably steal the gas not burn your house down with it
of course you are free to call me a complete idiot, all my friends do :thumbsup:

 

[oldballs]

Good post fireman. I keep about 30 gallons of gasoline and 20 gallons diesel in an open faced shed but in the shade, off the ground and out of the rain. It's about 100 feet from the house. Nothing is stored in my (attached to the house) garage, except the 50 gallons of gasoline in the car/truck. The gas is in red metal cans....diesel in yellow plastic. 20 gallon of K1 kerosene is stored in the basement (metal cans) for the torpedo heater used in the garage. Eeek.

 

[Drlgking]

I agree with the fireman. I work in the oil patch and we are high on safety. Much of what you said I am on the same page. I worry with fire, rust, water from condensating. The #6 bullet point covers it all. I would use a drum vent for pressure differential control or a drum pump with vent. If your in a dusty area, and who isn't with the drought going on, be sure to cover/filter the venting mechanism.