Saturday, June 21, 2008

Fuel Storage and Safety

Many preppers out there store some kind of extra fuel.It could be small cannisters of propane or a 25 or 50 pound tank. It might be plastic or metal jerry cans of gasoline treated with "Stabil". It might only be extra starter fluid for the barbeque pit. It matters not. The main thing is to practice safety in all your preppin' activities and to not break any local or state laws in this regards. Make sure to check your local and city ordinances to make sure that you are not breaking any laws. There may be limits on the number of propane cannisters you can have in your home. There may be and probably are limits on how much gasoline you are allowed to store in your garage or outdoor shed. We'd all like to have an underground storage tank full of gasoline but this is not always practical from a financial, as well as physical, standpoint. Check with your city's code compliance office, check with your local fire department, but by all means do not just ignore something that could have a devastating effect on you and your family and quite possibly someone else's. Chances are that if you're storing fuels in an improper manner someone is going to find out(and turn you in to the authorities) or "Murphy's Law" is going to get you.

Remember to practice safety in all things you do and to break no laws. This will only bring negative attention to your activities and danger to you or your family. Things like a 55 gallon drum of fuel stored improperly or illegally can make a very large hole in the ground in your neighborhood if something goes wrong.

So take the time to find out what's allowed and then prep within the allowed boundaries to meet your goals. If you only need 5 gallons of gas to get to your bugout location, then that should be your goal. Financially you won't be putting your money into an excess amount of something that you may not be able to use(if it gets confiscated because of a state or local law) and it makes little sense to have excess fuel storage if you have to leave it behind when you bugout. Have a specific reason for the amount and type of your fuel storage. Remember to also rotate your stock on a regular basis.

Store what you need and use what you store!

Stay above the water line!

5 comments:

Sunfighter said...

Safety first is my motto, followed by a good dose of common sense. I keep as much gas as I can in my one car, it's economical. Our van doesn't get the milage, but I figure I can always transfer gas from one to the other if need be. But having about ten extra gallons would be good. Not breaking any laws is also my motto. I've had a life time of knocking heads with the man. Too old to being doing that anymore. I'd prefer to just follow the laws and live in peace. I leave tilting at windmills for the young. I told my youngest to stay out of jail, he got hassled last month. Now is not a good time to be locked up. Easier to toe the line and do things right, then do dumb things and suffer.

Degringolade said...

The other thing to do is ruthlessly reduce your fuel needs. Buy efficient stoves, use pressure cookers and low energy cookers. If you can look into solar ovens and rocket stoves.

Access to energy for your purposes is going to become problemmatic, keep a couple of options open.

riverwalker said...

To: degringolade

I use solar panels on some small applications but can't afford to get into it big time just yet.

Back-up power sources....this is a good thing.

Teresita Darling said...

Hi, I am really enjoying your blog. I read all 3 post you have (quite old) about fuel storage and my question is still unanswered. I also googled it and haven't found anything, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it. ANYwho, my question is "does it matter if it is a plastic can or a metal can, as long as it is the right color?" thanks!

riverwalker said...

To: mama4x

It really makes no difference whether the can is metal or plastic. The metal cans, if you can find one in decent shape, are subject to more corrosion (rust, etc.)than the plastic ones, although the plastic ones can also deteriorate over time, especially when left in the sunlight.

Thanks.

BTW, Glad you are enjoying my ramblings.

RW

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