Fuel storage

[defender130]

With the need and usefullness of generators in a lot of situations what do you do for fuel storage ? and what fuel do you store

Looking for long term storage tips especially for diesel (red) as i have quite a bit of stuff i can use it in (2 x generators, dumper, log splitter)

I currently have a 1000 ltr ibc with 500 litres sat in it, will be getting another 500 ltrs shortly when funds allow while oil prices are low and then probably treat it with additives to help avoid bugs growing in it

Anyone have any recommended additives for diesel they have used ?


For Petrol powered stuff (chainsaws mainly) i use Aspen (alkalyte fuel) which i buy in 5 ltr cans as it has a shelf life of 5 years and wont go off in the carb if you dont use something for months at a time

[notadog]

Both petrol and diesel have a storage life measured in months, rather than years. You can get fuel stabiliser for petrol, Briggs and stratton have one, although I don't know how effective it is. Ethanol is now put in a lot of fuel, which is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts moisture, so over time, the water content of the fuel will go up

Diesel will start to form a sludge quite quickly, while water and algae are the other general issues. I've been looking for a diesel additive, but can't really find anything that would give more than a few months of storage life. I'm going to get a spare fuel filter for my van, because that's what will clog up with old diesel.

LPG seems to be the best option for generators. It can be stored indefinitely.

[defender130]

Did find a bunch of additives for diesel yesterday when i was browsing on my ipad but cant think what they were called, will have a look later as they did everything from preventing bugs to winter additives etc

[unsure]

stabil . do a good one , well really two , one for petrol and one for diesel , they say its good for a year at the recommended dose .

[defender130]

Just found an article here which says in the right conditions diesel should be good for around 5 years

http://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/ ... s-storage/

Found another article somewhere which stated 12 years, main problems for diesel seem to be water and light which allow algae growth so if treatment and storage conditions are right then a good few years rotated supply should be possible

Guess I need to stock up now while oil prices are low



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[notadog]

This looks interesting http://www.siriusmarine.co.uk/diesel-additives/4/

Claims a 2 year shelf life for diesel.

[preparedsurrey]

Not sure about cherry but modern road diesel doesn't last well, I've seen a clean 20l drum filled from the pump being unusable within 6 months - it had loads of black growth and clag on the bottom, it stank too, it was ok for chucking on the fire but that was it! I even got rid of the drum afterwards.
At a guess it's the % of bio diesel that's causing the problems.

[defender130]

Sounds like algae growth from moisture

I would think one of the additives and storing it in the dark would have stopped that

My Landrover often goes months between uses and the fuel in it is currently over a year old and it was fine a couple of weeks ago when it went for mot

Think the thing with additives is using them to prevent algae in the first place rather than as a cure afterwards


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[preparedsurrey]

It was a sealed drum in the shed so any moisture must have been present when it was filled, I have one vehicle that is moved occasionally that last had diesel put in it in 2005! It still starts and runs fine.

My van is mainly run on LPG - the petrol is over a year old and is definitely going off, it's hard to start on and has an odd smell.

[unsure]

another good one , if you all ready have algae in your tank , then wynnes biocyde is great for killing it off and preventing regrowth , i use it in my landrover to keep it under control with using used veg oil . if you want to store a decent amount , then fill any container to overflowing to keep any air gap to the minimum .