Metal gas cans...how long will gas stay fresh?

[zahc]

I'm jealous of people with pickup trucks that have fuel tanks in the back, that give them enough range to  drive across the country. I've been going to buy some metal gas cans for storage, and it would be great if they sealed well enough to put in the passenger compartment of a jeep or Tahoe for the same purpose. I'm looking to buy 4+ 5 gallon cans. I would prefer metal because I know the gas lasts longer in metal. But metal gas cans are definitely out of style. Harbor freight has decent ones for $40ish but I don't know the quality or how good the spouts are. Genuine Jerry Cans I think would fit the bill perfectly but I haven't found a source for them. Any ideas?

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

they will be stolen if outside in bed or mounted in any way. is this for a bug out situation?  or home storage?

[zahc]

Yes.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i do the pu truck thing  you can buy a tool box with an integrated tank. too heavy to steal when full

[Tuco]

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cart/product.php?productid=18975&cat=292&page=1

I've dealt with them and they are a quality retailer.
They are gear snobs, in the truest sense.  EE sells no junk.

The genuine NATO ones are sold out.

or, if you prefer
http://www.amazon.com/WEDCO-GALLON-JERRY-CAN-GAS/dp/B004XCGEEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312939395&sr=8-1

http://www.okoffroad.com/stuff-gascan.htm

[zxcvbob]

I bought a steel Jerry can from sportsmansguide.com a year or two ago.  I think it was Swiss milsurp.  You might check to see if they have any left; it wasn't expensive.  (I think the spout cost more than the can, and one spout would service any number of cans)

[RoadKingLarry]

Metal or plastic gas will stay fresh for about a year with an added stabilizer. It'll still be useable after that but not as good. I try to buy gas without ethanol for any kind of storage.

[Hawkmoon]

I try to buy gas without ethanol for any kind of storage.

Good luck with that. What do you buy, av gas?

[MillCreek]

Good luck with that. What do you buy, av gas?

Some fixed base operators at airports and some marinas will sell plain unleaded without ethanol.  The trick is finding one who will agree to pump it into a jerrycan, as opposed to an aircraft or boat fuel tank.  In this area, most will not do so, citing 'liability reasons' as the cause.

[Boomhauer]

Good luck with that. What do you buy, av gas?

There is usually at least one retailer in a town that sells non-ethanol contaminated gasoline.

In my town it's one of the oil companies that does so. They don't widely advertise it, but they have a few pumps out front that they will let you use during business hours if you are a walk-up customer, and if you get an account with them, they give you a little key doohicky to operate the pumps at any time. Price is about $0.15 or so higher per gallon around here. Some gas stations sell non-ethanol gas, too



 

[RoadKingLarry]

Good luck with that. What do you buy, av gas?

We have several stations that claim to sell non-ethanol gas. Closest to me is a little c-store/gas station in the middle of no where, it's about 12 miles from the house. There are a few more in neighboring towns and they charge a little more more for the "pure" gas.

[230RN]

Naive, dumb, stupid, iggerint questions:

(1) Is there a general, easy method to search for these non-ethanol outlets, or is it a question of driving by all of them to look at their signs?  Or calling each of them?

For example, would you be more likely to find non-ethanol pumps at truck stops?.... or what?

For another example, Commerce City, just north of Denver, has a lot of refinery operations.  Would that be a good place to do some non-ethanol prospecting?

(2) What causes gas to "go bad?"  I know there are gas stabilizers, but what do they do?  How do they counteract the "going bad" part of it?

Reason I'm asking is I've got a little 2-cycle generator I like to keep around for emergencies, and although I've got a siphon pump to get gas out of the car and I keep 1-oz bottles of 2-cycle oil around for it, and a 1-gallon plastic can for it, I'd like to keep some around that's "ready-to-go" in long-term storage.

[MillCreek]

http://pure-gas.org/

This website lists those gas stations selling gas without ethanol in it.  The station closest to me on the list, however, does not claim that their gas is ethanol-free.  So I have my doubts.

[230RN]

^   Hey, good info!  Thanks!  Two are reasonably close to me.  I'll go check them out.

It looks like it might be worthwhile to check out my local stations from the brand names rather than just the specific stations on the list.

TNX!

Terry, 230RN

[RoadKingLarry]

What causes gas to "go bad?"  I know there are gas stabilizers, but what do they do?  How do they counteract the "going bad" part of it?

After a while some of the volatiles go away ( I don't know the technical details) and it actually can thicken and "gum up" and turn to varnish. Also, there are algies that will grow in gasoline. I once had neglected to clean out the tank on a little B&S 3 HP and 3 years later when I dumped out the tank the stuff I poured out was green.

Do a search on long term fuel storage.

[Tallpine]

I wouldn't haul gas cans inside the passenger compartment.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

I wouldn't haul gas cans inside the passenger compartment.

me either   and i'm pretty reckless

[41magsnub]

I wouldn't haul gas cans inside the passenger compartment.

Same here.  I'm currently looking at options for locking jerry can storage for my Land Cruiser for this very reason.  It will probably end up being some sort of swing out carrier off of a new steel rear bumper.

[gunsmith]

my motorcycle sat for the winter with a tiny amount of gas in it, it was enough to gum up the works & it wouldn't turn over...not having the money to get the carbs cleaned I bought a new batt & dumped a bunch of carb cleaner had to recharge the batt twice but it started working again, the main prob was the tires were flat so i didn't get to drive it during the winter to keep everything running-this winter my plan is to get 110 octane and drive it a mile or so once a week.

[230RN]

Thanks, RoadKingLarry.  I found this:

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorials_index.html

Not technically detailed, but sufficient.

"this winter my plan is to get 110 octane and drive it a mile or so once a week."

^That site said that it is sometimes counterproductive to store with higher octane fuel than mfr's recommendation:

There is no advantage to using gasoline with octane higher than what the manufacturer calls for; in fact, high octane gas can be a disadvantage in many newer design engines and engines operating with a governed speed such as a generator.

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_fuel_storage.html

(I have a hard time doing searches on the net, so I often just ask outright about some stuff in the hopes that somebody will either know offhand, or have direct links without wading through search engine hits.)

[zahc]

When I used to ride dirt bikes a few years ago, if the bike sat for more than 2 weeks, there was no way it would start until you put fresh gas in it and drained the float bowl. Not a big deal as long as you know what to do, and it's probably due to the freely-vented and plastic gas tanks on dirt bikes. The tank decals always peeled off too, from the vapors seeping through the plastic.

[gunsmith]

some mechanic told me higher octane is better for longer term storage, this year the tires wont be flat so even though its cold I will fire it up once a week to keep things going

[RoadKingLarry]

Gunsmith, get some fuel stabilizer and try to keep the fuel tank full while in storage.
If you have to store it for a while if the bike has a petcock, start the engine and shut off the fuel flow, run it till it dies to clear the fuel from the carb(s).

[French G.]

I read somewhere that gasoline needs to be stored in a pressure environment to keep it from off-gassing, oxidizing or whatever it does. I'd like to find some empty LP tanks from a forklift or some bulk propane tanks and keep ethanol free gass with some propanol in it under about 15 psi of nitrogen or CO2. Be nice if I could get one of those big propane tanks, but the propane mafia is prety iffy about letting you buy them. With a big tank I could see a regulator and nit tank permanently hooked up, no pump required.

[Firethorn]

Gunsmith, get some fuel stabilizer and try to keep the fuel tank full while in storage.
If you have to store it for a while if the bike has a petcock, start the engine and shut off the fuel flow, run it till it dies to clear the fuel from the carb(s).

This, except I didn't even bother with the petcock.  Even after an Alaskan winter, it fired right up.  All I did was dump a dose of fuel stabilizer in there and stick a battery charger on it every so often in the winter.  The problem with 'firing it up' for every couple weeks is that you have to run it for a while to keep the battery charged, not all bikes can charge at idle, and the gas will still go bad if it's not replaced.

I'd recommend having something like a half tank, then drop in an appropriate amount of stabilizer.  1-2 ounces should do it for any motorcycle tank.

French - a pressure tank would prevent off-gasing, but many cans can hold the bit of pressure needed to do most of it.  Fuel stabelizer and rotating every 12 months is probably the better option.