Diesel, Petrol and Kerosene storage?

[Shay]

Diesel, Petrol and Kerosene storage?

How long can these fuels be stored ?

[welshboy]

One of the problems with storing diesel is the diesel bug. It grows and multiplies to make a sludge blocking filters.
Thankfully there is an additive (certainly obtainable in yacht chandlers) which kills the bug.
I think it will also attack kero as I have seen some sludge looking like it. Don't know about petrol but some of the two stroke experts say old petrol gives starting problems.

This is an extract from a boating forum

The Bugs exist - had over 5,000 tons of diesel get the bug and rejected by the Navy after we had hauled it all the way from Grangemouth to Falklands, so we took it back to bonny Scotland and pumped it into the hillside at Campeltown in Scotland where presumably it still is!!

I like to prevent rather than cure so always keep my tank full as possible and drained of any condensation. After 10 years with present boat no signs of bugs.

Guess the treatments do work but what happens if yon bugs mutate and start feeding on the treatment? Experience tells us it will happen one day.

They must be happy little bugs however they certainly breed well!!

Brian

[johnrae]

Can't give you a definitive answer but Frosts sells a product that they suggest is a fuel preserver.
Petrol contains a mix of butane and propane which presumably will evaporate with time  and therefore reduce its performance.
I've used all three that are at least a couple of years old and they still did what they were intended for.  The purist will probably say they don't store well but for all practical purposes they will still do their business even after many years.
Obviously temperature and whether or not the store is open to atmosphere will/might affect degradation
I'd suggest that paraffin (kerosene) and diesel have to all intents and purposes a fairly indefinite life.  At worst some of the lighter fraqctions might evaporate over time and the remnant just gets a bit more "oily
Petrol I'd consider at least a couple of years - probably depends on octane rating. 
Any old military personnel know how long fuel dumps were kept before rejection.
Jack

[manwithtool]

I had some experianc of storing petrol....I had an old 70's classic car unused for 2 years.  I all started up and ran fine, but failed the MOT on emmissions quite badly....took a while but after putting in fresh petrol it was fine. All I can assume is the petrol does evaporate slightly even in the car tank (all tanks have breathers of some sort).  Similar stories with petrol lawn mowers, although they ofen fail to run at all, due to smaller tanks with big unsophistaced breathers.  I do think that storing petrol and possibly Deisel in proper Jerry cans will prolong the life of the fuel.  Mainly because hey are completely air tight.  Not sure if being air tight will stop the diesel bug ? My Biology is a bit rusty, but do't all organisms need air ??

 

[guydewdney]

4+ year old diesel used in a boat in the south of france worked fine in a mercedes sprinter (and smelt fine).

1+ yr old petol in an unsealed container is useless

[Ivan]

Lots of volatiles in petrol to evaporate. It also oxidises - look at petrol fresh from the pump - looks like water. Look at the same fuel after it's been hanging around in a petrol tank for a couple of seasons without use - it's dark yellow. Biodiesel also oxidises by the way. To my knowledge oxidation of diesel isn't a problem, although I guess it still does so.

One of the biggest problems with infrequently used engines is the petrol evaporating in the float bowl of the carb (I'm talking garden machinery, generators and old cars), this leaves sticky gummy deposits that look a bit like resin which blocks up the jets. I've stripped several down to rectify, and have since learnt my lesson. If you're stopping a lawnmower/strimmer/generator for more than a couple of days, shut off the fuel supply and run until it conks out - that way, you've emptied the float bowl, and will guarantee easy starting next time you come to use it.

[oliver90owner]

Manwithtool,

My Biology is a bit rusty, but do't all organisms need air ??

Some organisms are anaerobic - like the bacteria in biodigestors for methane production. Our muscles can be anaerobic for a short time, then we get 'cramp' (due to the lactic acid produced) which is nature's way of telling us to stop!

proper Jerry cans

Remember all, that one is only allowed to store up to 10 litres of petrol (in an appropriate can) due to the real fire hazard that exists, even with only that amount.  Before anyone says 'my car tank is 70 litres', I don't know when the rules were made - probably a long time ago when most cars had little tanks!

Bulk petrol storage should be underground with a suitable high level breather.

Gas oil and Kerosene can be stored in bulk, presumably because the flash point is so much higher and there are no 'heavier than air' vapours to creep across the floor area waiting for any stray spark to ignite the lot.  Same reason red propane tanks should not be installed inside a building.

johnrae
Petrol contains a mix of butane and propane

Perhaps not quite as you indicate - petrol contains relatively small amounts of those light hydrocarbons (and not for very long at all if stored at warm temperatures).  They are volatile and only blended in small amounts to control the volatility of the fuel (adjusting for the less volatile components).  They are the gases (vapours actually) in LPG and need to be kept under pressure to keep them liquid form.  That is why old petrol will not burn (ignite) as well as fresh.

Regards, RAB

[Hugo]

My understanding of the diesel bug is that it breeds between the layer of water at the bottom of the storage tank.
If this layer is regularly run off you won't have a problem, say monthly.
I worked in the oil business for thirty years as a driver and remember a large pharmaceutical company asking us to take back one million litres of gas oil as it had the bug. It turned out that this was from a backup tank that we filled years before so they had to deal with it themselves.
I have never heard of kerosene getting the bug at all, we used to have at least ten inches of water in our storage tanks (1500000).

[camillitech]

Diesel will keep for Years if kept dark and free of moisture, if not it will end up like this in a very short time and wreck your injectors and pump, http://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/muddy-beds-and-diesel-bugs/ I've used 20 year old diesel with no problems and there are hundreds of mains failure gensets around the country that have tanks full of even older stuff that is still useable. As Oliver pointed out no water no bug and no sunlight no degredation.

Cheers, Paul

[Shay]

Thanks for the replies.

Another question.

How long will propane keep?

[camillitech]

Do you know something we don't Shay is this in preparation for the global economic collapse? me I've been saving old engine oil 18 years not quite sure what I'm gonna do with it but I'm sure it's gonna be worth more than shares in HBOS soon

Good luck, Paul

[Ivan]

I'd say propane will keep indefinitely - at least, until the tank has rusted through.

[camillitech]

Diesel will keep for Years if kept dark and free of moisture, if not it will end up like this in a very short time and wreck your injectors and pump, http://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/muddy-beds-and-diesel-bugs/ I've used 20 year old diesel with no problems and there are hundreds of mains failure gensets around the country that have tanks full of even older stuff that is still useable. As Oliver pointed out no water no bug and no sunlight no degredation.

Cheers, Paul

Since I wrote this the law has changed and now all diesel for mobile plant must contain a percentage of bio, this in effect means that will now only keep for around SIX MONTHS before it starts to degrade. You can still buy the old 'gas oil' for generators and ships but in reality this may be difficult.

Now what used to be 'red diesel' is 'city diesel' with a red dye in it and if you want to store fuel you need to buy 'gas oil'.

Cheers, Paul

[Rupert]

I was told modern petrol wont keep beyond 3 months unless you add a chemical to it....is this true?

Also i think petrol smells different recently or is it just me.?

[knighty]

in a hurry so skipped a few posts here.... but....

diesel bug lives in the bottom of your tank floating ontop of any water in the bottom
(so it's right in the water/diesel mix)

the brown stuff you see, which blocks your filters etc.. is the left over bits of dead diesel bug...

so if there's no water in the bottom of you're tank you've got nothing to worry about....



whatever you store, as long as you make sure the container is full right to the brim and also air tight you shouldn't have a problem !

(remember, fule tanks have breathers on them which will let air circulate!)