[JR2980]

Hey guys - I have a couple of questions about storing Kerosene. I have a kerosene heater that I keep for emergencies, and have always kept a 5 gal jug of Kerosene in the garage. I'm planning to expand to 3-4 jugs and with my new shed thought it would be safer stored in there instead of in the garage (under my house)

I know that Kerosene is more stable than gas (dont need Stabil or other additives) but what about cold weather. I'm concerned that it might freeze if I put it in my un-heated shed this winter.

Maybe I'm just ignorant, but should I be concerned about that? If there is a danger of it freezing is there some kind of antifreeze that I can add to it (doubtful, but I thought I'd ask).

Where do you store your Kerosene?

Thanks All!!! :thumb:

 

[kahn]

As long as it does not hit -120 f, don't worry about it

 

[Jard]

It's not going to freeze. I keep mine in the garage. Be sure to have some way of getting the kerosene out of the 5 gal bucket. If you were to try to just pour it out you are going to have a big mess. The hole that they provide isn't nearly large enough, and most I've seen don't come with any vent. I purchased a little siphon hand pump for around 3 bucks that works great.

 

[nveagle]

How long will kerosene store for? Does it have a shelf life like gasoline?

 

[Brew]

We buy about 4 cans a year, mostly to heat the back porch area at night and in the winter. It lives in the shed, and we bring one to the garage and use the same hand siphon pump as mentioned above. Never froze that I know of. The cans we are using now are two years old so who knows could be 5yrs for shelf life?

 

[contact00]

Both Kerosene and Diesel are pretty similar fuels. They won't "freeze" but might get thick and hard to pour if it's really really cold (not sure on exact temps but well below water freezing).

They will both "grow" an amount of organic material inside over time, which slowly degrades fuel and can clog engines etc. The lower the storage temp the better as this will slow the process, also they do make a fuel stabilizer that will inhibit growth as well. Store a good fuel filter to filter out any gunk that might grow in there.

 

[eeyore]

They only problem i have ever had with with freezing kerosene of fuel oil, was when it got contaminated with water and the water froze.
I think this is very conservative numbers

Fuels
Gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel storage is similar. Maximum storage is 5 gallons or less in a sealed metal container. Store in a yard shed, not indoors or in the garage. Do not store near any ignition source (such as a water heater, furnace, or automobile) or near combustible materials. Shelf life of stored kerosene and diesel is approximately 12 months. Shelf life of stored gasoline is approximately 6 months. Check metal storage containers frequently for rust. Store the container on a pallet or metal oil drip pan, not on cool moist concrete. Get a new container if there is any sign of rust. Do not store fuels in plastic gasoline containers. Never siphon gasoline out of a vehicle. Ingested gasoline is very toxic.

http://www.el-cerrito.org/fire/power_safety_issues.html

 

[Dogmeat]

I've got kerosene bought back in 1998 for Y2K, and it's still working great! I rarely use my kerosene heaters anymore, they are just backup heat now. I see nothing in the jugs growing, like algae.

 

[test]

Last night we had a power outage. Fired up three krosene lamps, noticed they were getting low on fuel. Went out to the garage and opened the oldest 5 gal can we had, bought in 1999. Used a hand pump to fill a 2 gal jug.
Looked as good as the day I bought it, the lamps burned brite without smoking..
Dont know how long it will store, but 9 years isn't a push..........

 

[Scruggs]

The 15 gallon barrel of kerosene that we draw upon is at least 20 years old. The barrel is blue plastic, not metal. Although not used in a catalytic heater, this fuel performs fine in aladdin lamps. It has never been treated. The second barrel of kerosene is even older but I have no concerns of it ever becoming unuseable.

 

[JR2980]

Thanks for all the responses guys! :thumb:


I guess I got nothing to worry about - I feel a little dumb right now for asking, but at least now I know!

 

[Vergeltung]

sorry for the nOOb question, but can Kerosene heaters be used indoors? I thought there was a vapos/fumes issue within closed spaces. no?

thanks in advance.

 

[JR2980]

sorry for the nOOb question, but can Kerosene heaters be used indoors? I thought there was a vapos/fumes issue within closed spaces. no?

thanks in advance.

Sure they can - in fact, I dont know that I've ever seen a Kerosene heater that was outdoors only.

As long as you have a way for fresh air to get in you'll be fine and most houses arent airtight, so there is at least a little air leakage though you should probably crack a window when using it (that's what I do)

:thumb:

 

[Vergeltung]

Sure they can - in fact, I dont know that I've ever seen a Kerosene heater that was outdoors only.

As long as you have a way for fresh air to get in you'll be fine and most houses arent airtight, so there is at least a little air leakage though you should probably crack a window when using it (that's what I do)

:thumb:

thanks. I guess I was thinking of some other kind of portable heater. who knows, what exactly the memory stores. mis-information sometimes!

 

[Rabble]

I read many years ago, that kerosene made the best gun lube in arctic areas because it wouldn't gel up or freeze.

 

[eeyore]

On the indoor heaters as long that it was made recently i would not worry over it, if you can find a label on it it should say how clean it burns. Most of the newer ones burn 99.5 % clean. But leaving the window crack is a very wise precaution.

 

[gd9704]

This thread is proof of why I prefer kerosene as an emergency fuel source--it's easy to store large amounts and it seems to last a very long time in storage.

 

[sixheads]

I am also using Kerosene as my emergancy fuel and have stored 2 , 5 gallon steel pails and found this

http://www.survivalunlimited.com/fuelstorage/priocide.htm

and one of these

http://www.mrfunnel.com/Mr._Funnel/Home.html

i think that these 2 items , the priocide for anything that grows in it and the mr funnel for any water and the mr funnel if you had to use the priocide would be a good combanation in case your kerosene got contaminated. these two products plus good storgae should make you kerosene last a very very long time.

 

[MikeK]

The site doesn't mention whether the additive is safe for use in indoors heaters though. I don't know that I'd want to be breathing it in unless I knew for sure.

 

[Azreal]

picked up 10 gallons today