I wen to Home Depot and was shocked to see the price of gasoline and kerosene containers. I think that a well made plastic garbage container would be the way to store these products.

-- ron (rrest@hotmail.com), October 19, 1999

Answers

Can you say Boom? If nothing else, a garbage can is not air tight and would allow evaporation and fumes to escape. Fumes are combustable. I reccomend using a properly designed contained and get peace of mind for the few extra dolla

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), October 19, 1999.

woah. good luck. lord forbid anyone get them mixed up plus i would hate to see the fumes that would hit the air everytime you open the lid. sounds like an accident waiting to happen. now i would say that for water storage (if you had a liner or the thing was hdpe) but not fuels.

-- tt (cuddluppy@yahoo.com), October 19, 1999.

As long as you do not live anywhere near me or my friends, go ahead and blow yourself up. If you want a cheap way to store fuel, get 55 gal steel drums for free and clean them out and use them.

-- chicken farmer (chicken-farmer@ y2k.farm), October 19, 1999.

55 gallon drums are $12.50 apiece, reconditioned. I would stay away from plastic. A lot of plastics deteriorate rapidly in the presence of petroleum distillates. That translates into cracks and leaks.

MFU

-- Man From Uncle 1999 (mfu1999@hotmail.com), October 19, 1999.

Ron, you are being pennywise and pound foolish.

There might even be laws in your area forbidding fuel storage in the manner you speak of. Its a dangerous idea anyway.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), October 19, 1999.

Ron has GOT to be trying to give polly's fuel for their fire. No one could possibly be dumb enough to store gasoline in a garbage can. Could they? Geez folks, buy a bike. How long do you think 55 or 110 gallons will last if there are major supply problems.

For those who must store alot of fuel, a local company here that sells LP, kerosine, and heating oil has used tanks for all purposes available for sale. You might want to check around. A few bucks could save your life, your familys lives, your neighbors lives.

Road bike: good for long distance travel on even surfaces

Mountain bike: good for shorter distances on even or uneven surfaces (short trips like to 7-11)

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), October 19, 1999.

In addition to everything else, your store manager must be crooked, or at least greedy. I just bought several 5 gallon gasoline containers for $3.99 each at a hardware (of course on sale --- but local hardwares are not usually known for their cheap prices).

Oher than that --- I positively affirm the previous comments.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), October 19, 1999.

Where do you get those 55 gallon reconditioned Steel Drums...???

$12.50...?? That would be worth it...

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), October 19, 1999.

HEY GUYS, COOL IT!!! In the final days of this year many people (hopefully) who have never, ever had to think of any way of doing things other than the usual, which means have never had to think about fuels, food and water storage, etc., will be coming here for HELP...NOT for ridicule. It may sound stupid to some who are familiar with these things, but it is not to city/suburban dwellers who just turn up a thermostat and go to their local supermarket as needed. Lots of us have asked lots of questions on subjects that others take for granted...and like me, are grateful for those who understood and answered us with kindness. You can snicker in private, but please, not here in these last days. Thanks.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 19, 1999.

As to the price...that is what they are selling for here in No VA, at Home Depot and elsewhere. It is the usual price here.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 19, 1999.

Elaine,

Thanks for the reminder... We should all refelct on what she said. I have a neighbor who ruined his transmission in his car because he managed to check his fluid level and some smartass told him that WATER would substitute for ATF... The ass kicker was that it wasn't even low in the first place, as he checked it with the engine off...

Yes there are lots of people who are "tactile inferior"...

Again, thanks Elaine for the heads-up...

sunnin' on the porch...

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), October 19, 1999.

Elaine,

Good point. Thanks for the reminder. Guess there are no courses in plain old common sense.

Ron, please forgive me if you were indeed serious.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), October 19, 1999.

A word on plastic barrels. The juice distributor I purchased my steel barrles from warned me that rats can chew through the plastic ones(same price).

-- johan (reisch@c-zone.net), October 19, 1999.

If you plan to store 55 gl. metal drums outdoors, you'd better know how to ground them with an 8' ground and copper tube to braided cable an a clip for every barrel. It wouldn't be a bad idea to scratch the barrel where the clip attaches, and for added safety, use an oxidizer. Store away from the sleeping quarters. In our area, new barrels, once used from the feed store can be had for $5:00. Speaking of feedstore, wheat/ 100 lbs. is only $9:00, and corn is a bit lower. It needs cleaning a little, but beats the price by the bucket.

-- Patrick (pmchenry@gradall.com), October 20, 1999.