Any thing wrong with using a -really- heavy duty 55 gallon plastic drum for storing gasoline? I recently came into possession of 2 monster-weight plastic drums that (I think) were used to hold petroleum products. What kind of grounding issues do I have to worry about? How about longevity? Any ideas guys? (And gals?)

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan@Yahoo.com), November 10, 1999

Answers

Absolutely. The thing to be concerned about in that case is not the container, but 1) legality of storage of large tanks of gasoline outside if you are in a municpality, and 2) wherever you are, the proximity of your place of storage to your dwelling place or anything else you would be sorry to lose in the event of a kablooie. I have friends doing just this: storing gas in 55 gal drusm with screw down lids, which were previously used for some other petrol product. I can;t do it myself since I'm in a city, and there's no place to store away from the kids.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), November 10, 1999.

What type of plastic drums are ok to use for petroleum storage?

-- helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), November 10, 1999.

I got 4 used 50-gal blue plastic barrels (@$15 apiece) from a local barrel supply house. Two are going to be for rain/wash water (*not* drinking water since the barrels previously held some kind of chemical, and were acid washed to get them clean inside), and two will be used for kerosene storage. Kero, I understand, can be stored for about 3 years before it degrades the plastic in the barrels (personal testimonial from somebody who uses them in this manner). They have screw top bungs, and I am able to screw off the larger plug by hand. Used steel barrels are about $25 each from the supplier.

Some places resell blue apple juice barrels, but I think they also use some kind of acid wash to clean out the insides, and therefore the barrels can't be used for drinking water.

-- PillsBury DoughBoy (pbdb98@yahoo.com), November 10, 1999.

A WORD OF WARNING:

DO NOT use plastic 55 gallon drums for high- flammability petroleum products, such as gasoline and kerosene. The plastic is a very effective insulator for static electricity, and you can EASILY generate a spark when filling the drums.

The reason it's safe to use the 5-gallon plastic containers is that not enough static charge can build up in them.

Use STEEL drums, rated for petro-chemicals. See my "Storing Gasoline" thread below...

-- Dennis (djolson@cherco.net), November 10, 1999.