I just found this forum...Here's my Q.: I purchased 4 5-gallon rectangular military-type gas cans "just in case." I've decided to fill them and keep them in my 4x6 covered utility trailer that I keep parked in my 3 stall garage that I share with 2 other tenents in my townhouse complex. They seem to be what I would consider to be heavy duty. Is this safe?

-- Jeff K. (jeffonob@hotmail.com), December 14, 1999

Answers

Never store gasoline inside. Get one of those little plastic storage sheds and keep it outside on the patio, or get a couple of extra trash cans and hide it in them.

Even if you don't have a gas water heater or furnace, you are risking to much.

People like you are why I would choose to live in a single family shack or mobile home on the wrong side of town instead of the fanciest penthouse apartment.

Since I am resonably sure you don't have the trailer marked "No Smoking within 25 feet" any slight mistake and you, your housemates and all the other inhabitants of the complex are homeless.

Look over on the Timebomb 2000 forum. Some guy was storing butane in his basement. Fumes got loose and blew up. Even though the tanks did NOT explode, he was injured, all his stores ruined and his house wrecked.

I am sure we will see plenty of deaths caused by improper storage of flamables and/or improper heating cooking inside.

-- woody (woody11420@aol.com), December 14, 1999.

Woody's right. Gasoline storage is out and out dangerous. Keep in mind the fact that vapor is what makes it lethal. Reduce your vapor problem by checking the seals of the can. If they aren't soft and pliable, try to get replacement seals. If those aren't available, make new ones out of gasket material. A knowledgeable friend of mine puts a heavy coating of lube grease on the outlet threads and snugs the whole thing down tight. Done this way on metal cans, vapor pretty much disappears.

-- Choirboy (choirboy@hellzchoir.edu), December 14, 1999.

If you store gasoline anywhere you absolutely need to use either Sta-Bil, PRI-G, or some other gasoline stabilizer to prevent the gasoline from aging. Sta-Bil can be found at Wal-Mart. If you are storing large amounts of gasoline out in the country far from your house in an approved container that is properly grounded, etc. you might want to go with the PRI-G since it is more concentrated and therefore cost less to treat per gallon. There are many sites on the internet that sell WWW.PRIPRODUCTS.COM

For what it is worth, those military cans are one of the safer units *IF* they are in good shape.

To add more fuel to the fire of what Woody said (sorry, couldn't resist) there are many fire laws regarding how much gasoline can be stored in a location. If strictly interperted it would be illegal to park your car with a full tank in your garage. Point is this, if there were a fire, the insurance company's lawyers would get hernias from laughing so hard if they find out about your gas tanks since the insurance company would be off the hook and you'ld be liable.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), December 14, 1999.