Do your survival plans include long-term fuel storage?
If not…they should.
Why? Because fuel provides options…and when it comes to survival, options are like gold.
There are five primary fuels to consider storing:
- Firewood
- Gasoline
- Diesel Fuel
- Kerosene
- Propane
And these fuels are necessary for:
- Creating heat (food/warmth)
- Running a standard generator or appliances (electricity)
- Bugging out (motor transportation)
OK, you get it…sounds easy, right?
Just chop down a few trees and you got firewood. Just head down to your local Philps 66 and fill up some plastic fuel cans…right? Not so fast.
In this article, we will be covering:
- Pros and cons of each of these fuel types
- How to properly and safely store these fuels
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Firewood
Firewood is probably the most common form of fuel to store for long term survival. Why?
Firewood is often abundant (location dependent), it’s relatively inexpensive, it’s not complicated to store, and there are no laws on how much you can store. Firewood is also great for creating heat and cooking foods without electricity or chemicals.
However, there’s more to it than just chop down a tree and put it in your fireplace.
First off, different woods have different burn properties.
Softwoods tend to be poor burners. They burn too quickly and with low heat output. They also leave a lot of ash and are pungent burners. They tend to deteriorate faster than hardwoods.
Hardwoods tend to have opposite burning properties. They burn slowly, with high heat output. They keep better in long term fuel storage, and they produce less pungent smoke.
You also need to plan to allow firewood to be seasoned to get the most benefit from it.
Seasoning firewood consists of chopping it, splitting it into useable sizes and then storing it in a dry location for at least six months (a year is better) before use.
While there are worse things you can do than burning pre-seasoned firewood, it’s still something to be avoided. Why?
Firewood that is not properly seasoned won’t burn well (low heat output) and will create more creosote buildup in chimneys. Creosote build-up is what causes chimney fires.
Overall, good hardwood firewood should be one of the first fuels you begin stockpiling for SHTF.
Long Term Gasoline Storage: The Most Popular Bug Out Fuel
While there are quite a few diesel vehicles on the road, gasoline-powered engines still dominate. Only about 3% of all US vehicles are diesel powered.
So 97% of US road vehicles are gas based…
What happens when SHTF and gas stations have no electricity to pump?
Or what if the gas stations are overrun with extremely long lines due to panic and go empty within hours?
You better hope you have enough long term gasoline storage to get to your bug out location.
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I hope you now realize what a blessing a few extra gallons of stored gas will be. Now, let’s discuss how you should store gasoline long term.
Gasoline left alone, won’t keep…it has a very short shelf life. As it ages, it will quickly deteriorate over time. If you store this fuel long enough, it will eventually become useless. Essentially it’s one of the most difficult fuel to store long term.
So you have two options…you can either learn how to store gasoline long term (keep it from deteriorating) or come up with a regular fuel rotation system.
How To Store Gasoline Long Term
Depending upon the environment your gas is stored, gas will typically only last up to a year before it starts to become highly unusable.
However, there are products that can be added to the gasoline to increase the shelf life.
Gasoline stabilizer additives are designed to be periodically added to your stored fuel to prevent natural deterioration of its ignition properties.
Just add the stabilizer to your gasoline within a year, mix well and you’re ready for another year. It generally needs to be done every year…not just once.
Or Just Rotate Your Gasoline
If you would rather not deal with additives, you could also rotate your long term gasoline storage.
Just pour the gas from the container into your car and use as normal, and then refill your storage containers (small, medium, large) with fresh gas from your local station.
To ensure you stay clear of any ill deterioration effects, it’s probably best to rotate your gasoline storage every six months.
How Much Gasoline Should You Store?
This depends on a variety of personal factors, but in general, I suggest storing 25% more than it takes to get to your bug out location.
So for example, if your bugout location is 300 miles away…you’d ideally have about 25 gallons of fuel stored (assuming 15 mpg).
This will allow you to easily get to your bug out location (even if you’re starting out on fumes) without being dependent upon any gas stations.
A Few More Gasoline Long Term Fuel Storage Tips
There may be some local legal restrictions on how much gasoline you can legally store in one location at any given time. So make sure you look into that before you start your long term fuel storage.
Before you can start storing, you’ll need to find gasoline approved containers to keep the fuel in. There are OSHA regulations in regards to what’s approved vs. unapproved, so just keep that in mind.
Here’s some more “how to store gasoline” information from the guys over at The Prepper Project.
Ensure you take the following precautions when storing gasoline:
- Since gas (and its vapors) are highly flammable, it needs to be stored out of the extreme elements such as direct sunlight, extreme moisture, and extreme temperatures.
- Store the gasoline in a location separate from your living quarters such as an unattached shed. Also, keep it out of reach of children.
- Make certain your long term fuel storage location is at least 50 feet away from any ignition sources (i.e. pilot lights). Note: gasoline vapor is heavier than air and can travel along the floor to ignition sources.
- To prevent gas vapor leak, ensure your approved containers are properly sealed at all time.
- Take the time to learn all gasoline handling instructions prior to storing or using it.
One last point – get a siphon kit and learn how to siphon gas.
In survival, you might need to scavenge fuel and the easiest way to do this may be siphoning it out of other abandoned vehicles.
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Diesel Fuel
You’ll want to store diesel fuel instead of gasoline if your bug out vehicle of choice is diesel powered.
The Diesel Fuel that is typically seen today is actually Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel or also referred to as ULSD. The Diesel fuel that was stored “back in the day”, lasted for numerous years without any deterioration effects.
However, with the new formulation, ULSD will typically won’t last much more than about 6 months. You can extend the life of USLD by adding additives to the diesel fuel storage tanks (similar to gasoline).
Another way to extend the life of the ULSD would be the process of nitrogen blanking the fuel, which will increase the life of the fuel indefinitely.
Nitrogen Blanking involves injecting external nitrogen into the diesel fuel storage tanks.
You inject the nitrogen as the fuel increases and decreases from the use and any temperature change basically by removing the empty space in the tanks and replacing it with nitrogen.
This removes the atmospheric air from the diesel fuel storage tanks that can cause fungus to grow since it is made up of both oxygen and water.
In general, diesel fuel is less dangerous to store than gasoline due to it being less prone to accidental ignition.
Kerosene
Kerosene is an ideal fuel to store because of its versatility. It can be used for lighting, heating, and cooking.
Kerosene is considered a non-volatile fuel, meaning won’t explode (unlike gasoline), which is always a plus.
It can also be stored for many years without significant degradation. Kerosene is very dense in energy and holds almost 50% more energy than propane.
In addition, since Kerosene is readily available under normal circumstances so you won’t have any problems locating it and purchasing large amounts of it at reasonable prices (before SHTF at least).
In other words, you get more bang for your buck…literally.
Propane
Propane is relatively straightforward to store. It can be stored in propane storage tanks in both large or small quantities.
There are different sizes of propane storage tanks available so you would need to check with the supplier to see what sizes are available, as well as what sizes are permitted to be stored in your state.
In some locals even allow for mass long term fuel storage of propane, but it can be challenging to find tanks large enough.
As with Kerosene, propane can be stored safely for a long term without deteriorating and also is very versatile in uses. It can be used for stoves, lights, heaters, and even your refrigerator.
So Which Fuels Are The Best Long Term Fuel Storage?
It all depends upon your families survival plan.
Gasoline is important you plan to bug out using your gas powered vehicle. Same goes for diesel fuel and diesel-powered cars and trucks.
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Neither gasoline or diesel are necessary for long term fuel storage if you plan to stay put.
If you staying put when SHTF, then you may want to plan for using the less volatile fuels such as kerosene and or propane. Either of these can be configured to power ovens, stoves, heaters, lights, etc. if properly planned for.
I believe everyone should store as much firewood as possible. You can never have too much firewood when SHTF, especially those who live in cold winter climate zones.
So are you planning to prepare for some long term fuel storage? What techniques or advice do you have to offer the rest of us? Let us know in the comments below.
Prepare, Adapt and Overcome,
“Just In Case” Jack
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David says
I wonder if anyone knows of good, common ethanol (100% or E85 and up) and easy ways to brew and distill fuel-grade ethanol for use. I know how to make fuel-grade ethanol and turpentine from pines, two invaluable skills IMHO, but I really wish I could find a 120vAC ethnaol generator. I’ve seen a LOT in China fotr under $300 equivalent but they aren’t compatible and i’m not sure what would be required, plus they have no real info on their fuel requirements so they may be E10 or E50 or E85 or E100
alvan w atkinson says
Ideally you store something you use regularly. You are familiar with it, you cycle through it, you keep up with inventory even when no crisis. Live on farm so can cycle diesel through tractors and store significant quantities with PRI-D. Have diesel generator so heat, light. Agree with firewood but need storage, woodstove etc.
Propane is great for cooking and doesn’t take a lot for a lot for cooking. Get Coleman L, several barbecue
5gal tanks, good to go for months. Also great light source in winter– heat, also heat source with buddy heater.
Can get 40lb tanks that can still be handled by one person and have much energy. In much of old Soviet Union each kitchen has bottle of propane in corner connected to stove. Think about two 12volt batteries with LED lights could run off one for radios, cell phones, CPAP machines etc Can charge with short generator runs, solar panel, automobile, safe and all peripheral in auto parts store. AGM less risk leak or explosion, just more expensive, keep better. Need to trickle charge every 6mo to keep fresh. Can decrease generator runs to charging refrigerators, and 12 volt battery, Cook-heat propane-light LED- live a long time this way with stored food. Use generator to pump water from well, store between generator runs. Can run generator long time with only two runs/day for 3hrs or so no matter what fuel will go a lot further. Also don’t count on car for gasoline storage- very hard to access modern tanks. Avoid ethanol fuel in chain saws or stored generators, eats up the carburetors. Have stored a small gas generator for over 10years. Always run it out of fuel when done with it and store in clean dry place. About every 3-5years I need it for emergency-pull out check oil, put in fresh gas, usually starts in 3-4pulls. Get one with 220 output, pump water, from well. Same generator pumped well for one week after hurricane Fran in NC. Maintain house water pressure, with pressure valve doesn’t use much fuel as only pumps when needed. Had second generator for refrigerators. Checked oil, filled with fuel, started, run to out of fuel in late afternoon to early evening, Repeat before going to bed or turn off till morning. Get up early in morning start them up and go on with day. Maybe 20-30 gals of fuel in one week. Propane for cooking.
Things were pretty much normal in house, not so normal in outside world. Late summer so heat not problem.
Meghan says
Do you really need to store gasoline in a metal gas can? Is it actually unsafe to store it in plastic containers if you fill it 95% of the way? The prepper project video had some good information but was really selling those products…
Just In Case Jack says
Here’s a resource to check out.
Shin says
During a lecture we had when doing our annual fire-fighting course an instructor brought in an old WWII Jerry-can that had had a small amount of fuel in it when the shed where it was located burned to the ground.
That Jerry-can had increased its volume by about 50% without rupturing, and the instructor said it was probably the best advertisement for metal Jerry-cans he’d ever seen.
While we do have and use some ‘plastic’ containers they can and do expand on a hot day, so we keep our emergency fuel in metal cans. (Three each for my, my wife’s and our three daughter’s cars.)
DAVID says
I have searched for metal gas cans. I can not find one anywhere.
Just In Case Jack says
Try Amazon
Phil Miller says
No mention of Natural Gas (ie Methane)? We used to have cars run on Natural gas back in the 80’s whatever happened to that? The power output was crap compared to petrol, but in the zombie apocalypse who cares about 20% less power?
Gabby_Jim_41 says
CNG vehicles are still being used today – many city bus systems brag about their environmentally friendly systems. This is impractical for private vehicles, though, due to the high pressure tanks required, the limited range, and the low availability of filling stations. Propane has become the next-best-choice, but with the same problems, except that propane is not so hard to find.
“What did you do during the war, Daddy” – Automobile engines were adapted to dual fuel systems using natural gas and ‘petrol’. Large bladders, much like water-bed mattresses or weather balloons, were mounted on the roof, then inflated with methane.
Obviously, range was limited, but Taxi drivers were able to stay in business because most – if not all – of their driving was short hops.
Also, farmers (and other folk) would build rigs that converted wood or charcoal (almost anything that would burn, actually) to a gas (CO?) that would run their trucks and tractors (some rigs “washed” the gas to eliminate unwelcome by-products).
It has been many years since I learned of this, and may take some web surfing to ferret out, but – if memory serves – I got some very good info from the U.S. Patent office.
As I recall, a good size bag of charcoal would provide about 300 miles of driving – but I may not be remembering accurately (I was born before the attack on Pearl Harbor, so you may understand I’m a bit foggy),
Yet another technique was to mount a 55 G drum in the back of a pickup, load it with animal waste (cow, hog, chicken – best was a blend of turkey and pig poop) and brew methane. Same technique used to run cook stove in home – drum of poo would run a 2-burner stove for about a month’s worth of cooking.
Once upon a time, there were many DIY plans available for back-yard methane (aka, “natural” gas) generators. It is very likely they can be found on the web.
The gist of all this is that in a SHTF situation, there are many ways to keep your internal combustion engines working, cook, and keep your abode warm, but you need to research the “how to” and get the systems up and running BEFORE things get desperate.
(At my age, I don’t much shiv-a-git, and most of my browsing is mostly curiosity now. I live on a remote ranch in WY and already pretty much live on a month to month basis as it is. In a SHTF situation, I won’t have to do a whole lot differently than I do now.)