OK briefly UK petrol and diesel formula changed a few years ago, roughly since they reduced or stopped adding lead and other bits to it its shelf life at 95 Octane is approx. a few months before it starts to slowly go off.
Petrol in vented containers goes off in about 3 months but its still works just less efficiently
petrol left in vehicles to long can at time coat the internals in a clogging laquer
petrol is sealed apparently can last over a year cos the volatiles cannot get out.
Diesel is less refined and petrol thus it stores longer without treatment.
Diesel stored in vented containers can develop an anaerobic fungus that turns the diesel into sludgey muck,
Diesel stored in sealed container judging by my own stocks is fine after a year.
Petrol can be treated with stabiliser for storage, so can diesel
Diesel can also be treated with anti mould / fungus stuff
You can buy octane boosters for petrol
You can buy cetane boosters for diesel
Both petrol and diesel now come in summer and winter formulations
Cetane Boosters
Cetane boosters only improve cold starting on diesel engines due to increase of flamability of the mixture at lower pressure and temperature. It has been proven that no effect on the power of the engine is attained once the engine is at normal operating conditions.
There are a number of engine performance characteristics that are generally recognized as important. Their relative importance depends on engine type and duty cycle (truck, passenger car, stationary generator, marine vessel, etc.).
starting ease low wear (lubricity)
sufficient power low temperature operability
low noise long filter life (stability)
good fuel economy low emissions
Engine design, by far and away, has the greatest impact on most of these characteristics. But since the focus of this publication is fuel, this chapter will discuss how they are affected by fuel properties.
STARTING
When a cold diesel engine is started (cold start), the heat of compression is the only energy source available to heat the gas in the combustion chamber to a temperature that will initiate the spontaneous combustion of the fuel (about 750°F [400°C]). Since the walls of the combustion chamber are initially at ambient temperature rather than operating temperature, they are a significant heat sink rather than a heat source. And since cranking speed is slower than operating speed, compression is also slower, which allows more time for the compressed air to lose heat to the chamber walls. (A glow plug provides an additional source of heat in indirect-injection diesel engines.) A fuel that combusts more readily will require less cranking to start an engine. Thus, if other conditions are equal, a higher cetane number fuel makes starting easier. As the compression temperature is reduced by variables like lower compression pressure, lower ambient temperature, and lower coolant temperature, an engine requires an increasingly higher cetane number fuel to start easily. Research indicates that fuels meeting the ASTM Standard Specification D 975 cetane number requirement of a minimum of 40 provide adequate cold starting performance in modern diesel engines. At temperatures below freezing, starting aids may be necessary regardless of the cetane number of the fuel. Even after the engine has started, the temperatures in the combustion chamber may still be too low to induce complete combustion of the injected fuel. The resulting unburned and partially burned fuel is exhausted as a mist of small droplets that is seen as white smoke (cold smoke). This situation normally lasts for less than a minute, but the exhaust is irritating to the eyes, and can be objectionable if a number of vehicles are started together in an enclosed space. A fuel with a higher cetane number can ameliorate the problem by shortening the time during which unburned fuel is emitted to the atmosphere.
POWER
Power is determined by engine design. Diesel engines are rated at the brake horsepower developed at the smoke limit.1 For a given engine, varying fuel properties within the ASTM D 975 specification range does not alter power significantly. For example, in one study seven fuels with varying distillation profiles and aromatics contents were tested in three engines. In each engine, power at peak torque and at rated speed (at full load) for the seven fuels was relatively constant. However, if fuel viscosity is outside of the D 975 specification range, combustion may be poor, resulting in loss of power and fuel economy.
NOISE
The noise produced by a diesel engine is a combination of combustion noise and mechanical noise. Fuel properties can affect only combustion noise. In a diesel engine, the fuel ignites spontaneously shortly after injection begins. During this delay, the fuel is vaporizing and mixing with the air in the combustion chamber. Combustion causes a rapid heat release and a rapid rise of combustion chamber pressure. The rapid pressure rise is responsible for the diesel knock that is very audible for some diesel engines. Increasing the cetane number of the fuel can decrease the amount of knock by shortening the ignition delay. Less fuel has been injected by the time combustion begins and it has had less time to mix with air. As a result, the rapid pressure rise, along with the resulting sound wave, is smaller. One design approach to reducing combustion noise is to shape the injection-setting the rate slow at first and then faster - to reduce the amount of fuel entering the cylinder during the ignition delay period. Another is to use indirect-injection
FUEL ECONOMY
Here again, engine design is more important than fuel properties. However, for a given engine used for a particular duty, fuel economy is related to the heating value of the fuel. Since diesel fuel is sold by volume, fuel economy is customarily expressed as output per unit volume e.g., miles per gallon. Therefore, the relevant units for heating value are heat per gallon (Btu per gallon). Heating value per gallon is directly proportional to density when other fuel properties are unchanged. ASTM specifications limit how much the heating value of a particular fuel can be increased. Increasing density involves changing the fuel's chemistry - by changing aromatics content - or changing its distillation profile by raising the initial boiling point, the end point, or both. Increasing aromatics is limited by the cetane number requirement (aromatics have lower cetane numbers [see Figure 4-7]); changing the distillation profile is limited by the 90% distillation temperature requirement. Combustion catalysts may be the most vigorously promoted diesel fuel aftermarket additive (see Chapter 7). However, the Southwest Research Institute, under the auspices of the U.S. Transportation Research Board, ran back-to-back tests of fuels with and without a variety of combustion catalysts. These tests showed that a catalyst usually made "almost no change in either fuel economy or exhaust soot levels."2 While some combustion catalysts can reduce emissions, it is not surprising that they don't have a measurable impact on fuel economy. To be effective in improving fuel economy, a catalyst must cause the engine to burn fuel more completely. But there is not much room for improvement. With unadditized 3 fuel, diesel engine combustion efficiency is typically greater than 98%. Ongoing design improvements to reduce emissions are likely to make diesel engines even more efficient.
WINTER DIESEL
NR
Basically this explains why you need to buy your diesel for storing and caching in the winter.
EN590
BS EN 590:2004 (which supersedes BS EN 590:1999) lays down the maximum "cold filter plugging point" (CFPP, the temperature at which the fuel won't pass through a fuel filter) for UK diesel. Pretty much every UK forecourt sells diesel certified to BS EN 590.
- for diesel on sale between 16th March and 15th November, the max CFPP is -5 degrees C
- for diesel on sale between 16th November and 15th March, the max CFPP is -15 degrees C
If you've got problems with your diesel waxing, then either:
- it's been a lot colder than you realise
- you're running on summer diesel in the winter
- you're running on heating oil or something else which isn't "diesel"
- your local garage is being very naughty and needs reporting to Trading Standards
Or, of course, you might have bought a stockpile of 2000 litres of diesel back in June when it was cheap ...
THE CASE FOR DIESEL
© NR2012 v2
Yes I know there are far more people driving Cars, Vans, SUVs’s , Pickups, 4X4’s etc with petrol (gasoline) powered engines than there are driving similar vehicles running Diesel engines, But hang on a moment is that a good thing for us claiming to be switched on survivalists?
Some points I think need chewing over by the preparedness communities especially those with retreats, homesteads, secure homes and bug out plans.
If (or more likely when) TSHTF and fuel availability & storage becomes a major issue what will society in general start doing?
Let’s accept that most of us already keep our vehicles topped off most of the time and also keep a few gallons of fuel stored for “The Day” but nearly all of us must admit that overall we have not got enough fuel cached to get by with.
Question? What is the general public going to do as soon as finding fuel supplies become difficult?
Answer, yes they are going to form huge queues at almost every petrol (gas) station they can, the rest of this tale you already know, huge queues, long waits, rationing, violence, riots, people getting killed for a gallon of fuel. The public will go berserk in next to no time at all. Also we cannot ignore the massive reduction of the number of fuel stations in the UK over 75% of all UK fuel stations have closed since 1970 and its getting worse this allows the state to have an easier job at controlling the availability of fuel to the public. Also note the number of oil and petrol refineries has also been dramatically cut in recent years.
(This scenario came 100% spot on accurate during the 2005 hurricane season in the US and in the Superstorm Sandy that hit New York state in 2012)
So what are the big boys and the prepared people doing?
What do the Railways (Railroads), Truckers, Maritime trade, leisure boats use as fuel? What do farmers choose as fuel for their tractors, ploughs, etc? What do the military choose to power their vehicles?
Diesel, Yes Diesel, This fuel is found almost everywhere a survivalist would choose to look. It’s safer to handle and store than petrol, it’s got a better shelf life untreated than petrol and it’s used to power most of our commerce.
Next time you are out and about take a look around and try to identify places you could ‘Source’ petrol (gas) and diesel. Petrol in general is only available at fuel stations and in other petrol powered vehicles (cars, lawn mowers and jet skis?).It’s only found in fairly small quantities as well. If you are lucky you will be able to fill your vehicle and a few jerry cans from a retail source before government restrictions or shortages become an issue.
But look at places you can find diesel in an emergency and in what quantities? Trucks alone have tanks that carry many hundreds of gallons of diesel, truck stops hold huge amounts in comparison to petrol stations. Look at your local railroad locomotive, even the smallest carry 1500 gallons of diesel whilst the mainline locos can carry as much as 6000 gallons.
Also in recent years modern diesel engines have advanced technologically, to a point that the power issues that traditionally separated diesel vehicles from petrol (gas) powered vehicles has been eroded. So that unless you are into sports cars a turbo diesel can and will match your gasoline powered car in everything except the 0-60 MPH stakes, plus modern diesels are still more economical than petrol engines.
Then of course when it comes to the reliability and vulnerability aspects of comparing the two types of engine diesel wins hands down.
I am also advised that certain types of heating oil can be used to run a diesel engine. Certainly after the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina you need to carry enough fuel to travel 3x the distance to your retreat, this allows for diversions and long periods of very slow driving in heavy traffic.
So in closing if you have a rural retreat or bug out plans and you believe that sourcing fuel is going to be a major issue common sense directs you to choose the good old compression ignition engine.
STA-BIL Fuel Stabiliser Cars Boats Lawnmowers Petrol
Gold Eagle Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer is a fuel additive that keeps fuel fresh for quick, easy starts after periods of storage. Designed for all 2-cycle and 4-cycle gasoline engines, Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer eliminates the need to drain fuel before storage in order to protect your engine from the gum, varnish, rust, and corrosion that can afflict engines after gasoline left in the tank has broken down. It also prolongs the life of an engine by removing water from gas tanks, and cleans carburetors and fuel injectors. The solution works safely and effectively in all gasoline blends, including ethanol-blended fuel up to E85.
Protect Gas Engine During Storage without Draining the Tank
Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer is America's top selling fuel stabilizer - and for good reason, it works. It's hard to believe, but fuel left in the tanks of a stored vehicle can begin to break down in as little as 30-60 days causing gum, varnish and corrosion to build up in the fuel lines and engine. One traditional solution to this problem is to drain the tank before storage, but this is time-consuming and messy. It can also be counter productive since it is very difficult to get all of the fuel out of a tank and leaving the walls of your fuel tank exposed during storage can invite corrosion in the presence of moisture, especially in fuels containing ethanol.
Protection against corrosion and gumming during storage and everyday use for gasoline engines.
View larger.
Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer does away with all this by inhibiting fuel break down, allowing you to leave fuel in your stored vehicle worry-free. It also cleans carburetors and fuel injectors in the event of existing gumming up of fuel systems prolonging engine life and ensuring quick, easy starts after storage is over and the covers come off your ride.
New Improved Formula Protects Against Ethanol Additives
No longer just for cars being placed into storage, the new formula of Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer also makes it the perfect product to be used at every fill up in all vehicles and equipment to protect against corrosion caused by today's ethanol-blended fuels. Ethanol additives in modern fuels are intended to minimize carbon dioxide emissions, but they can also create problems in the form of corrosion and clogged fuel systems that can dramatically impact performance. Ethanol is optimally soluble in gasoline under the right conditions, but when temperatures become too hot or too cold the additive can become unstable, drawing moisture into your gas tank. This addition of moisture into the fuel mix can lead to phase separation, a condition in which total saturation of the fuel results in the ethanol and water separating from the gas mixture, and coming to rest near the bottom of the tank. If the level of this fuel-depleted liquid mixture is allowed to accumulate it not only will take up precious space in your fuel tank, but it may also be injected into your engine affecting performance and potentially creating serious problems. In addition, if significant water remains in your tank the moisture can cause rust and corrosion, or contribute to the gumming up of your fuel system. Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer puts an end to this in all 2-cycle and 4-cycle engines. Just add a few penny's worth of Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer to your tank each time you fill up and you could be saving yourself hundreds of dollars in repair costs in the long run.
Key Features
America's top selling fuel stabilizer keeps fuel fresh for quick, easy starts after storage
Removes water to prevent corrosion and cleans carburetors and fuel injectors
Protects engine from gum, varnish, rust, and corrosion
Prolongs engine life
Eliminates the need to drain fuel before storage
Works safely and effectively in all gasoline's including ethanol-blended fuel up to E85
For all 2-cycle and 4-cycle gasoline engines
32-oz bottle treats up to 80 gallons of fuel
Snippet about petrol storage and how quick it spoils, The Aussie branches of Shell, BP etc are a lot more forthcoming with info for the public than our own domestic companies.
NR
According to Shell’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren
Scott, you can generally store fuel in a sealed container for around
six months before it starts to deteriorate. This assumes it’s kept
relatively cool and away from direct sunlight.
“But if the container is not properly sealed or it’s repeatedly opened,
[fuel] will start to evaporate and you lose some of the light
components in the fuel,” Mr Warren says.
Those light components include highly important butane. As these
components are lost, the fuel loses its volatility. Mr Warren says this
makes the car difficult to start.
In warm conditions, fuel is especially prone to oxidisation which
causes lacquer and gums to form. As a result, the fuel turns dark in
colour, loses its clarity and smells like paint stripper.
Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia says that in the
right conditions, fuel can last up to 12 months. But once the container
is opened, the fuel will start to degrade.
“Once the seal is broken, a vapour space is formed in the container and
the fuel will start to deteriorate more rapidly,” he says.
Okay, so what about fuel that’s left in your car’s tank for a long period of time?
Mr Whitfield claims fuel in a car’s tank can last for up to four weeks
before it becomes considerably denser. When this happens, the engine is
effectively over-fuelled (without any change in injector pulse-width)
and there’s an increased chance of carbon deposition onto spark plugs and inside the combustion chamber. This can cause driveability problems such as stutters and misses.
“Regular unleaded fuel will lose a small amount of octane over time but
in our low-sulphur and high detergent Ultimate fuel it might increase
very slightly. It might increase 1 RON in four weeks – but it’s not
something I’d bother chasing,” he says.
“Keep in mind that typical variation in BP Ultimate is 98 – 100 RON while normal unleaded ranges between 91 – 93 RON.”
Mr Warren says that in most cases, it’s only when fuel is left in the
tank for several months there’s the risk of engine damage. This is much
more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems.
“By this time the fuel will have gone dark and gummy and can clog the
fuel pump, filter and injectors,” Mr Warren says. It can also leave a
lacquer deposit on the inside of the fuel tank which is difficult to remove.
In addition, it’s important to be aware that fuel brews – specifically
fuel volatility - varies on a month to month basis. Standards vary from
state to state but, generally, volatility is reduced during summer
months to reduce evaporative emissions. Mr Whitfield says this
typically makes the engine slightly harder to start but there is no
change in octane.
Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company
ChipTorque, frequently dyno tests cars which have not previously been
driven for several weeks.
“On the fuel mix we have in Queensland, I think fuel in a car’s tank is
starting to go off in around three weeks,” Mr Riddel says. “We can tune
a car, put it away for three of four weeks, come back to it and it will
be either closer to detonation or less likely to make the same power.
“I think local fuel is brewed to reduce evaporative emissions in warm
weather and, maybe because of that, fuel really goes crappy in eight to
ten weeks. By that stage, the fuel is extremely prone to detonation.”
Interestingly, Mr Riddel hasn’t noticed the engine becoming harder to start but the effect on octane is pronounced.
Similarly, the General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle
Operations, Steve Coates, believes fuel tends to go off in a car’s fuel
tank quite quickly once it’s a couple of weeks old.
“After a couple of weeks not driving a car, I find that it will be
closer to detonation than it was at the time of tuning on the chassis
dyno,” he says.
“And the brand of fuel seems to make a difference as well – I find that
Mobil and BP products are probably the best after being stored but
Shell Optimax is really good when it’s new."
Clearly, there are some important factors to keep in mind when storing
fuel in a container for several months or when parking your car for a
few weeks.
Our recommendation is not to run the engine at high load with fuel
that’s been in the tank for any more than three of four weeks and it’s
a good idea to add at least 25 percent fresh fuel to the tank every few
weeks. This will help ensure there are no fuel-related driveability
problems or detonation and will reduce the chance of lacquer building
up inside the tank.
How to store fuel long term.
Prepping
MAY 23, 2013POSTED BY P. HENRY
Avoid The Lines – How to Store Fuel Long Term
A generator without gas is like a rifle without ammunition. For this piece of machinery to be of any use to you outside of a very expensive and heavy paper weight, you need to have a plan for fuel storage. This is also the case if you don’t want to end up like millions of people each year who are unable to get gas after a natural emergency like Hurricane Sandy. A good fuel storage plan usually involves purchasing and properly treating a minimum amount of fuel to last you through whatever scenario you are planning for. This might be fuel for your generators, or enough gas to get you to your bug out location. It is easier to pre-purchase fuel and store it so that in the case of an emergency, you aren’t standing in line. There are a few things to consider when you are planning to store fuel for a long time that we will cover below.
What type of container should you store fuel in?
Similar to having water on hand in an emergency; having a supply of fuel in containers that protect the fuel and are easy to carry is important. Could you store gas in thousand gallon tanks buried underground? Yes, and that is my dream scenario but for now I and I assume most others will have to settle for something a little more cost effective and portable. There are many different types of fuel containers but for gas, the most common style is plastic and red in color with a built in spout of some form. Kerosene containers are blue, Diesel is Yellow and it is important to follow this handy color convention so that you don’t accidentally pour regular gas in your kerosene heater and fry your eyebrows off or worse.
You can get new fuel cans just about anywhere. Home Depot, WalMart, Lowes and any hardware store will have some options for you. Most of the new models at Walmart near me are from a company called Scepter and have a new type of nozzle which is probably the result of stupid legislation that doesn’t work well at all. The nozzle requires you to press two tabs and pull them into a position for the fuel to dispense. This doesn’t work very well and the fuel doesn’t come out smoothly. I don’t think this is necessarily Scepter’s fault and they are probably only doing what is required from government regulations.
You can also pick fuel cans up at yard-sales or salvage companies. There is a salvage company down the road from me that routinely has perfectly good fuel cans for very cheap with the old goose neck spouts. These are much superior in my opinion and if you are going to be pouring fuel out of a heavy can into a small hole I would recommend getting a good goose-neck or buying an older can. I have several of the new cans full of gas in my shed and a couple of older ones. If I need to pour anything out, I will use what is in the old style cans first and then pour my gas from the new cans into the old cans. It is just easier for me that way.
Regardless of whether you have a new or old can, the place you store your fuel should be as airtight as possible. You don’t want fumes leaking into the area you have your fuel stored and gasoline evaporates quickly when exposed to air.
Using Fuel Additives for long term fuel storage
Gas loses its potency over time and this also applies to Diesel and Kerosene. Diesel for example if stored at lower than 70 degrees will last about 12 months without any additives provided it is kept in a sealed container. If your temperatures are much above 70 that time slips by 50% to 6 months. According to BP,
As diesel gets older a fine sediment and gum forms in the diesel brought about by the reaction of diesel components with oxygen from the air. The fine sediment and gum will block fuel filters, leading to fuel starvation and the engine stopping. Frequent filter changes are then required to keep the engine going. The gums and sediments do not burn in the engine very well and can lead to carbon and soot deposits on injectors and other combustion surfaces.
Now, what can we do to prevent issues like this and protect our fuel because you don’t want to be trying to outrun the mutant zombie bikers from Mars and have your engine stop? Additives. There are two main additives that I have run across, STA-BIL and PRI-G. PRI has several lines of additives and the –G stands for gasoline. They also have PRI-D for diesel. PRI additives are designed to be added to your fuel on a yearly basis to maintain the fuel in the best condition possible and they even claim that if your fuel has aged already, just adding PRI-G has proven to restore the fuel to “refinery-fresh conditions”. I would rather not test that out but PRI-G does have a decent reputation.
STA-BIL is one that I have personally used and does pretty much the same thing as PRI-G in terms of conditioning your fuel to last a lot longer in storage than it would without treatment. The instructions are simple, just dump the required amount in with your fuel and Voila! You should be able to safe storing fuel for at least a year with no adverse affects. I pour in the additive first and then the gas so that it is mixed as thoroughly as possible.
How Much and Where do I store my fuel?
Can you ever have too much fuel? I don’t know that you can in a real emergency. If you are unable to get to the gas station or there are rations at the pump you can never have too much. Would 500 gallons be enough? It really depends. If you have a minor power outage that lasts a few days, then you wouldn’t need that much gas at all. If we have the end of the world and there are no gas stations anymore, that 500 gallons is going to be a huge help, but it won’t last forever.
What I think is a good baseline takes into consideration the 80/20 rule. What is the likelihood that you will need this fuel for? For most people I think storing fuel for a bug out vehicle or a generator is the most common scenario to plan for. For your car, I would plan on storing as much gas as you need to get you to your bugout location and add 50% to that. So, if you needed 2 tanks of gas to get you to your retreat and your tank held 20 gallons, I would store 60 gallons of treated fuel. This way if for some reason the grid goes down, the SHTF and zombies are walking all over the gas station parking lots, you should have plenty to get you there.
For a generator, I think you have to look at what you plan to run and how long you plan to run it. 15 gallons would last me about a week as long as I was using the generator for necessities only. Of course it depends on the time of year but that is an average. Everyone should have at least one can of gas stored for emergencies but I like to store a minimum of one tank of gas for my car which is roughly 17 gallons and another 10 for the generator
Fuel should be stored in a clean, preferably cool place away from where you live. Don’t store fuel in your house if possible because that is an accident waiting to happen. If my shed blew up I would be a lot less concerned than if my house blew up.
Don’t forget to rotate
I posted in another article a couple of weeks ago about 3 common mistakes preppers make and storing fuel should be considered as well. I wouldn’t buy 50 gallons of gas, throw in some stabilizer and forget about them. Use and rotate your fuel yearly and you will be in great shape if something does require you to use your supplies. Since they blend gas differently in the Winter, I buy my fuel around January and store that for a year. Before the next January comes around I load up my gas tank in my car expending my stores and then head to the pump for a fresh batch. This way I think my fuel will be in as good a condition as possible.
Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts, please add them in the comments below.
Fuel AdditivesFuel StorageHow to store fuelstoring fuel for a long term
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Well you did ask
That WAS the SHORT version BTW
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