Petrol Storage

[JD1]

After searching for 1/2 an hour I eventually found the regulations. I had read them before with regard to petrol storage but couldn't find the link.

The relevant info from the regulations found here http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/p...m-faqs.htm

Petrol

Quote:Storage
What is the limit of the amount of petrol I can store for domestic use?
The Petroleum Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc.) Regulations 1929 and the Petroleum Spirit (Plastic Containers) Regulations 1982 limit the amount of petrol that can be kept in a domestic garage or within six metres of a building (e.g. most domestic driveways). The limit is a maximum of two suitable metal containers each of a maximum capacity of ten litres or two plastic containers (which have to be of an approved design) each of a maximum capacity of five litres. These limits also apply to any containers kept in a vehicle parked in the garage or on the driveway (but not to the internal fuel tank of the vehicle). Under no circumstances should the petrol containers be stored in the home itself.

Anyone who wishes to store larger quantities than this, or use larger containers, is required to notify the local Petroleum Licensing Authority (PLA) and to store the petrol in a prescribed manner set out in the 1929 Regulations mentioned above - enquirers who want further details should contact their local PLA. Storage of more than 275 litres (60 gallons) of petrol requires a petrol licence - again, contact the local PLA.

And Diesel

Quote:How should I store diesel and what quantity am I allowed?
There are no specific legal requirements on how to store diesel or the quantity allowed either in workplaces or domestic premises. It is not, from a health and safety point of view, a particularly hazardous substance within the meaning of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 - its vapour flash point is too high. This means that its vapour will not ignite at normal room temperatures.

That said, there are some general issues you'll need to take into account:

no 'hotwork' should be performed on the vessel unless it is emptied and purged of any remaining vapour.
the drum should be positioned away from any source of direct heat.
the drum should be located in an area where there is no risk of collision with vehicles, fork-lift trucks etc. (diesel splashing onto a hot engine will probably ignite).
leaks and spills should be contained to the vicinity of the drum and mopped up quickly, to lessen the risk of slipping.
refilling and dispensing activities need to take account of manual handling issues etc.
While diesel is not a particularly dangerous substance from a health and safety point of view, it is an environmental hazard, with considerable clean-up costs if it should leak into a drain, watercourse or the soil. You may, therefore, wish to contact the Environment Agency for further information

It is worth bearing in mind though what the previous poster said about his CC enforcing the petrol regs onto diesel storage

[iaaems]

Another point:-
"While diesel is not a particularly dangerous substance from a health and safety point of view, it is an environmental hazard, with considerable clean-up costs if it should leak into a drain, watercourse or the soil".

As the world is now, today, you might think that your household insurance - if you have any - will cover you for what is known as leakage/spillage. If you have oil fired central heating and you have a 1000Lt tank on the premesis - when was it last checked out?
The chances are that your insurers will balk at covering you for this unless they have been specifically asked to cover it. If diesel gets into the water course and it is traced back to your premesis the water company and all the other powers that be and beasts of prey will be down on you like a ton of bricks and you will probably have to reimburse them for their trouble, which will be considerable. If I remember correctly the oil companies self insure for this event. They can afford it - can you?
In an after event scenario, if you are found to be polluting the water supply the outcome just might be worse.
I appreciate that I may have oversimplified things a bit here, possibly, but my main concern is individual safety of storage and good housekeeping and the maintenance of a good clean water supply for everyone else.

[grumpy old man]

dead simple just get a heating tank for kerosen next to you house and fill it with kerosen you can run diesel cars and gennies on this you need to add a little cheap oil and sulpher so you don't damage you fuel pump but you do this when you go to use it you can build a continment tank around if you are worried about leekage but remember you can only use it in you car after an event when that horrible vat person is no more otherwise they will want you to pay £500 fine

[bigpaul]

i store 20-30 litres of petrol, enough to give me a decent top up in case of an "event", this is rotated, used and refilled. i dont stock any more than this because: A. storage is restricted and B. in the event of TSHTF any stocks of fuel wont last long as the masses beg,steal or borrow what is left.

[Skvez]

How much petrol do you need and what do you plan to use it for?

In a SHTF situation you need enough fuel to get home from work or to get to you BoL from your home but in the UK these tend to be small distances.
Then we want to hunker down. The only petrol you may need is for your chainsaw for collecting wood.
I don't see a need to drive all over the country (as we see in the TV series 'survivors')

[NorthernRaider]

The General rule of thumb about " How Much" came to a sort of consensus after Hurricane Rita and was confirmed by the UK hurricane of 84 and Hurricane Katrina. It was noted and documented by preppers both sides of the pond that in some cases people were bugging out from New Orleans with fuel tanks filled to the brim.

BUT because of traffic problems, breakdowns, congestion, accidents etc many people ran out of fuel after running at 5 mph for 12 hours in crawling traffic and found themselves still well inside the danger areas.

A rough formular came out of that along the lines of :

How much fuel do you need to get you to your BOL by the longest possible route, then triple it. So in my own case at the time I planned on a max route of 200 miles, x 3 gave me 600 miles which in the Transit van equated to about 80 Litres.. The fuel tank holds 65 litres so I carried two extra jerry cans of 20 litres each.

But when you get to your BOL you will still need fuel for reccing, patroling and salvaging !!

(24 October 2011, 18:03)Skvez Wrote: How much petrol do you need and what do you plan to use it for?

[bigpaul]

if we are talking about a permanent event with serious loss of life rather than just,say, power cuts, fuel strikes something like that, then as we ourselves have seen with the last bad winters, without people to repair roads, clean out the drains, clean out ditches, cut back trees, hedges, overgrowth etc. it will not take long for the roads even the minor ones to become unusable, across country will not be any better because without people to manage the countryside that too will be impassible within a short time as overgrowth, then scrub and eventually trees take over.

[bigpaul]

i want to add a comment about storing fuel..namely petrol, i know that there is a lot of talk about using stabilisers and petrol dosent last as long as diesel but ...i left my petrol mower in the shed full up with petrol, hasnt been used since september and i fully expected the fuel to be "off", it was taken out of the shed and it started....FIRST TIME no problems....i was very surprised.

[Skean Dhude]

This is what happens when you look to closely at things. That is why I have given up bothering.They have regulations for everything and taxes on those. I of course follow every one.

[Barneyboy]

yeah will work but burns fast and will mess with your modern car