OT: Need info on kerosene storage

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I am extremely confused as to the info I have received doncerning kerosene storage. Without going into a lengthy post, here is what I want to do. I want to store a 55 gallon drum of kerosene in my basement. I do not want anyone to have access to it, therefore I must store it in my basement. I have a huge garage door adjacent to where I want to store my kerosene and it is very drafty (doesn't seal very well). So, I see ventilation as no problem. However, I would say the area where I want to store the drum is about 15 feet from my gas furnace (regular type, not the old light-it-with-a-match kind; the home heating kind. Of course, I am concerned about having the kerosene close to the pilot light.

Is kerosene as flammable as I am afraid it is? The drum is tight and sealed with a spicket.

If I HAVE to move the drum outside for safety's sake, will the kerosene gel in winter weather (I live in WV. Winter is moderate, freezing most nights).

Please help as I am very concerned and have to make a decision.

Thanks

Donna

-- Donna (Donnaeli@yahoo.com), December 20, 1999

Answers

Donna,

First, I also live in WV. I heat using heating oil. In order to keep the heating oil fluid in the cold weather I have to ADD kerosene to the heating oil. The kerosene keeps the heating oil fluid in the cold weather.

In general, kerosene is not very flamable. That said, it's far better to store it outdoors. Storing any kind of fuel in your basement -- even a 'drive-in' basement such as you describe -- can have all sorts of bad ramifications, including problems with insurance if something should happen.

One suggestion: buy one of those Rubbermaid sheds, put it outside the garage door, put the kero barrel in that, and keep the shed locked. This also hides the stash.

Other possibilities: chain the barrel to something solid and put a lock on the spigot; put a stop in the spigot hole and use a drum pump through the bung to pump the kero out (keep the drum pump inside when not in use.)

Good luck, but don't blow yourself up.

-- de (delewis@inetone.net), December 20, 1999.


Donna, I've asked the local oil products distributor the same questions, regarding volatility and longevity in storage. There are a few things I have learned, and I'll share with you what we did about storage. K-1 Kerosene is more highly refined than Diesel #2, and is at least as refined as Diesel #1, which is what #2 is cut with in this cold climate (8 miles from British Columbia, Canada) to prevent wintertime gelling. So K-1 should not present a problem for you as far as gelling in wintertime goes. As to flammability, obviously kero is not as flammable as gasoline, but I would still be leery about storing it 15 feet from a furnace flame...do you trust your local authorities, and can you perhaps visit the fire chief / inspector to ask his opinion on that? Or maybe your insurance agent could put you in touch with an expert opinion on the matter? But then, if you don't necessarily like, trust or want to know these people in your locale, maybe it's the better part of wisdom to pass on their opinions and just bury it. That's what I did. The top of the tank is 4 to 5 feet underground. Of course, you'd need the proper size riser pipes, fill & vent caps, etc. My fuel company told me that if diesel and other such light oil distillates, easily including kerosene, are insulated from thermal swings, then at the earth's constant 56 degrees, it can last nearly indefinitely. There are pre-coated tanks that are made and approved for burial, at least available in our area, that are legal. I don't know about WV. If you want to do this, I suggest that doing it as copasetic as possible is a good plan. And if you do, bed the tank with a healthy layer of sand so that as the disturbed ground settles and moves with frost heaves, rocks don't scrape and scratch your coating off of your tank, removing coating, causing rust, and shortening tank life. For a little 55 gal. drum, hiring a backhoe shouldn't be needed, making it easier to do on a moonless night:). Of course, you can mount a diaphram or roller pump on top of your riser pipe with a pickup pipe within the larger 2" riser. Good luck and God Bless.

-- Ben Corson (bcorson@dmi.net), December 20, 1999.

You're not alone in your anxiety about storing kerosene. My circumstances were the opposite. I am in SoCA, had two big jugs of kerosene stored in a shed, and have never slept soundly since picturing what would happen this summer when the heat hit. I have oil lamps, candles, and battery operated lamps all heavily supplied so I knew the kerosene would go unused. I gave it and the kerosene lamps, and wicks I had purchased to my brother for Y2K. He was/is 100% GI but his income has been hit hard by the changes in interest rates etcetera because he is in home refinancing, and was going to be caught with too little preps. I divided my food (Which is/was massive) and the kerosene really rounded it out. It all came together as a very complete and lush Y2K stash for 2 adults, one little girl, a big dog and two cats. If you can work out how to not blow yourself up with the kerosense (real or imagined) I'll be impressed. I couldn't cope and am thrilled not to have it. I had such deep regrets about having kerosene I even contemplated calling the fire department and asking if I could bring it in to them. I'd move out far from my home Donna. That is just me. I'd never feel safe to leave my home or sleep having it in the basement or garage.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), December 20, 1999.

Thanks All. Gonna send this to my hubby via e-mail and see what he thinks

-- Donna (Donnaeli@yahoo.com), December 20, 1999.

I have kept Kerosene in my basement for the last 11 years. The liquid is not the problem, it is the fumes. If you can smell it, then you have fumes and need to change something, but no fumes, low risk. I have a 55 gal drum of K-1 behind my house under some trees. Most people have much worse things than Kerosene stored in their house or shed, they just do not know it.

-- chicken farmer (chicken-farmer@ y2k.farm), December 20, 1999.


1) K-1 is flamable but not combustible, meaning you can get it ot burn but not as easilyu as you seem to think.

2) If you bury it you MUST do it per EPA specs, or you WILL go to jail AFTER paying a VERY LARGE fine (this is what closed a BUNCH of gas stations in Jan 1999).

3) I have a 15 gal and several 5 and 2.5 gal containers in the basement. Did this last year, and have NO problems. Yes it DOES occasionally smelll like a truck stop down there, particularly after I fill the 3 stoves ands the cooking stove but that comes with the fuel.

4) You can spill Kero on the floor and TRY to light the puddle and it won't light. You get to clean it up the old fashioned way, with paper towels etc.

RESPECT it, don't FEAR it. Now Gas and Coleman fuel are entirely different matters altogether.

C

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 20, 1999.


Chuck, you got it reversed. K1 is combustible rather than flammable.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), December 20, 1999.

Thank all of you so much. makes me feel better. I am going to store it in my basement. I knwo what you mean about the clean up. Spille dsome transfering it last week and had to clean up with rags. I guess a good thing is that I CANNOT smell the kerosene that I have put in the drum so far. So, I see that as a good thing. You guys have been a great help.

Donna

-- Donna (Donnaeli@yahoo.com), December 20, 1999.


Donna .... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE .... DON'T STORE ANYTHING THAT IS FLAMMABLE IN YOUR BASEMENT ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR FURNACE OR HOT WATER HEATER. BETTER TO PUT IT IN THE GARAGE WHERE YOUR CAR IS, BUT VENTILATE THE GARAGE VERY WELL BEFORE YOU START YOUR CAR. STORING FUEL FOR Y2K .... ONLY TO BE BLOWN UP IN THE PROCESS .... IS WORSE THAN ANYTHING Y2K COULD BRING UPON YOU.

-- Lee Barber (LeeeeeeB@webtv.net), December 20, 1999.

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